New ways to think about liquidity for impact capitalism

“Especially in food, impact is the core of part of the brand. Impact is not a drag on returns. Impact is a driver of return.”
—Ralph Carlton, King Arthur Flour

Part 1:  An introduction to liquidity options

Highlights:

• There are ways to avoid a disconnect between the mission and the exit strategy.
• What should you think about now to allow more control of your company and its mission in the future?  

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Part 2: What distinguishes InvestEco as an impact fund?

Highlights:

• It’s important to reinvest in he most important drivers of the business and sometimes that is the brand itself.  
• Investors want ongoing measurements of impact. 

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Part 3: The benefits of an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) 

Highlights:

• Ownership is captured like a retirement plan.  
• If you're a mission driven company, ESOP helps you ensure that the mission is carried on and passed with ownership.    
• The real benefit is cultural, everyone behaves like an owner. 
• ESOP rewards the company with employee longevity.  

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Part 4: What are the benefits of permanent capital as an exit choice for companies? 

Highlights:

• Permanent capital is not about investing and then flipping, it’s about helping businesses grow.
• How does a small business prepare for permanent capital investment in the future? 
• Can your company grow across sectors? 

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Part 5: Keeping the mission on the front line 

Highlights:

• Mission-lock: How to mitigate risk as stakeholders and shareholders evolve and pressure emerges to cut costs and reduce mission. 
• At the initial investment, it’s important to have an exit strategy.  
• Become a benefit corporation. 

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Part 6: What should companies think about if they want to consider ESOP? 

Highlights: 

• ESOP requires a lot of financial planning beyond infant stage.  
• The ESOP structure works best in a founder controlled situation. 
• There are significant tax advantages.

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Part 7: The benefits of long-term thinking for mission-oriented businesses  

Highlights:

• Take a long-term approach when investing in research and development and product innovation.
• Investing in people and the supply chain takes years to develop. Find a long-term capital partner to back that vision.  
• Be clear about future, including the governance structure and long-term goals. 

This session—Impact Capitalism: Exiting Differently + New Ways to Think about Liquidity—was recorded at Natural Products Expo East 2017.