Silver Tsunami Accelerator (STA)

Access to tech and creative industry employment

Central LA East LA South LA Long Beach South Bay Gateway Cities County of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a countywide benefit) City of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a citywide benefit) San Fernando Valley West LA San Gabriel Valley Antelope Valley

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

The Silver Tsunami is already upon us as Baby Boomers prepare for retirement. The time to act is now—before these foundational businesses vanish, taking decades of hard work and economic value with them. Failing to support these business owners at this critical juncture would be a national loss.
The Silver Tsunami Accelerator will serve as a scalable model for legacy business preservation, inclusive entrepreneurship, and economic justice across the country. An estimated 41% of all US businesses are owned by baby boomers according to the US Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, this equates to over 12 million small-to-mid-sized enterprises owned by boomers.
This generational shift, often called the "Silver Tsunami," is set to unleash the largest transfer of wealth in history as these owners seek to sell, transition, or shutter their businesses. For entrepreneurs, this is not just a trend — it's the single biggest M&A
or family business transfer opportunity of our time.

The Polk Institute is uniquely positioned to lead this effort. For the past two years, we have implemented the Legacy Cohort by targeting businesses in existence for 10 years or more with sales over $500,000. Our initial plan was to help them grow their business, assist with succession management and exit strategy. By make this PIVOT today, Pi is taking our Legacy Cohort concept to another level—The Silver Tsunami Accelerator. We will teach baby boomer business owners what they do not know about exit strategy. By launching the Silver Tsunami Accelerator now, we can proactively support Baby Boomer business owners with education, mentorship, and access to professional advisors to guide them through a successful exit. This initiative ensures continuity of essential businesses, preserves jobs, and transfers ownership to the next generation of diverse and community-focused entrepreneurs. Acting now allows us to mitigate a looming economic crisis and instead turn it into an opportunity for inclusive economic growth, legacy preservation, and long-term community resilience. Delay means lost businesses, lost wealth, and lost potential. The time to lead is now.

Our Strategic Mentors, provided by the Polk Institute as a key part of the entire STA program. We will prioritize the interests of Los Angeles Baby Boomer clients, guiding them through every phase of the transition process. STA connects business owners with trusted professionals in estate planning, tax law, business valuation, accounting, wealth management, mergers and acquisitions, and investor matchmaking. Strategic investors, financial investors, and private equity buyers will have the opportunity to acquire these established businesses at fair market value. This will keep Los Angeles County small businesses in business rather than folding upon the retirement of Baby Boomer owners. After piloting this program in the City of Los Angeles and Long Beach, we expect to create a model for expansion state-wide and ultimately into a nation-wide program.