OUR STORY
Alternative Ownership Advisors is a subsidiary of Organically Grown Company, the largest independent produce distributor in the country.
You read that right: a produce distributor.
A PIONEERING COMPANY
For over 40 years, Organically Grown Company has continually evolved its ownership structure to best serve its mission and strategy. What started as a non-profit to promote organic agriculture morphed over time into a growers’ cooperative. The cooperative shifted to an S-Corp as they expanded their product line beyond what the members could supply. And eventually, an Employee Stock Ownership Plan was added to let coworkers share in the company’s growth and success.
THE FOUNDERS DILEMMA
A few years ago, the company found itself at a crossroads, as they looked for an ownership structure that would carry them into the future. In the next iteration of their structure, they had a few big picture criteria. First, the company wanted to give shareholders a way to move on – to give them liquidity. Second, they wanted a way to bring on aligned investors to grow operations and positive impacts. And third, they wanted to be able to reward their coworkers in real time, to incentivize everyone to work together towards their common goals.
a purpose-centric solution
And remarkably, OGC came up with a solution that allowed the company to take outside money, grow the business, provide a fair return to all stakeholders, and maintain the company’s orientation towards purpose and independence. OGC is now owned by a Perpetual Purpose Trust. A trust is like a benevolent owner that will never retire, never need liquidity, and never extract any profits. The Trust’s only job is to ensure that the company stays focused on its purpose, and that stakeholders (coworkers, growers, customers, community allies and mission-aligned investors) have a voice in governance and the ability to share in any excess profits generated by the company.
the birth of aoa
When the news broke that OGC was now steward-owned, something unexpected happened: the phone started ringing off the hook. Founders of other mission-driven companies were asking, “How did you do that?” “How does it work?” and “Could we do that?” And with this, an idea was born. They realized that the years of exploration and research they undertook to prepare for the ownership transition – the expertise they gained and the network of legal/financial professionals and impact investors they built– meant they were uniquely suited to help others.