The Signal: An estimated ~10k boomers hit retirement age every day in the US. Among these, ~8.3% are self-employed, meaning ~303k boomer business owners face retirement every year.

Many grapple with a Billy Madison-esque dilemma, with kids who either aren’t prepared (or simply don’t want) to take over the family business. Facing few good alternatives, thousands simply close their doors.

The scale of this issue is mind-boggling. Boomers own nearly half of all private businesses with employees in America. That adds up to 2.34m companies, ~24.7m employees, and ~$5.1T in sales.