Owners Session: Employee Ownership as an Operating Model

When most founders think about an ownership transition, they’re thinking about an exit.
​RainTech approached ownership differently, as a way to reinvest in its people and the business long before the CEO was ready to step away.
​In April 2026, the Colorado-based IT services firm transitioned to 100% employee ownership through an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), formalizing and reinforcing the way they already worked.
​The company’s “People, PERIOD.®” philosophy wasn’t created with the transition. It was already reflected in how RainTech operated: a 32-hour workweek, employee voice in decision-making, and using AI to support employees, not replace them. Instead, the EOT became a way to lock those practices in place and build on them.
​In this Owners Session, Common Trust CEO Zoe Schlag sits down with RainTech CEO & People Person Andrew Jahnke and Service Delivery Manager Jefferson Black, an employee-owner elected by his colleagues to serve on the company’s board, to discuss what that looks like in practice, from both the founder’s perspective and the experience of an employee-owner.
​Together, we’ll explore:

​How RainTech built a culture of ownership long before becoming employee-owned
​Operationalizing their “People, PERIOD.” philosophy, from a 32-hour workweek to employee voice in decision-making
​Why RainTech chose employee ownership to reinvest in the business and strengthen how the company already operated
​How employee ownership can create a “race to the top,” influencing talent, performance, and even competitors
​Employee ownership in the first year: what’s changed, what’s stayed the same, and how it shows up day to day

​We hope to see you there!
​Can’t join live? Register anyway. We’ll share the recording afterward.