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.
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 (https://www.linkedin.com/in/frederickschris/) and Casey Grisez (https://www.linkedin.com/in/caseygrisez/) 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 (https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelalgrim/): 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/ (https://empowered.ventures/2025/09/23/s4e3-esop-update/).
Edited by Mateusz Złakowski (https://www.karpfilm.com/)
22 Sept 2026
Artwork in the Boiler Room with Benoure's Gary Morin
Gary Morin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-morin-a8921757/) has been with Benoure Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning (https://www.linkedin.com/company/benoure-plumbing-heating/) 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 (https://www.karpfilm.com/)
8 Sept 2026
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 (https://www.karpfilm.com/)
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Spotify
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