Difference between revisions of "Introduction to Tech Coops"

Latest revision as of 21:47, 22 November 2016

facilitated by Lottie

notes by Laura

This session was a discussion of coops: what they are, why they are important.

About OpenFlows

Lottie works at NYC OpenFlows w/ Eric. OpenFlows works with nonprofits, unions, and other groups with similar values.

What are coops?

A business that is worker-owned, which means:

Worker/owners all own equally
Members may collect money separately
Produces something (can be food, like Land o' Lakes)
Clients are shared
Owners pay fee to the coop in service-oriented coops
Not like Uber or AirBnB

More about OpenFlows

Tech coops specifically work-flow systems
Heavy lifting for complex systems like Drupal and CiviCRM

Palante Tech

Tech support coop based in Brooklyn
Seven workers
- One is not an owner
- Distributed in three other cities
People shared their interests

How did they become a coop?

Jack was a freelancer
- Realized one person couldn't have all the skills needed - wanted to be in a group that could share skills
Coop gave them ability to specialize
Managing clients and accounting is shared in economy of scale
No longer working in isolation

How it started

Met with people who knew each other already and wanted to start a business
Politics: didn't want to be "bosses"
Not a nonprofit, but not about profit
Time before coop - had subcontractors
Started March 2010
Incorporated in November 2011

How it works

Technically it's a C corp (varies state by state)
A community development project helps people start coops in New York
Lots of long meetings - how to set up HR, hiring/firing
Collective, means one person=one vote - decisions made by consensus
Coop refers to type of ownership, collective refers to how it's governed
Hiring is similar to other places - benefits start right off the bat
Process - after nine months, change from worker -> worker-owner
Challenge: doesn't work out
How to fire: a problem - we haven't been able to
At three months: getting up to speed
At six months: step up
Questions from new hires:
- How to become member?
- How to start coop?
- What is structure of coop?
- Pros/cons
- How to create team w/ more connection
- Lessons learned
- How to do collaborative work
- Org that does tools for nonprofits
- Things that make coops work
Don't make ramp up period longer than nine months, because it sets up a power differential because of ability to vote
Profits divided equally based on how much each person worked, proportionally

Open Flows - Lottie

Origin

Was formal corporation owned by people no longer involved
Moved from Toronto -> New York
12 people in four countries
Closed company re-formed as a coop
People weren't stepping up
Also a political decision
Ended up two people, Eve and Mark, formed better structure
Hired (??) to write point of unity
Slowly brought in two more worker-owners
Now working on C corp status
Bringing in new people - someone you will have to come to consensus with
Statement of unity as people not just labor
Having sabbatical/time off in a supportive way
Lottie became a member last year
Interview: member had been working at Radical Designs - needed similar services
Worked because people leave because of money - wasn't looking for money
Found them to be very generous - heart is really in it

How to generate new business?

The Companies We Keep - book about coops
Word of mouth
You can do what you want - don't all have to do the same job
It's okay to have different skills and levels, but everyone knows the basic skills

B corps

Heard about these?
OpenFlows using Brooklyn (??) School
No one has yet formed B corp as coop - no motivation to do it that way
In California can be LLC and coop, but not in New York

Pay scale and hours

Hourly
- Billable, personal, etc.
- Educational
$30.25/hour + % of profits
OpenFlows - three different salary levels
- Part time
- Full time
- 3/4 time
Because of disparity of skills/weeks of work
Q: admin to be part of coop?
35 hours/week: quality of life
Lottie: "Ideal vs. what we really are"
Working towards 32 hour work week
Deciding ho to divide the pot of money so everyone feels they get what they need
Jack: Tempted to get admin only
Try to share
Not stuck with jobs we don't like
We all talk about how we want to work less but don't do it
Support each other to not work more than we want to
People can take breaks!

@@ Line 63: / Line 63: @@
 * At three months: getting up to speed
 * At six months: step up
+* Questions from new hires:
+** How to become member?
+** How to start coop?
+** What is structure of coop?
+** Pros/cons
+** How to create team w/ more connection
+** Lessons learned
+** How to do collaborative work
+** Org that does tools for nonprofits
+** Things that make coops work
+* Don't make ramp up period longer than nine months, because it sets up a power differential because of ability to vote
+* Profits divided equally based on how much each person worked, proportionally
+==Open Flows - Lottie==
+===Origin===
+* Was formal corporation owned by people no longer involved
+* Moved from Toronto -> New York
+* 12 people in four countries
+* Closed company re-formed as a coop
+* People weren't stepping up
+* Also a political decision
+* Ended up two people, Eve and Mark, formed better structure
+* Hired (??) to write point of unity
+* Slowly brought in two more worker-owners
+* Now working on C corp status
+* Bringing in new people - someone you will have to come to consensus with
+* Statement of unity as people not just labor
+* Having sabbatical/time off in a supportive way
+* Lottie became a member last year
+* Interview: member had been working at Radical Designs - needed similar services
+* Worked because people leave because of money - wasn't looking for money
+* Found them to be very generous - heart is really in it
+==How to generate new business?==
+* ''The Companies We Keep'' - book about coops
+* Word of mouth
+* You can do what you want - don't all have to do the same job
+* It's okay to have different skills and levels, but everyone knows the basic skills
+==B corps==
+* Heard about these?
+* OpenFlows using Brooklyn (??) School
+* No one has yet formed B corp as coop - no motivation to do it that way
+* In California can be LLC and coop, but not in New York
+==Pay scale and hours==
+* Hourly
+** Billable, personal, etc.
+** Educational
+* $30.25/hour + % of profits
+* OpenFlows - three different salary levels
+** Part time
+** Full time
+** 3/4 time
+* Because of disparity of skills/weeks of work
+* Q: admin to be part of coop?
+* 35 hours/week: quality of life
+* Lottie: "Ideal vs. what we really are"
+* Working towards 32 hour work week
+* Deciding ho to divide the pot of money so everyone feels they get what they need
+* Jack: Tempted to get admin only
+* Try to share
+* Not stuck with jobs we don't like
+* We all talk about how we want to work less but don't do it
+* Support each other to not work more than we want to
+* People can take breaks!
+[[Category: 2015]][[Category: Co-Ops]][[Category: Governance]]