About this role
About Teamshares
Teamshares is one of America's largest buyers of small businesses from retiring owners and is on a mission to make employee ownership the future of small business. We buy promising companies from retiring owners, gifting employees an immediate 10% ownership stake in the business, and supporting their ongoing growth through proprietary software, education, financial products and best-in-class leadership support.
We're building a network of 10,000 employee-owned small businesses, creating $10 billion of stock wealth for wage workers and supporting generations of business owners into confident retirement. Together, we will reduce global wealth inequality while ensuring vital small businesses—and the communities they serve—continue to flourish.
Learn more at teamshares.com
The Opportunity
Teamshares is searching for a President to lead Yankee Mattress Company, a long-standing mattress manufacturer and retailer in Western Massachusetts. The company builds premium, hand-made, custom mattresses and sells them across three retail locations and online.
This business has been part of the Teamshares network for five years. Sales have grown over the last two years, and it continues to sell high-quality mattresses to a loyal customer base. What it needs now is a leader who can continue its growth, while providing stability and building a healthy, lasting company culture.
The team has been through a lot of change and is ready for steady, consistent leadership. The right person will earn trust by showing up, supporting the Employee Owners, listening, and following through. You will bring clear structure, and build consensus in determining where the company goes next.
We are especially interested in candidates with experience in:
Leading teams through change, building trust, and setting a company’s culture
Multi-location retail, especially high-ticket or consultative sales
Light manufacturing or production operations
Mattress, bedding, furniture, or home furnishings industry experience
This is a full-time, onsite role based at the flagship store and its attached factory, with regular time at the other two showrooms.
What You Will Do:
As President, you will have full responsibility for the company's strategy, operations, and P&L, reporting to a Teamshares Industry Lead. You will lead a small, tenured team of employee owners across the flagship store and factory and two additional showrooms.
- Build the Culture: Build a workplace where people feel respected, informed, and accountable. Set clear expectations, communicate openly, and be consistent so the team can count on you.
- Coach and Align the Management Team: Partner with the leadership team. Clarify roles, decision rights, and goals so the team operates as one.
- Bring Structure and Rhythm: Put simple, repeatable systems in place: weekly meetings, scorecards, clear processes, and regular one-on-ones.
- Rebuild Trust in the Ownership Model: Help employees understand what being an owner means and how Teamshares supports them. Connect daily work to shared results.
- Drive Retail Sales: Support a consultative sales team. Keep improving conversion and average ticket while protecting the custom, made-locally customer experience.
- Oversee Production and Margins: Keep the factory running efficiently. Manage material costs, pricing, and gross margin as input costs rise.
- Grow New Channels: Lead the launch of a wholesale and B2B sales program to add volume and improve operating leverage.
- Collaborate on Financial Decisions: Work with Teamshares and the company's controller on budgets, expenses, cash management, and growth investments.
- Manage HR and Personnel Matters: Handle hiring, performance reviews, raises, bonuses, and difficult conversations fairly and promptly.
- Build Community Relationships: Represent the company in the local business community and strengthen its reputation as a proudly local manufacturer.
What You Bring:
- Steady, People-First Leadership: You have led a team through change and left it stronger. People describe you as fair, calm, and consistent.
- Culture Building: You know how to earn trust with a skeptical team, through listening and follow-through rather than slogans.
- Structure and Accountability: You bring clear goals, simple systems, and regular check-ins, and you hold yourself to them first.
- Coaching Ability: You develop leaders, give direct feedback, and help people grow into bigger roles.
- Retail Sales Leadership: You have led sales teams in a consultative or high-ticket setting and know how to improve conversion.
- Operations Sense: You are comfortable in a production environment and understand cost, throughput, and quality.
- P&L Fluency: You read financial statements, manage margins, and make sound decisions with limited resources.
- Clear Communication: You explain the "why" behind decisions and keep everyone informed.
- Entrepreneurial Mindset: You are hands-on, resourceful, and energized by building something.
- Growth Mindset: You stay curious, seek feedback, and adapt quickly.
- Strategic Partnership: You collaborate well with Teamshares and see the network as a resource.
What You Receive:
- Equity stake in both the network company and in Teamshares
- Competitive salary and benefits
- Ongoing business and leadership development training throughout your tenure
- Access to exceptional medical/dental/vision benefit plans
- Paid parental leave
We know the confidence gap and imposter syndrome can get in the way of meeting spectacular candidates. As a Teamshares president, you're not alone; you'll be part of a dynamic community of fellow small business leaders, with ongoing support from Teamshares, beginning with our Leadership Accelerator program. Please don't hesitate to apply.
Teamshares is passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that values diverse perspectives and fosters a genuine sense of belonging. We actively seek to build a workforce representative of various cultures, backgrounds, and areas of expertise. Our employee-driven Core Values guide how we treat each other and show up every day. We welcome and encourage applicants from candidates of all backgrounds, including any race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or other characteristics.