21 HATS: SUCCESSION SOLUTIONS
Assess your exit options, understand what your business is worth, get AI-powered answers, and connect with trusted Ohio, New Jersey, Pennsylvania advisors - all in one place.
These tools work together to help you move from "I'm curious about employee ownership" to "I know my options and I'm ready to take the next step."
Assess
Day Zero Guide
Discover which exit path fits your business
Analyze
Aha Planner
Understand your financials and valuation
Learn
Zolid AI + Resources
Get answers to your specific questions
Connect
Directory + Consultation
Find the right advisors for your transition
Find out which exit path fits your business - in about 5 minutes.
Answer 12 questions about your business and preferences. You'll receive a personalized guide that compares three exit paths - Employee Ownership, Financial Sale, and Strategic Sale - across 9 dimensions including selling price, employee welfare, legacy, complexity, and more.
What you'll get
Business Valuation
Multiple methods including DCF, market comps, and capacity-driven
15-Year Projections
Income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow forecasts
Exit Path Comparison
Side-by-side financial analysis of all exit options with NPV
21 KPIs
Profitability, asset efficiency, debt, and liquidity metrics
Scenario Modeling
What-if analysis with real-time impact on valuation
QuickBooks Import
Connect your QuickBooks to auto-populate financial data
Understand what your business is worth - and how the numbers work for each exit path.
Enter your financial data (or connect QuickBooks) and receive a multi-method business valuation, 15-year financial projections, exit path comparisons with after-tax proceeds, and 21 key performance indicators with industry benchmarks.
An AI copilot that actually understands employee ownership - and your specific situation.
Zolid AI is built on a knowledge base of 60,000+ real entities - practitioners, organizations, case studies, and research - curated by the employee ownership community.
Example questions Zolid AI can answer
Browse ESOP advisors, attorneys, valuators, cooperative developers, and lenders that serve Ohio, New Jersey, Pennsylvania businesses - selected by 21 Hats Podcast.
Answers, glossary terms, podcast episodes, and research reports - so you can understand the landscape before making any decisions.
What research evidence supports the impact of employee ownership on worker wealth, business performance, and racial equity?
Employee ownership creates transformative wealth for workers. Research shows ESOP participants accumulate a median of $164,000 vs. $17,000 for typical households. Women of color see 160x-1,435x wealth increases. Employee-owned businesses are 21% more likely to survive, grow 2-3% faster, and have <0.3% loan default rates. With 2.9 million businesses facing succession and only 6% of small businesses aware of EO options, expanding employee ownership represents a major opportunity for worker wealth building and community resilience.
ReportLocal economic context for Ohio — business density, aging demographics, workforce by industry, income distribution, and more — for owners, advisors, policymakers, and partners.
Local economic context for New Jersey — business density, aging demographics, workforce by industry, income distribution, and more — for owners, advisors, policymakers, and partners.
Local economic context for Pennsylvania — business density, aging demographics, workforce by industry, income distribution, and more — for owners, advisors, policymakers, and partners.
21 Hats Podcast works with business owners across Ohio, New Jersey, Pennsylvania - helping you understand your options, connect with the right service providers, and navigate whatever comes next.
What you'll see
Employee Ownership
ESOP, worker co-op, or EOT - how does ownership transition to your team?
Financial Sale
Private equity or financial buyer - what are the trade-offs?
Strategic Sale
Competitor or industry buyer - when does this make sense?
Each path is graded (A+ through F) based on your specific situation, with detailed explanations of why - not generic advice.
This is the tool that gives business owners their "aha moment" - where the abstract concept of employee ownership becomes concrete.
Free tier gets you started. Full valuation reports from $500/year. M&T members may qualify for sponsored access.
Co-op Cincy
Advocacy · Cincinnati, OH
The Grid as Community-Owned Infrastructure for Employee Ownership
