Frequently Asked Questions

Employee ownership can be a great exit strategy for you, but it doesn't rely on individual employees coming up with the capital. In employee ownership structures, the company itself facilitates the purchase, not individual employees.

For most ESOPs and EOTs the answer is "$0" financial contribution from employees. For worker co-ops, there is typically an equity buy in amount, but this will be decided on by the workers themselves democratically, and will typically be nominal.

EO transitions are a net new perk for employees, i.e they follow the structure of a leveraged buyout where the cash flow of the business is used to pay for the business. Overall, employee ownership can be a win-win situation. You get a successful exit strategy, and your employees gain a stake in the company's future, potentially boosting morale and performance.

Yes, completely. Zolidar is designed to guide you through the entire employee ownership journey, from initial exploration to final execution. Aha Planner is built to support the planning phase by analyzing financial feasibility, valuation scenarios, and EO viability for your specific exit-planning stage.

Coming soon: For owners who select employee ownership, Zolidar will help you form a team of experienced EO practitioners, align with financiers, and serve as your software platform for efficiently executing transitions to ESOPs, EOTs, or Co-ops. Contact Us to find out more.

You can also connect with other business owners exploring employee ownership and find experienced practitioners through The Grid, our free professional community.

Absolutely! Here's how Zolidar could benefit SMB / EO advisors:

• Access to Cutting-edge Technology: Advisors gain access to Zolidar's innovative software solutions, streamlining the evaluation, implementation, and management of employee ownership structures.
• Educational Resources: Zolidar offers educational content and training modules, keeping advisors informed about the latest trends, benefits, and best practices in employee ownership.
• Networking Opportunities: Zolidar hosts events, webinars, and forums, providing valuable networking opportunities with other professionals, potentially leading to new partnerships or opportunities with potential clients seeking guidance on transitioning to employee ownership

We recommend starting with the free Day Zero Guide to explore your exit options. Then dive deeper with the Aha Planner to understand your business valuation and assess the financial viability of each exit option.

You can also connect with other business owners and advisors in The Grid for additional support and community insights.

We founded Zolidar with the mission to increase the wealth of everyday Americans by building the easy button for employee ownership. The name Zolidar is inspired by solidarity and the outcomes it can drive by aligning incentives of individuals towards a shared purpose.We aim to create a seamless experience where owners, employees, and advisors can collaborate, plan, and execute successful transitions that preserve legacy, build wealth, and support thriving communities. We plan to continue expanding our features and partnerships to make employee ownership more accessible and widely adopted.

Zolidar promotes employee ownership by educating business owners and business advisors on the benefits of this exit path, offering tools that make it easier to evaluate and implement, and working closely with advisors and industry experts to create resources that simplify the transition. Our platform is designed to demystify employee ownership and make it a viable option for more business owners.

While Zolidar is passionate about employee ownership, we are committed to providing objective and personalized recommendations based on your business's specific circumstances. The Day Zero Guide evaluates multiple exit paths, including employee ownership, strategic sales, and financial buyers. The Aha Planner assesses the net sales proceeds, tax implications, and present value of payout structures for a third-party sale as well as employee-ownership. We help you understand the pros and cons of each, but ultimately, the decision is yours.

In certain scenarios, Employee Ownership will emerge as the best choice for an owner to exit their business regardless of other factors. As an example, exit through employee-ownership emerges as a winner in all cases where businesses that have a strong track-record of profitability, established processes, a concrete plan for leadership transition, and flexibility from owners on the timeline for receiving sale proceeds.

In short, Zolidar can help you explore and prepare your business for an exit even through a third-party sale. Further along the exit journey, our features focus on exiting through employee-ownership, however the underlying concepts apply to other exit paths too.

Zolidar's Day Zero Guide and Aha Planner help you evaluate all your business exit options, which fall into three primary options of employee ownership, strategic sale, or financial sale. Based on your business metrics, you will get personalized insights and tips relevant to any exit option you choose.

The Day Zero Guide tells you how each exit option aligns with your goals and then provides resources for you to explore any aspect in greater depth. With these insights, you can improve the feasibility of all three of these exit options. The Aha Planner then takes this further, providing insights that let you make a fair comparison from a financial perspective between employee ownership models, such as ESOPs, EOTs, and Co-ops, and a third-party sale. Together, these tools help you understand the pros and cons of each exit path so you can confidently choose a path and start building your future.

