Full-service transition
advisory and execution.

From feasibility to financing to post-transition support — Orchestra manages every step of the employee ownership journey.

Reshaping the future of ownership.

We help companies transition to employee ownership so the people who build the value of a business can share in it. Like an orchestra, where every instrument contributes to a greater performance, employee-owned companies thrive when everyone has a stake in the outcome.

What we do

Our Services

Orchestra offers structured transitions using our custom model to maximize liquidity and tax deferral while prioritizing company community and worker upside.

Transition Advisory

We help teams evaluate employee ownership pathways and decide the best fit for their goals.

Leveraged Buyout Structuring

The Orchestra cooperative model centers around using leveraged buyouts to transition companies into cooperative ownership.

Employee Education

We train and educate employees both pre- and post-transition so that they are prepared for their new roles.

Transition Coordination

Orchestra organizes the legal, financial, and governance specialists involved in the transaction.

Financing

We help structure the capital stack for employee buyouts, including connecting owners with lenders.

Leadership Tools

We help establish required lines of communication to keep employees in the loop on company decisions and milestones.

Ownership structures

Models

There are three main base models for transitioning a business to employee ownership, and the right choice depends on your company's size, structure, and goals. Orchestra can help structure leveraged buyouts around any model.

ESOP

Employee Stock Ownership Plan

—Significant federal tax advantages
—Company contributions are tax-deductible
—Sellers may qualify for capital gains deferral under IRC §1042 (C-Corp only)
—Ability to finance buyouts using pre-tax corporate dollars
—Employees do not purchase shares directly
—Strong empirical evidence of improved retention and productivity

Co-op

Worker Cooperative

—Employees are members, not plan participants, and get a vote in governance
—A worker cooperative can also qualify for IRC §1042 capital gains deferral
—Flexible financing (seller notes, community capital, hybrid structures)
—Lower regulatory burden than ERISA structures
—Accessible model for small and mid-sized service businesses
—Direct wealth-building for worker-members

EOT

Employee Ownership Trust

—Ownership held collectively through a trust on behalf of employees
—Flexible structure can provide full or partial liquidity
—Simpler governance structures
—Increasingly adopted as a succession strategy for founder-led businesses

Our mission

The Companies We Help Create

Orchestra partners with founders and leadership teams who believe businesses should endure beyond a single generation of ownership. We work with companies that value their people, take pride in their craft, and want to build organizations that are resilient, collaborative, and future-ready.

The employee-owned companies we help create look different from traditional firms. They combine strong leadership with broad participation. Decisions remain strategic and disciplined, but success is shared more widely. Employees think like owners because they are owners.

In an economy increasingly shaped by automation and aggressive consolidation, employee ownership offers a different path forward. One where companies remain independent, communities retain strong employers, and the people who create value have a meaningful stake in the outcome.

Like an orchestra, the power comes from alignment. When every section plays its part, the result is something greater than any individual contribution.

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See what's possible with Orchestra

The next generation of companies won't just employ people. They'll be owned by them.