Hi, I’m Terence “LT” Browner and my goal is to be the next steward of great blue-collar businesses and help owners exit well by turning the people who built the company into owners, one business at a time.

I grew up in a blue-collar household. My mom worked on an assembly line; my dad was a mechanic. At our kitchen table, I’d hear them talk about better ways to run the business — smarter processes, fixes management never saw, ideas that would save money and keep customers happy. But when big decisions were made, their voices weren’t in the room. And when those businesses were sold, they were the last to know and the first to feel the impact, despite being the backbone of the operation.

Before my MBA at Chicago Booth, I acquired one franchise restaurant and helped grow it to nine locations across Metro Detroit. We did it by focusing obsessively on our people: paying fairly, listening closely, and treating employees with genuine respect. The result was simple but powerful — better service, better food, and better outcomes for customers and the business.

Even then, I kept asking myself: How do I do more for the people who actually make this work?

At Booth, I discovered employee ownership and the ESOP model. It clicked immediately. The most direct way to honor and reward employees is to give them a real stake in the value they help create — a slice of the pie, not just a paycheck.

Now, I’m building an ESOP-focused holding company in blue-collar industries — the essential businesses that keep cities and communities running. My goal is to partner with owners who care about their people and want to see them share in the upside, not just endure the transition.

My promise to you: I’ll be the kind of steward you’d want if you were handing over your life’s work. I’ll respect what’s already working, empower employees to think and act like owners, and show up every day to lead from the front — with transparency, accountability, and long-term commitment.