We do know that many businesses are not a good fit for third party sales (finding an outside buyer), given 4 out of 5 businesses never find a buyer. We believe that employee ownership is a viable and advantageous option for many of these businesses. Our next set of features will be focused on employee ownership and making it easier for these businesses to make this transition.

Yes! You can talk to real people for help. Here's how:

Contact Zolidar

Our team is here to help with technical support, product questions, employee ownership guidance, and exit planning. We can point you in the right direction and help you get started.

Ways to reach us:

1. Book a Call: https://calendly.com/sk-zolidar-euea/zolidar-demo?hide_gdpr_banner=1 to speak directly with our team about employee ownership options, get a product demo, or discuss how Zolidar can help with your exit planning needs.
2. Phone: +1 (650) 977-4744 - Calls go to voicemail, and we'll return your call. Please leave a detailed message with your name, contact information, and what you'd like to discuss.
3. Contact Form: Use the "Get in Touch" form at the bottom of most pages for general inquiries or feedback.

We can help with:

1. Technical support and product questions
2. Guidance on using Zolidar's tools (Day Zero Guide, Aha Planner, Zolid AI)
3. General information about employee ownership and exit planning
4. Product demos and onboarding help
5. Connecting you with the right resources for your situation

Or Connect with Professionals in The Grid

If you want to explore working with advisors on your own, The Grid https://zolidar.com/grid is our community directory of professionals who specialize in employee ownership and business succession planning. You can browse profiles, search by expertise or location, and reach out to professionals directly.

Note: While Zolid AI can answer many questions immediately, it's an AI assistant, not a real person. For personalized guidance or complex situations, we recommend starting with our team—we can help determine the best path forward for your needs.

No, all costs are transparent. The price you see is the price you pay—-no extra fees or hidden charges.

Our paid plans cover full access to Zolidar, including the Aha Planner, Zolid AI, and any updates to these features during the paid period. It also includes ongoing support and the opportunity to provide feedback that could be incorporated into these features.

Yes. You can upgrade or downgrade anytime.

You can also cancel anytime–no questions asked, no forms to fill out. We offer no-hassle cancellations and full refund if you are not satisfied for any reason. You'll keep full access through the end of your paid period, and your data is securely saved so if you upgrade again in the future, all your reports will be right there waiting for you.

We accept all major credit cards, and payment is processed securely.

For Business Owners: If cost is the only barrier preventing you from exploring employee ownership, you can apply for a fee waiver. We review each request individually & completing this form does not guarantee a fee waiver.

For Advisors: Earn referral commission when your clients purchase Business Max. Advisor Basic earns up to 15% per referral, and Advisor Premium earns up to 30%.

Yes. While we provide generous access to tools like Zolid AI and the Aha Planner, we may temporarily limit access if usage significantly exceeds normal patterns. This helps us maintain reliable service for all customers. While our tools support exit planning and employee ownership decisions, they don't replace professional financial or legal advice. For complete details about our data practices and terms, you can review our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

We take your privacy seriously. Any information you share with us is stored securely and used only to support your experience on Zolidar. We never sell your data, and we won't share it with third parties unless you explicitly give us permission. Your information stays private unless you decide to share it.

When using Zolidar's AI tools, your data remains confidential. Zolidar uses secure APIs from trusted providers like Google, OpenAI and Anthropic, who do not store your information or use it to train their models. We never share your data with consumer-facing tools, and our use is fully compliant with their privacy policies. You're in control, and your data is protected.

You can read more in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. If you have specific questions, you can reach us through our contact form.

The Grid is your go-to destination for simplifying exit planning and exploring employee ownership opportunities. Whether you're seeking guidance, connections, or expertise, The Grid provides the tools and resources to make your journey easier and more impactful. Here's what you will gain:

• A single platform for everyone working in and on main street businesses.
• Smart tagging and search capabilities to quickly find relevant experts, resources, and discussions.
• AI-enhanced content summaries for accessible and actionable knowledge.
• Up-to-date resources and guidance enriched by member contributions.
• Opportunities to build your professional reputation through meaningful contributions.

