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§ Private Profile · 548 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94104
Platform for business succession planning, designing and financing employee ownership trust buyouts for small and mid-sized businesses.
Based in San Francisco, Common Trust is a financial platform that facilitates employee ownership buyouts for small and mid-sized businesses seeking alternative exit strategies. The company structures, finances, and executes customized employee ownership trusts designed to provide immediate liquidity to departing owners while preserving the operational independence of the enterprise. By utilizing this model, the firm aims to retain local jobs and avoid the traditional brokerage process, having evaluated more than $2 billion in total business value. The platform has transitioned $582 million into employee ownership trusts, impacting over 60,000 workers across its broader network of transitioned companies. Common Trust has raised $2.6 million in seed funding backed by institutional investors including Crossbeam Venture Partners and Schmidt Futures, and serves commercial clients such as Clegg Auto. The organization was founded in 2022 by founders Zoe Schlag and Derek Razo.
Common Trust has raised $3.0M across 1 funding round.
Common Trust has raised $3.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Common Trust has raised $3.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Common Trust's investors include Ryan Morgan, Antiportfolio Ventures, Schmidt Futures.
Common Trust is a San Francisco-based technology platform founded in 2022 that enables small business owners to exit via employee ownership buyouts.[1][2][3] It designs, finances, and executes transitions using employee ownership trusts (EOTs), allowing owners to access liquidity while preserving business independence and rewarding employees—serving owners of small and mid-sized firms facing succession challenges.[2][3][5] The company has raised $2.6 million in seed funding led by Crossbeam Venture Partners, with participation from Schmidt Futures, and reports working with businesses valued at over $2 billion, transitioning $582 million to EOT ownership and impacting 135,000 workers.[2][3]
Common Trust targets the 3-in-5 small business owners planning sales in the next decade, offering alternatives to high-cost brokers (often 10% fees) through scalable EOTs that maintain independence unlike roll-ups into holding companies.[2][4][5] Early traction includes clients like Clegg Auto, which doubled profits post-buyout, alongside high 95-98% client satisfaction and a small team focused on planning, transaction leadership, and ongoing support.[2][3][5]
Common Trust was founded in 2022 by Zoe Schlag (CEO) and Derek Razo, who brought experience from the shared ownership space at Schmidt Futures and Purpose Foundation, respectively.[2][3] The idea emerged from recognizing barriers to employee ownership for small businesses—high regulatory complexity, costs, and lack of scalability in traditional models like stock options—prompting a focus on perpetual purpose trusts customized as EOTs for buyouts.[2]
Headquartered in San Francisco with under 25 employees, the company quickly gained momentum: securing $2.6 million in seed funding within its first year (September 2023) and partnering with dozens of owners, teams, and investors.[1][2][3] A pivotal early win was Clegg Auto, a family-owned shop that transitioned to employee ownership, achieving record profits, customer ratings, and profit-sharing shortly after.[2]
Common Trust rides the employee ownership wave, addressing a succession crisis for 30 million U.S. small businesses where 3-in-5 owners plan exits soon amid retiring boomers, talent retention pressures, and aversion to private equity roll-ups.[2][4] Timing aligns with growing EOT adoption (inspired by UK models but adapted for U.S. scalability), fueled by market forces like economic development needs, job preservation in local economies, and impact investing trends from backers like Schmidt Futures.[2][3]
By democratizing exits, it influences the ecosystem: sustaining generational businesses, boosting worker wealth (e.g., Clegg Auto's profit-sharing), and countering consolidation—positioning tech-enabled platforms as key to resilient, community-rooted capitalism.[2][5]
Common Trust is poised to scale as succession demand surges, potentially expanding EOT financing tools, geographic reach beyond U.S. cities/towns, and integrations for broader advisor networks.[2][4] Trends like AI-driven valuations, regulatory tailwinds for ownership models, and ESG investing will accelerate growth, evolving its role from niche facilitator to mainstream exit platform—empowering more owners to "exit with purpose" while fortifying local economies.[3][5] This builds on its seed momentum toward defining sustainable business transitions.
Common Trust has raised $3.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $3.0M Seed in September 2023.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2023 | $3M Seed | Ryan Morgan | Antiportfolio Ventures, Schmidt Futures | Announced |