An Inspiring Case Study: The Birth of the Next - Generation, Worker Owned Enterprise
The SRC Holdings Story
In 1983, 116 employees naively bought out a doomed factory from International Harvester. To do it, they managed to get a bank loan on nearly impossible terms. As worker-owners, everyone’s interests were now aligned. The trouble was, these worker owners now jointly faced a debt-to-equity ratio of 89:1.
They decided the only way out was to train every employee to understand the financials and to think and act like an owner. Ownership culture was born.
The Next - Generation Worker Owned Enterprise
"It was like a complete evolution in terms of being able to transform ourselves from the industrial role into what was now becoming the knowledge world."
–– Jack Stack, CEO SRC Holdings
What happens in the next 30 years is extraordinary:
-
Employees increase from 116 to 1,450
-
Sales grow from $16M to $500M+
-
Employees initiate 64 spinoffs
-
Company expands from 1 business unit to 12
-
Stock price climbs from $0.10 to $390 per share
-
A $1,000 ownership stake grows to $3.97 million, a 35X better return than Berkshire-Hathaway and 308x better than the S&P 500