Leaders Who Understand The Ownership Economy Thrive In Business

Forbes

29-04-2025

As the ownership economy takes hold, creators, employees, and communities are demanding a real stake ... More in the brands, platforms and ideas they help build.
A quiet revolution is reshaping the global economy faster than most businesses can keep up. Over the past two years, new economic models have exploded onto the scene: the creator economy gave individuals the power to monetize their talent directly; the AI economy transformed one-person startups into scalable enterprises; the cultural wealth economy put a spotlight on the untapped value of diverse consumers; and the decentralized economy challenged who controls capital, content and influence. Across every sector, the rules are shifting.
At the heart of this seismic change is the rise of the ownership economy, which redefines who builds wealth, controls brands and benefits from innovation. Rather than concentrating power and profits in the hands of a few executives or investors, the ownership economy prioritizes broad-based participation. It shifts the traditional business model by recognizing that those who contribute to building value, whether through creativity or labor, deserve a meaningful stake in the outcomes.
The ownership economy began with employees, where workers gained real stakes in the companies they powered through models like Employee Stock Ownership Plans. In 2022 alone, according to the National Center of Employee Ownership, 292 new ESOPs were created, adding 31,616 employee-owners to a movement now spanning 6,548 active plans and over $1.8 trillion in assets. But today, ownership is no longer just an employee benefit; it's a creator's blueprint. As individuals build brands, monetize audiences and launch ventures around their own IP, the principles of employee equity are merging with the rise of the creator-led economy. What started in corporate boardrooms is now scaling across tech, media and commerce.
Thai Randolph—a multi-hyphenate leader and former CEO of Kevin Hart's Hartbeat with a proven track record at the intersection of content, commerce, culture and capital—believes the ownership economy isn't just the future; it's already here.
'Consumers, creators and employees aren't just participating anymore,' Randolph says. 'They expect and deserve to own a piece of what they help build.'
Thai Randolph and Kevin Hart at the Variety Cannes Lions Studio, Presented by Canva held at the ... More Canva Villa on June 20, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Vianney Tisseau/Variety via Getty Images)
Randolph describes the rise of the ownership economy as a natural evolution that's unfolding across every corner of the marketplace. Consumers, creators and employees are no longer satisfied with playing supporting roles. They're moving from passive participation to active control, demanding real influence and real equity.
The consumer journey has shifted from being spectators to sharers and now to stakeholders and stewards—individuals who don't just buy from brands but shape their direction through feedback, investment and advocacy. The creator journey has moved from endorsement to equity to full-blown enterprise as creators build their own channels, launch products and turn personal IP into scalable business models. And the employee journey has evolved from labor to loyalists to now leaders—team members driving innovation from within because they share in the outcome.
While this transformation was already underway, AI is dramatically accelerating it. More than just a tool, AI has become an economic equalizer, slashing operational costs, democratizing access to funding and streamlining marketing and distribution. It's enabling more people, from solopreneurs to creative collectives, to launch and grow companies and actually own the brands, tools and communities they create.
'We're seeing solopreneurs and small brands scale in months, which used to take years and dozens of people,' Randolph notes. 'That's the power of the moment we're in.'
Randolph's leadership proves what the data already suggests: cultural capital is scalable.
At Hartbeat, she led the merger of Hart's two entertainment companies, Hartbeat Productions and Laugh Out Loud, into a $650 million global, multi-platform media conglomerate. Randolph secured a historic $100 million capital raise—one of the largest ever by a Black woman—and propelled Hartbeat onto Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies list as one of the fastest-growing creative engines for platforms, streamers and brands worldwide.
During her tenure at Sony, she helped pioneer a direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform for more than 200 artists, demonstrating that creators can own their distribution, monetize their audiences directly and build independent brand ecosystems with real commercial power. Additionally, as a founding limited partner in Braintrust Founders Studio, she supports the next generation of beauty and wellness brands founded by Black entrepreneurs.
Now, she's building something even bigger: an operating system for the ownership economy.
Randolph's mission is to ensure that cultural capital creates real, generational wealth. She invests in brands, founders and creators shaping the next economy, ensuring they retain meaningful stakes in the businesses they build.
'IP and influence shouldn't just be marketing tools,' she says. 'They should be treated like the infrastructure for economic engines.' Through AI, digital distribution and financial innovation, Randolph is scaling creator-led and entrepreneur-led ventures into platforms that could rival the legacy institutions of yesterday.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 12: Thai Randolph attends the 5th Annual Black Love Summit at ... More Hudson Loft on November 12, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by)
So, how can leaders adapt and thrive? Randolph outlines three critical steps:
In the ownership economy, leadership isn't about control but about creating ecosystems where power, profit and influence are shared. Those who embrace it will redefine the future of business.
Randolph emphasizes, 'Ownership isn't just an advantage anymore. It's the future.'