Company
Steward ownership in practice

Case Studies

From software start-ups to century-old manufacturers, companies have embedded mission-orientation and independence into their legal structure – permanently. Explore how they made the transition and what it means for founders, investors, employees and other stakeholders.

Reading recommendation

Curious about case studies embedded in articles around steward ownerhip and exciting interviews? Our Steward Ownership 101 book offers exactly that!

All case studies

search icon
29 Results
Case StudyCase Study

Good Store

Good Store sells everyday products and donates 100% of its profits to charity. The company is exploring a purpose trust to safeguard this mission long term.

source
More
Case StudyCase Study

Berrett-Koehler Publishers

Berrett-Koehler is a publishing company, using a steward ownership model as a legally binding promise to be around in the long term.

Derek Razo
More
Case StudyCase Study

Trust Neighborhoods

Trust Neighborhood was among the first to bring steward ownership to real estate: its Mixed-Income Neighborhood Trusts keep long-term residents central while sharing upside between neighbourhood and investors.

source
More
Case StudyCase Study

Sharetribe

When Juho Makkonen and Antti Virolainen went looking for investors in 2018, they realized conventional ownership models were built on incentives that simply didn't align with their vision. So they rewired the entire structure of their company.

source
More
Case StudyCase Study

Novo Nordisk

Novo Nordisk (responsible for nearly half the world's insulin supply and $40 billion in annual revenue) has been controlled by a nonprofit foundation for almost 100 years. A story of how a company held firm against mergers, shareholder pressure, and global competition.

source
More
Case StudyCase Study

Bosch

Bosch is one of the oldest steward ownership lighthouses. 92% of shares held by the Robert Bosch Stiftung. Profits serve the company's mission and fund philanthropic work.

source
More
Case StudyCase Study

Zeiss

One of the earliest examples of steward ownership. The Zeiss and Schott companies are owned by a foundation – no individual can extract the company's value for personal gain.

source
More
Case StudyCase Study

Organically Grown Company – Aligned Financing

This case study explores the financing set-up that allowed Organically Grown Company (OGC) to transition into steward ownership and to buy out its former shareholders – farmers, employees, and ESOP participants – without compromising the company’s mission or stability.

source
More
Open Info Call – every week

Still have questions? You're very welcome to join us.

Whether you're exploring steward ownership for the first time or already deep in the process: Join one of our free info calls and get your specific questions answered by our team!

Join the next info call