In a frozen ESOP plan, further contributions stop, but the plan continues to operate. Employees receive their distributions according to the rules of the plan document. Theoretically, the plan could continue until the last participant receives a distribution.

An assessment of the required non-financial elements in selling a business, e.g., required people/talent, knowledge, partnerships, documentation, communication, etc., required for ongoing business success post-sale. Sometimes called the "people and process" aspect of feasibility.

Employee owned companies which are 100% owned by the employees, whether through an ESOP, EOT or worker co-op.

Cooperatives provide education and training for their members, elected representatives, managers, and employees so they can contribute effectively to the development of their co-operatives. They inform the general public - particularly young people and opinion leaders - about the nature and benefits of co-operation.

A hedge fund is an LP of private investors whose money is pooled and managed by professional fund managers who use a wide range of strategies to earn above-average investment returns. A hedge fund investment is often considered a risky, alternative investment choice.

An interest rate swap is a financial contract where one party exchanges future interest payments with another based on a specified principal amount. These involve switching between fixed and floating interest rates to hedge against rate fluctuations or secure favorable terms.

Poverty thresholds are the dollar amounts used to determine poverty status. The Census Bureau assigns each person or family one out of 48 possible poverty thresholds. Thresholds vary by the size of the family and age of the members. The same thresholds are used throughout the US. Thresholds are updated annually for inflation using the CPI-U. They are intended for use as a statistical yardstick

Refers to the M&A practices of EO companies, e.g., ESOP companies purchasing other companies

Phantom stock is a deferred compensation plan that allows plan participants to benefit from a company's share price upside without actually receiving company shares

Capital gains are the profits realized from the sale of a capital asset, where the tax rate depends on the duration the asset was held.

Convertible preferred stock carries the characteristics of common stock and debt. It provides a stated reasonable dividend and converts to common stock at a specified time.

Unusual circumstances for EO companies, e.g., publicly traded EO, bank as EO sponsor, LLC ESOP's, etc.

Senior debt is borrowed money (often from bondholders or banks that have issued revolving credit lines) that a company must repay first if it goes out of business.

Surety is a type of financial guarantee.

The threshold rate of return is the minimum return that an investor can expect to achieve when investing in a project. It is influenced by the risk of the investment, the liquidity of the investment, and inflation

A micro acquisition involves a larger company purchasing a smaller firm, typically characterized by its smaller scale compared to traditional M&A. These acquisitions are driven by various synergistic motives such as acquiring talent, gaining access to new technologies, etc.

An accredited investor is an individual or business entity that's allowed to trade securities that may not be registered with financial authorities by satisfying at least one requirement regarding their income, net worth, asset size, governance status, or professional experience.

SBA’s primary business loan program, provides loan guaranties to lenders that allow them to provide financial help for small businesses. The maximum loan amount is $5MM. Key eligibility factors are based on the business's good or service, credit history, and location.

A budget is an estimation of revenue and expenses over a specified future period of time. A budget can be made for a person, group of people, business, non-profit, government, country, or just about anything else that makes and spends money.

Any unique EO company considerations in the appraising of company value, e.g., ensuring rigor that would satisfy regulators in an ESOP appraisal

A golden share is a special type of share that grants its holder veto power over changes to a company's charter, ensuring control over critical decisions. This share typically holds at least 51% of voting rights and is issued by both private firms and government entities.

The history of employee ownership which includes some easily defined pivotal moments such as the passing of ERISA in 1974 thanks to Louis Kelso and Russell Long

410(b) coverage testing is a type of compliance test certain qualified retirement plans (e.g., ESOPs) must undergo each year to ensure their plan doesn’t overly favor highly compensated employees (HCEs) over non-highly compensated employees (NHCEs) when it comes to who is eligible to participate in the plan.

A sub-plan created as part of the overarching succession plan which specifically defines things like key stakeholders to be notified of the succession plan, and sample copy and/or graphics for how the succession plan will be communicated.

The amount of money that cannot be clawed back after the transaction even if there are future problems.

A producer owned co-op for farmers to be able to market their crops together and/or purchase inputs together to reduce costs and eliminate "middle men" in the value chain.

A "captive insurer" is generally defined as an insurance company that is wholly owned and controlled by its insureds; its primary purpose is to insure the risks of its owners, and its insureds benefit from the captive insurer's underwriting profits.

The right of redemption allows homeowners who have defaulted on their mortgages to reclaim their property by paying the overdue amount, including interest and penalties, either before or sometimes after a foreclosure sale.

A "poison pill" is a defensive strategy used by companies to deter hostile takeovers. It sets a trigger point, typically a threshold of stock ownership, beyond which any acquiring shareholder faces significant dilution of their stake.

The definition of the sales funnel (also known as a revenue funnel or sales process) refers to the buying process that companies lead customers through when purchasing products. The widest part of the funnel represents the phase when potential customers become aware of the product or service, and the funnel eventually narrows to represent the customer purchasing (and repurchasing) the product or service.