Empowered Owners

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Oct 2026

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About the show

Creating connections is essential to building a community. It’s even more important when the people you’re trying to connect with aren’t in the same location. Businesses and companies have always found geographic distance to be a challenge to building a really great community-oriented culture. At Empowered Ventures, the same challenge holds true, which is why we decided to start Empowered Owners, the podcast that takes you inside Empowered Ventures. In each episode, CEO Chris Fredericks will have a discussion with one of our employees to discover and highlight their distinct personalities, perspectives, and skills while also keeping you in the loop with exclusive news, updates on company performance, and a glimpse into the future plans of Empowered Ventures. Not only is this an opportunity for Chris to learn more about our amazing employee-owners, but it’s also an opportunity for you to hear regularly from Chris and others from within Empowered Ventures.

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60 recent

October 20, 2026Episode 7035 min

Talking to Dinosaurs with Paramount's Troy Osborn

Troy Osborn joined Paramount Plastics as its CNC programmer just over a year ago, and he hasn’t stopped learning since. Growing up in Elkhart, Indiana, the RV capital of the world, Troy assumed he’d follow his grandpas into the RV industry. Instead, a winding path that included pushing carts at Menards led him to a screw machine shop, where his big break came from yelling the answer to a training question from across the shop floor. Troy shares how that moment turned into a crash course in CNC programming, machining certificates from Ivy Tech, and eventually a leap of faith on Paramount’s 1980s-era five-axis routers. They also discuss what he’s learned from Paramount’s resident “Wizard” and how joining the ESOP committee changed his view of what employee ownership can mean. Plus, hear how one simple request for a quieter workspace helped shift the culture on the floor. Troy’s advice for fellow employee owners? If you see something, say something. Edited by Mateusz Złakowski

October 6, 2026Episode 6943 min

Trees Don't Grow to the Sky: 2026 ESOP Update

Once a year, all EVers from across Empowered Ventures gather for the ESOP Update, where we reveal the new share price, review the last year, and rally for the year ahead. After this year's update, Chris Fredericks and Casey Grisez sat down to dig into a few topics from it a little further. They talk through a year with some headwinds, the record payout to former EVers that shows the system works, and why most accounts kept growing even in a softer year. From there, it's all about what we can control. Chris walks through his Ownership in Action framework and answers questions from EVers, including how to promote our sister companies and how the share price gets set, with the help of a very successful lemonade stand. Chris closes with a line from EV's Mike Algrim : pilots take off into the wind. Want to get really nerdy about valuation? Listen to last year's episode here: https://empowered.ventures/2025/09/23/s4e3-esop-update/ . Edited by Mateusz Złakowski

September 22, 2026Episode 6827 min

Artwork in the Boiler Room with Benoure's Gary Morin

Gary Morin has been with Benoure Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning since early 2025, and he joins Empowered Owners six months after assuming the President role. He grew up surrounded by the trades, and he was building decks with his grandfather when most kids are building Legos. He spent his teenage years as crew chief on a friend's race car at Thunder Road before going into plumbing straight out of high school. After almost a decade in the field, he worked his way into estimating, project management, and operations. Gary explains why a boiler room full of exposed pipe is "kind of like artwork" and why employee ownership was "the icing on the cake" when a recruiter called him. He gets into the trades' math problem — five people retiring for every two joining — and the farming system Benoure is building to answer it. Plus, hear what Jocko Willink's Extreme Ownership and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones have taught him about trusting a team. Edited by Mateusz Złakowski

September 8, 2026Episode 673 min

Not Just a Number: A Labor Day Tribute to EVers

Empowered Owners is back. To open Season 5 on Labor Day, we handed the entire episode over to the people who do the work — no host, no questions, just the incredible employee owners from all five EV companies in their own words. Craftsmanship that holds up whether anyone will ever see it. Pensions that rarely exist anymore, and what ESOP shares mean instead. A shop floor that never had to be told to work overtime. Years spent as "just a number" somewhere else. And Travis Adams of Benoure with the last word: "We fall on hard times, they've got our back. They fall on hard times, we've got their back. It's a big family." Happy Labor Day to every EVer, and to workers everywhere. Season 5 starts now, with new episodes every other Tuesday. Edited by Mateusz Złakowski

May 19, 2026Episode 6616 min

Partnership Not Pricing with Firstar's Luke Orszag

Luke Orszag , President of Firstar Precision , returns to Empowered Owners to recap a year he describes as "a tale of two halves." The first six months saw demand almost disappear entirely, then September hit, and everything changed. Firstar spent the rest of the year digging out of the backlog, with workers voluntarily taking on extra hours, training new employees, and showing attitude and effort that stood out more than any previous year. He digs into two major initiatives that defined the year: pursuing defense certification to break into a regulated industry with massive opportunity, and launching a strategic marketing effort focused on building credibility and awareness rather than generic advertising. Luke explains why the certification documentation was far more difficult than expected, but it opened the door to what should become one of Firstar's largest customers. On the marketing side, he shares how Firstar crafted content around knowledge-sharing and expertise, then delivered it directly on LinkedIn to targeted companies and position titles in industries where Firstar wanted to grow. Luke breaks down Firstar's competitive positioning: they don't want to compete on price—they want to be partners who help customers solve difficult problems by tackling hard-to-source parts with challenging materials, geometry, or tolerances. Looking ahead, Luke is focused on finishing CMMC L2 defense certification, seeing where the marketing efforts lead, and building out employee development systems to address a shortage of skilled machinists. Edited by Mateusz Złakowski

