{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Bicycle For The EO Mind","title":" ACE in the Hole: ACE Hardware’s Gina Schaefer on Becoming an ESOP","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2547,"description":"Meet Gina Schaefer, founder and former CEO of A Few Cool Hardware Stores, and current CEO Craig Smith. Based in the Washington-Baltimore region, they are an ESOP of 13 brick and mortar hardware stores, generating roughly $50M in annual sales, which transitioned in 2021, creating over a hundred employee owners.\nSome takeaways:\nHow an excited employee owner at New Belgium Brewery, and realizing employees paid $0 to become owners convinced Gina and her CFO husband Marc to choose an ESOP exit\nThe Hogan leadership assessment helped Gina zero in on change management as a key trait to find in her successor, Craig\nGina and Craig’s quest to professionalize the neighborhood brick and mortar hardware store retail experience – including building significant wealth for employee owners\nGina had to overcome obstacles as a woman in a male-dominated business world, including how she let go of the title “CEO\".\n\n\nMAILBAG | GET IN TOUCH WITH US\nHave a question for us? Leave a voicemail at 650-203-6565, or send an email to social@zolidar.com. \n\nZOLIDAR LINKS:\nhttps://zolidar.com\nhttps://zolidar.com/podcast\nhttps://zolidar.com/blog\nZOLIDAR FEATURES:\nhttps://zolidar.com/exit-plan-guide\nhttps://zolidar.com/exit-financial-plan\nhttps://zolidar.com/dashboard?zolidai=true\nZOLIDAR SOCIAL MEDIA:\nhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/zolidar/\nhttps://www.youtube.com/@zolidar\nhttps://x.com/zolidar\nhttps://www.instagram.com/zolidar_com\nhttps://www.facebook.com/zolidario\nCHAPTERS\n\nCONNECT WITH A FEW COOL HARDWARE STORES \nhttps://acehardwaredc.com/\nA Few Cool Hardware Stores\nREFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE:\nGina Schaefer (Founder, Former CEO):Gina Schaefer\nCraig Smith (Current CEO):Craig Smith\nMarc Friedman (Former CFO):Marc Friedman\nEmployee Ownership Expansion Network (EOX): Employee Ownership Expansion Network (EOX)\nSteve Storkan (Executive Director, Employee Ownership Expansion Network): Steve Storkan\nOne America (ESOP service provider/Third Party Administrator): OneAmerica Financial\nNational...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/uJqpzIPNlLKXYo1d9uhUg3Vxe9TXy51iWrNAFDOt9V0/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS8wYjNm/ZjFhNmMxNmI5ZGNl/YTQwNjYzY2MzN2I4/M2E5MS5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}