The Grid is for anyone who supports small and medium businesses, and in particular during their exit planning journey. Here are just a few people you can find using The Grid:

• Business Owners: Access trusted advisors and resources to navigate your EO journey.
• Advisors: Build your reputation, showcase your expertise, and connect with business owners ready for EO transitions.
• EO Advocates: Promote employee ownership, share stories, and collaborate to expand awareness.
• Capital Allocators: Discover businesses seeking funding and engage with the EO ecosystem.
• Employee Owners: Share experiences and learn best practices about EO from peers.

Yes, The Grid is completely free to join. Access tools, resources, and connections at no cost and become part of a trusted network shaping the future of EO.

Signing up is straightforward and free. Join The Grid and we will ask you to sign in with your LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn authentication helps maintain the professionalism and trustworthiness of our network. If you don't have LinkedIn, contact us for alternative verification options.

Most professionals and organizations in the EO field already have a profile in the Grid Directory. Once you click Join The Grid, you can search for your profile—if it is listed, click "Claim Profile." If not, creating a new profile takes just a few minutes.

Yes, we use LinkedIn for authentication to ensure the credibility of The Grid. If you don't have LinkedIn, contact us for alternative verification options.

Absolutely! Share this link to Join The Grid with colleagues, clients, and anyone passionate about EO. The more voices we have, the more dynamic The Grid becomes.

We invite The Grid members to enrich the content, including the Wiki, Forum and Directory. The benefits are that you:

• Share your expertise to add a unique perspective.
• Build your reputation as a trusted professional.
• Stay informed and learn while contributing.
• Support a reliable resource that benefits everyone in the EO space.

We encourage The Grid members to contribute to the content in The Grid, including through the Organization profile pages and Wiki content. To suggest edits, navigate to the specific page or entry you wish to update. Click the "Suggest Edit" button and provide your proposed changes. Your edits will be published immediately and attributed to you, so ensure the information is accurate and relevant before submitting. You can view the change history of pages, including dates and names of members who made the edits.

Yes, all contributions should be factual and concise. Avoid promotional content or unverified information. Adhere to The Grid guidelines when submitting changes. The full guidelines are available in The Grid.

Yes, you can update your profile, and are encouraged to enrich it to reflect your experience and expertise. Once you have a claimed profile, click the "Edit" icon to make updates and save the changes.

You can certainly add yourself to the Directory by creating your profile. You cannot add a new person to the Directory at this time. However, you can Share this link to invite the person to create their own profile. You can add a new organization to the Directory.

If you do not want your profile to be public, you can decide to leave The Grid. We require everyone who wants to create and edit content to have a Grid profile. You cannot delete or edit another person's profile from the Directory. But you can report inaccuracies in another person's profile.

The Grid operates on a collaborative model, where members collectively ensure the accuracy and relevance of the content. Everyone is responsible for maintaining a high-quality resource.

The Forum is the heart of community interaction. It's a space where business owners, employees, advisors, and capital allocators can start discussions, ask questions, share insights, and collaborate on topics related to exit planning, employee ownership (EO), mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and business growth. Start by introducing yourself, then find other topics to start or join the conversation.

Absolutely! The Forum is open for all members to ask questions, share experiences, and start discussions. Whether you're seeking advice, sharing success stories, or exploring EO trends, the Forum is the perfect place to engage. Use tags to categorize your posts, reply to others comments, and mention members to connect directly. Whether you're new to topics or a seasoned expert, you are welcome to join in.

Yes, The Grid has a set of participation guidelines to ensure a respectful and constructive environment. Members are encouraged to be professional, helpful, and inclusive when interacting with others. The full guidelines are available in the Community.

The Forum hosts a wide range of discussions, including:

• News & Announcements
• Introductions
• Stories from the Field
• Research and Data
• Exit Readiness: People, Processes, and Profit
• Valuation and Financing
• Advisor Corner
• SMB Owner + Employee Corner
• Financier Corner
• …and much more!

Please contact us with detailed information on your issue. Please be sure to include your account information to help us diagnose the issue, such as email addresses you may have used to login, the way you choose to login (i.e. via Google, LinkedIn or your email address), and your LinkedIn profile.

