Dear Founder,

If you’re considering selling your business, you’ve probably discovered that there are plenty of buyers. The harder question isn’t who will buy your company. It’s who will own it after you’re gone.

For most founders, selling isn’t just a financial decision. It’s about the people who helped build the business, the customers you’ve served for years, and the legacy you’ve spent a lifetime creating.

Who carries that forward matters.

I understand that because we’ve lived our own version of that journey.

For more than 70 years, AVID has grown through changing markets, new technologies, economic uncertainty, and the countless challenges that come with building a business for the long term. Like many founders, we’ve had to adapt while staying true to who we are.

In 2013, we made one of the most important decisions in our company’s history by becoming employee-owned.

We believed the people who helped build the company should have the opportunity to share in its success. Looking back, becoming an ESOP did much more than change our ownership structure. It changed how we think.

It gave us the freedom to make decisions with decades in mind instead of quarters. It reinforced the importance of investing in people, building a resilient business, and creating long-term value rather than chasing short-term results.

As we looked toward our own future, we began asking a different question.

Could we create something that gave other founders the same kind of long-term home we had created for our own company?

That question was the inspiration for AVID Evergreen.

We didn't create AVID Evergreen simply to acquire businesses. We created it to become a long-term steward of exceptional companies and the people behind them. By building a family of enduring businesses, we strengthen our employee-owned company while giving founders another path. One that provides a fair outcome financially while protecting what they've worked so hard to build.

Today, we're looking for founders who care as much about what happens after the sale as they do about the sale itself. Founders who believe their employees matter, their customers deserve continuity, and their company's culture is worth preserving.

Every founder eventually leaves their business.

Few get to choose the kind of steward that carries it forward.

If that resonates with you, I’d welcome the opportunity to hear your story, share ours, and explore whether AVID Evergreen might be the right next chapter for both of us.

Warm regards,

Tom Finn

Chief Executive Officer & Employee Owner
AVID Evergreen