Hannah Sandmeyer
Founder, Steward Market
Hannah Sandmeyer is the founder of Steward Market. She writes on ownership transitions, ethical exits, and the design choices that determine whether deals hold up after close.
Articles by Hannah Sandmeyer
August 19, 2026
We Built Better Businesses. Now We Need Better Ways to Transfer Them.
The social enterprise movement has spent decades building businesses that create value for workers, communities, and the planet. Now we need better buyers, ownership models, capital, and marketplaces to help those businesses transfer without losing what made them different.
August 3, 2026
How to Find a Buyer Who Will Protect What You Built
Selling your business does not have to mean losing the employees, culture, mission, or community impact you worked to build. Here is how to define what matters, evaluate different buyer types, explore employee ownership, and find a buyer capable of becoming the company’s next steward.
July 13, 2026
B Lab U.S. & Canada Officially Supports Steward Market's Mission
B Lab, the nonprofit behind B Corp Certification, has officially voiced support for Steward Market. This post explains what B Lab is, what the support means for Sellers, Buyers, intermediaries, and capital partners, and how it connects to Steward Market's commitment to transparency, seller dignity, and stewardship as a discipline, not a sentiment.
July 13, 2026
Choosing Purpose over Power: Steward Market's First Step Toward Steward Ownership
Steward ownership begins with clarity of purpose. Today, we are sharing the first public step in Steward Market's journey toward steward ownership: our intention, our draft Stewardship Charter, and the appointment of a trusted guardian to help protect the purpose of what we are building.
June 29, 2026
What Is the Impact Exit, and How Does It Work?
When a business changes hands, the outcome is not just financial. The Impact Exit is an optional pledge that lets Steward Market members contribute a small share of a transaction to a donor-advised fund supporting the next generation of mission-driven founders and steward-minded buyers. Here is how it works.
May 29, 2026
Steward Market Is Now Endorsed by the Purpose Pledge. Here's What Their Framework Actually Requires.
Steward Market has been endorsed by the Purpose Pledge. Here's what the framework actually requires, why it was built, and why ownership transition is the moment when mission is most at risk.
May 23, 2026
Steward Market Field Guide
Steward Market asks for more than basic transaction information. This guide explains every field sellers, buyers, and ecosystem partners will encounter, what each one means, how to fill it out, and how others will use it to assess fit.
May 1, 2026
Ethical Exits Are Not Neutral
Exits aren't neutral technical events — they're purposeful inflection points whose design choices shape the fate of employees, communities, and the broader economy long after closing.
May 1, 2026
What Founders Are Really Afraid Of When They Sell
Founders rarely admit fear when selling. The deepest concerns aren't financial — they're about erasure, identity, betrayal, and how a legacy will be judged.
May 1, 2026
What Alignment Actually Looks Like in a Good Deal
Alignment is one of dealmaking's most overused and least defined words. It's not a feeling — it's a structural outcome that protects what matters under stress.
May 1, 2026
Stewardship Is a Design Choice, Not a Personality Trait
Outcomes from ownership transitions rarely fail because of bad people. They fail because systems reward speed and extraction. Stewardship has to be designed, not assumed.
May 1, 2026
After the Close: What Actually Determines Whether a Deal Was Good
Whether a deal was good is rarely determined at signing. The factors that decide post-close outcomes are quieter, harder to measure, and almost never prioritized.