Aha Planner provides indicative valuations using multiple industry-standard methodologies and real market data. While not formal appraisals, these valuations give you reliable benchmarks for decision-making using your financials and industry comparables.

Our approach includes DCF and capitalization methods, market comparable analysis, debt capacity modeling, and automated EO viability checks. The platform delivers personalized insights through scenario modeling and "what-if" tools that show what drives your business value. It's dynamic and editable—perfect for real conversations with clients at any stage of the exit planning process.

Yes. Whether you're not planning to exit soon, operating at a loss, or just starting to think about succession, Aha Planner helps you:

• Understand what drives your business value today
• Identify improvement opportunities and track progress over time
• Explore turnaround scenarios and strategic options
• Plan 5 years ahead (as succession planners recommend)
• Make strategic decisions that increase your future exit value

See it in action for yourself. Try our demo now—no commitment, no credit card required.

Aha Planner includes detailed financial analysis, comparing employee ownership against other exit strategies with side-by-side financial projections, debt capacity analysis and more backed by your financial data.

For most ESOPs and EOTs, employees contribute $0 upfront—the company facilitates the purchase using future cash flow. It's essentially a new benefit for employees while providing business owners with a successful exit strategy. Learn more about how this works.

Yes, completely. Zolidar is designed to guide you through the entire employee ownership journey, from initial exploration to final execution. Aha Planner is built to support the planning phase by analyzing financial feasibility, valuation scenarios, and EO viability for your specific exit-planning stage.

Coming soon: For owners who select employee ownership, Zolidar will help you form a team of experienced EO practitioners, align with financiers, and serve as your software platform for efficiently executing transitions to ESOPs, EOTs, or Co-ops. Contact Us to find out more.

You can also connect with other business owners exploring employee ownership and find experienced practitioners through The Grid, our free professional community.

Zolidar supports a wide range of professionals in the exit planning process:

• Business Consultants – Estimate business value, assess risks, and gauge fit for employee ownership models
• Financial Planners & CPAs – Compare transition plans, liquidity projections, and EO feasibility
• Lawyers – Model financial impact of different ownership structures and transition strategies
• Employee Ownership Facilitators – Build client conviction and comfort in EO exit paths

Advisor Premium Benefits:

• Unlimited Aha Planner valuations for all your clients
• 30% referral program – earn $300 on every Business Max plan through your unique link
• Live collaboration – work through reports together in real-time, like Google Docs for exit planning
• Advisor dashboard – manage all clients from one login with clear process visibility

At $3,000/year, Advisor Premium pays for itself through unlimited valuations and referral income, making it affordable to use with every prospective client just starting their exit journey.

Ready to get started? Book a demo or sign up for Advisor Premium to learn how Zolidar can help you guide clients from early interest to confident action.

Aha Planner gives advisors a powerful, centralized tool to guide business owners through complex exit decisions. You can easily generate valuations, compare exit options, and model custom scenarios—all tailored to each of your client's financials.

It helps you lead more strategic conversations, backed by clear, data-driven insights. Whether you're preparing for a client meeting or exploring "what if" paths together, Aha Planner saves time, builds trust, and supports better outcomes.

We provide comprehensive training resources, best practices guides, and ongoing support to help you maximize the platform's value in your client work.

Through The Grid, our free professional community, you can:

• Network and build your reputation – Showcase your expertise and connect with other professionals in the EO space
• Connect with business owners – Find clients ready for EO transitions and expand your practice
• Access curated resources – Thoughtfully organized information on employee ownership, exit planning, and industry best practices
• Share insights – Contribute your expertise and learn from other experienced practitioners

Additional support includes:

• Platform training and best practices guides
• Ongoing customer support for technical questions
• Regular updates on new features and capabilities

Contact us for personalized training sessions or specific questions about maximizing Zolidar's value for your advisory practice.

Yes! Advisor Premium is designed for professionals who support multiple clients. You can manage all your clients from one dashboard, create dedicated reports, invite users, and collaborate with teammates and clients—seamlessly. Sign up for Advisor Premium or book a demo to see it in action.