May 5, 2026Episode 6522 min

Legacy, Leadership, and Letting Go with Brad Benoure

Brad Benoure returns to Empowered Owners, just over a week after officially stepping away from the President role of a 60 year old family business. It's the culmination of a two-year process that began when Empowered Ventures bought Benoure Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning in 2024. Brad reflects on what mattered most in choosing a buyer and why EV's promise not to "swoop in and start changing the company around" made all the difference. He shares how the leadership team slowly took the reins starting in October 2025, and why he knew they were ready: collaboration, complementary strengths, and the same commitment to customers and employees. Brad offers candid advice for business owners considering a sale: get the right help, understand it's a lot of work when you're already at capacity, and take time to assemble the right leadership team because it doesn't come quick. He wraps up with reflections on what's next and a reminder to himself and others: find hobbies before you need them, because when your life is your business, you don't have much time for anything else—and he's got a lot of life left to live. Edited by Mateusz Złakowski

April 21, 2026Episode 6420 min

From Dartboards to Data with EV's Kim Dinwiddie

Kim Dinwiddie , VP of HR, returns to Empowered Owners to unpack EV's healthcare transformation—moving from fully insured to self-funded. Kim defines Healthcare for Us, with priorities focused on being better stewards and empowering employee owners to become better healthcare consumers, and explains the mechanics of going self-funded. She answers why EV decided to unbundle everything and, more importantly, highlights the benefits for all EVers: adding Teladoc's $0 out-of-pocket virtual visits, better customer service, and access to data to help EV refine its healthcare approach. No more throwing darts at a dartboard. This is a multi-year effort with ongoing work, not just at renewal time, and Kim stresses that employee owners are in the driver's seat together. The goal? Stabilize premium increases, offer great coverage, and keep exploring partnerships in order to make healthcare work better for EVers. Edited by Mateusz Złakowski

April 7, 2026Episode 6317 min

On Resilience with TVF's Tad Calahan

TVF President Tad Calahan returns to Empowered Owners to catch up on the year. Now in its 16th year of employee ownership, TVF has navigated significant headwinds including tariffs, soft demand, cost pressures, and the growing pains of implementing a new CRM while still ending the year strong. Tad explains why TVF takes pride in the ability to perform in good times and bad, including when the tariff landscape created cost management challenges, communication difficulties, and constant adaptation. Tad celebrates how the team stayed close to the details, advised across the company, and navigated it all while staying true to TVF's core value of being a trusted partner. He shares why employee ownership has been central to the company's resilience and looks ahead with optimism about the foundation TVF is building. He wraps up with his Winter Olympics Mount Rushmore: biathlon, skeleton, curling, and ice hockey. Edited by Mateusz Złakowski

March 24, 2026Episode 6226 min

Finding Your People with Whitney Brothers' Scott Kroeger

Whitney Brothers President Scott Kroeger sits down with Chris Fredericks for our first-ever in-person podcast at Keene State College 's beautiful Media Arts Center. Scott reflects on his first eight months leading a 122-year-old company, and shares his unexpected journey from global public companies to starting his own business during Covid in search of purpose and meaning, eventually discovering he'd "found his people" in the employee ownership world. He unpacks his REAL leadership framework—Respect, Empathy, Accountability, and Learning—and what surprised him most about Whitney Brothers. He celebrates the company's resilience through a challenging first year, the impressive speed at which the TWO (Together We Own) committee launched, and the hunger from engineers and floor leads alike to innovate and improve. Scott shares what he's excited about for 2026, and wraps up with his cycling Mount Rushmore, which includes a ride with (an insane) 11,000 feet of climbing. Edited by Mateusz Złakowski

March 10, 2026Episode 6124 min

Go-Karts, Stories, and 150,000 Square Feet of Fabric: The 2026 EO Summit

Chris Fredericks hosts the biggest group conversation yet on Empowered Owners, bringing together four employee ownership committee members from four different companies to debrief the annual EV Employee Ownership Summit. Erica Roudebush ( TVF , fifth Summit), Travis Adams ( Benoure , first-timer), Amanda Smith ( Paramount , second Summit), and Dennis Casey ( Firstar , rookie) share their raw first impressions: nerves at the beginning, re-energized by the end, and amazed by what they learned from each other. They dig into the Summit's theme, from a storytelling workshop with Sally Perkins that helped each company craft their origin story and identify the pivotal moment when employee ownership changed everything, to a stand-up magician who actually knew each company's history. The group celebrates favorite moments including the TVF warehouse tour, late-night go-karting, card games in the hotel lobby, and a surprise visit to the Indy 500 museum. They close with what they wish everyone in their companies knew—and what they say will make you a believer. Edited by Mateusz Złakowski