Following the new report of the French government, Small and Medium sized Entreprises (SMEs) made up about 43% of the added value in France, in 2018. However, their survival is often endangered by the question of succession, as the SME owner can struggle to find interested successors. As the only non-american lecturer at the MBAA Chicago Conference Carl Pitchford, researcher and teacher of Responsible Finance and Social and Solidarity Economy at ESPAS-ESTICE, won an award for in his new research paper treating 15 cases in 3 different countries, which presented some solutions to this problem. Can employees take over the business and therefore keep their jobs and the know-how of the company in the region? Is there a more democratic approach to business?