• Business valuation using multiple industry-standard methods
• Recasted financial statements with 15-year projections
• Exit options comparison including M&A, employee ownership, and succession planning
• Scenario modeling to test "what-if" changes in revenue, costs, or market conditions
• Key performance indicators showing what drives (or hurts) your business value
• Zolid AI for ongoing questions and curated resources related to exit planning
• Market comparables analysis to benchmark your business against similar companies in your industry
• Advisor collaboration in real-time, allowing advisors and clients to review reports together, leave comments, and co-analyze results

See it in action for yourself. Try our demo now—no commitment, no credit card required.

• QuickBooks Integration: Connect your account for automatic data import
• File Upload: Upload financial statements from other accounting systems
• Manual Entry: Input key financial figures directly into our guided forms

Your report generates instantly after data entry—no weeks-long wait like traditional services.

For business owners, our Business Max plan is $1,000/year and includes full Aha Planner access with guided support, complete reports, and expert consultation.

For advisors, our Advisor Premium plan is $3,000/year and provides unlimited client accounts, advanced analytics, and enhanced commission structure.

We also offer entry-level plans starting at $500/year for business owners. Fee waivers are available at Zolidar's discretion. Apply for a fee waiver.

For complete pricing details and plan comparisons, visit our Pricing page.

We take your privacy seriously. Any information you share with us is stored securely and used only to support your experience on Zolidar. We never sell your data, and we won't share it with third parties unless you explicitly give us permission. Your information stays private unless you decide to share it.

When using Zolidar's AI tools, your data remains confidential. Zolidar uses secure APIs from trusted providers like Google, OpenAI and Anthropic, who do not store your information or use it to train their models. We never share your data with consumer-facing tools, and our use is fully compliant with their privacy policies. You're in control, and your data is protected.

You can read more in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. If you have specific questions, you can reach us through our contact form.

We recommend starting with the free Day Zero Guide to explore your exit options. Then dive deeper with the Aha Planner to understand your business valuation and assess the financial viability of each exit option.

You can also connect with other business owners and advisors in The Grid for additional support and community insights.

The Zolidar Hub is our turnkey product for programs and institutions that support business owners facing succession decisions. It gives your organization a branded portal — your logo, your domain, your curated content — backed by Zolidar's full toolkit: the Day Zero Guide exit assessment, Aha Planner valuations, Zolid AI, and a directory of vetted advisors.

Typical Hub customers:

• State and regional employee ownership centers preserving local businesses and jobs through ownership transitions.
• SBDCs and small business associations bringing structured succession tools to their members.
• Banks and credit unions deepening relationships with business-owner clients before a transition becomes urgent.
• Training programs for buyers and searchers equipping cohorts with valuation and deal-analysis tools from day one.
• Fintech and corporate platforms embedding succession planning into workforce programs or supply-chain resilience initiatives.
• Place-based campaigns addressing the local business succession gap for a city, county, or region.

Individual business owners and advisors do not need a Hub — they use Zolidar's Business or Advisor plans directly. The Zolidar Hub is the institutional layer above those plans.

A branded Zolidar Hub is $12,000 per year, billed annually. A single flat price — no per-seat fees, no per-member charges.

What's included:

• Branded portal on your custom domain, with your logo, colors, and messaging.
• Curated service provider directory — surface the advisors, capital providers, and employee-ownership practitioners you trust for your members.
• Full exit planning toolkit — every member gets access to the Day Zero Guide, Aha Planner valuations, and Zolid AI.
• Educational resources and a content library, curatable by your team.
• Engagement analytics and CRM integration so you can measure usage and retention.

Most programs start with a live walkthrough — we'll configure a branded demo for your community in under a day. You can also subscribe directly on the pricing page if you're ready to go.

No. A Zolidar Hub is designed to go live quickly with no technical lift and no prior employee ownership expertise from your team.

What your team configures:

• Logo, brand colors, and landing-page messaging.
• Custom domain where members will access the Hub.
• Consultation settings for advisor-directed next steps.
• Optional regional focus to tune the directory and Regional Insights.

What Zolidar maintains:

• All educational content, glossary, and curated directory entries — sourced from Zolidar's knowledge graph.
• The exit planning tools (Day Zero Guide, Aha Planner, Zolid AI) and their ongoing improvement.
• Hosting, uptime, security, and compliance for the platform.
• Regional Insights data refreshes from Google Data Commons and the U.S. Census Bureau.

