From Founders to Worker-Owners: How Cooperative Ownership Secured Empowered Energy’s Future

What happens to a small business when the founders are ready to step away—but don’t want the company, the jobs, or the community to disappear?

In this video, Brad Burrett and Danielle Carey, founders of Empowered Energy Systems, share their journey from starting a renewable energy company to transitioning it into a worker-owned cooperative. Alongside employee-owners and leaders from within the company, they reflect on why employee ownership made sense, how the transition unfolded, and what it means for long-term jobs, community resilience, and legacy.

With support from the Rocky Mountain Employee Ownership Center (RMEOC), Empowered Energy Systems navigated the legal, financial, and cultural shift to cooperative ownership—turning what once felt overwhelming into a sustainable path forward.

This story explores:
• Why employee ownership can be a powerful succession option
• How cooperatives strengthen commitment and accountability
• The role of worker ownership in rural and local economies
• Building a lasting legacy beyond individual founders

For business owners thinking about succession, employees curious about ownership, or communities seeking more resilient local economies, this is a real-world example of cooperative ownership in action.

https://www.rmeoc.org/