Most programs go live within a day of signing up. Zolidar's team runs a walkthrough with you to help configure branding and pick curation defaults.

Every business owner who lands on a Zolidar Hub gets access to the full Zolidar planning toolkit, with the partner organization's brand throughout.

Included tools:

• Day Zero Guide — a personalized exit assessment that compares employee ownership, financial sale, and strategic sale in about five minutes, with grades and next steps.
• Aha Planner — an instant business valuation, 15-year financial projections, scenario modeling, and apples-to-apples comparison of exit paths.
• Zolid AI — a 24/7 context-aware assistant grounded in Zolidar's knowledge graph of 60,000+ entries on ESOPs, Worker Cooperatives, EOTs, and every aspect of business succession.

Also on the Hub:

• Curated advisor directory so owners can discover the transition professionals the partner organization trusts.
• Educational resources — guides, glossary, podcast episodes, research reports.
• Regional Insights — local context on demographics, employment, businesses, and the aging-owner cohort in the partner's region.

Owners can use any of this on their own schedule — no advisor handshake required to get started.

The Zolidar Hub doesn't sell itself to advisors directly — advisors use Zolidar's Advisor plans. But when an advisor joins The Grid and matches the region of a partner's Hub, they appear in that Hub's directory automatically. This expands the advisory capacity the partner organization is building.

What this looks like in practice:

• Advisors — CPAs, attorneys, financial planners, exit-planning coaches, and employee-ownership consultants — sign up on Zolidar, build a profile on The Grid, run exit assessments with the Day Zero Guide, model client financials with the Aha Planner, and get AI-powered guidance from Zolid AI.
• Hub partners — state employee ownership centers, SBDCs, banks, credit unions, and the like — get a directory that grows with the network, without having to manually recruit or vet every advisor themselves.
• Business owners on a Hub discover advisors already working in their community, already vetted, already using the same tools the owner used to get here.

Advisory capacity building is one of the biggest challenges in succession planning. The Zolidar Hub turns Zolidar's advisor community into a resource the partner can route members to.

Regional Insights is the Zolidar Hub's data tab showing county- and state-level context for business transitions. It's built to serve everyone who uses a partner Hub, each for their own reason.

Typical uses:

• Business owners get local context for their transition — the demographics, employment picture, and business landscape where their company operates.
• Advisors and consultants use it in client conversations to frame why succession matters now and how the owner's community compares.
• Policy makers, government staff, and economic development teams use it for program design, grant applications, and stakeholder updates.
• Lenders and partner organizations use it to understand where businesses are concentrated and where transitions matter most.

The data is aggregated public statistics — not a directory and not a forecast. It covers population, median age, age cohorts (55–64 and 65+), employed population, median household income (overall and by race), poverty counts, total employer establishments, and establishment counts by employee size class.

The Insights tab gives your members county- and state-level context for business transitions — who lives there, who works there, how old the business-owner cohort is, how many employers operate there, and how those employers are distributed by size. Every number comes from public datasets and is cited on the page.

Sources:

• Google Data Commons — population counts, median age, age cohorts (55–64 and 65+), employed population, median household income (overall and by race), and poverty counts. Data Commons aggregates official U.S. statistics and returns the most recent observation available for each variable.
• U.S. Census Bureau — County Business Patterns — total employer establishments and establishment counts by employee size class (0–4, 5–9, 10–19, 20–49, 50–99, 100–249, 250–499, 500–999, 1000+). We pin to the latest released vintage and update annually.

Refresh cadence:

• Data Commons variables refresh as source agencies (Census, BLS, BEA) release new vintages — typically annual. Each stat on the page shows the observation date it reflects.
• County Business Patterns updates annually; we advance to the latest published vintage when it's released.

What it doesn't include:

• Individual business records or owner names — this is aggregated statistical data, not a directory.
• Forecasts — every figure is a historical observation, not a projection.

If you need custom data layers for your community — regional EO council data, local SBDC stats, state workforce programs — reach out. We can pipe additional sources into a partner Hub.