Hello from France - looking for people to work with

Introductions
21

Thank you very much for tis nice write up. I shall check all the links, and try to see what they all do. I heard of Deli Dollars as well.

My quest remains - how not to have to pay the cash back, but pay it in discounted services. It is true that Kickstarter is full of newly invented gadgets available at early bird prices… But kickstarter itself drains the money out of localities and communities? And also - this is only possible when the product already exists and not for some initial sums necessary to be able to start at all.
My quest began as a result of trying to find a way to pull a startup off the ground.
But since then, I have come across so many initiatives and ideas as to what can be done as a coop and how to set them up, and manage them. It is truly spirit lifting to know that so many people out there exist and are trying to do what is good for more people than just themselves.

Now, what I feel is - the first thing to do is to set up a digital identity coop - so that it is possible to connect to all (or at least - many of them) the coop initiatives via that single digital ID…

Then… something like this, but for coops and not the tech giants Stratus: The Platform That Will Revolutionize Social Media - TechBullion

And then get some APIs to connect all those people and projects that want to be connected - so we can actually find each other, help each other out, so tech coops can get work from other coops easily and offer them services and coops can offers sevrices and products to each other.

Then, the NextDoor app… This seems to me to be a very nice idea, which, If I could, I would redo as a coop run thing - location based so that people can actually find other people and coops near them and can easily choose to engage them for any services or products they need, rather than the capital extracting companies.

And then, also, a payment gateway for online shopping that doesn’t extract money from localities and communities, and is run as a coop. And a coop incubator to offer practical help such as accounting, rather than just the advice to go and speak to an accountant…

So - how can any of this be financed? How does a snow ball get rolling?

My feeling is that those who get going first need to help others do the same. So their returns should not only be shared with their own members, but also with others who are looking for a leg up to start a coop business. And, perhaps most importantly, projects that green and clean the planet.
ONce the ball does get rolling, it will become pretty obvious how it was able to do so, but before that… ?

Somehow, there’s got to be a nice story in all this, similar to how a crane on the building site first erects itself and then helps everybody else on that building site.

Now must be a good time for it all, as millions of people have lost jobs and are losing them as I write this…

Anyone up for jointly creating a story of the Crane that helps lift everything else?
Have a very good weekend

2 Likes
22

That’s just like what Deli Dollars did, no?

It’s basically just selling vouchers at a discount. Pretty simple to do realy.

Another example are the Bread Bonds issued by The Handmade Bakery - who paid the 7% interest offered on their £25,000 in loans in loaves of bread. Pretty sure it’s been done with beer etc from start-up breweries etc too (edit: yes, New Lion Brewery offered 3% interest on their withdrawable shares paid in cash, or 4% if paid in beer, see https://www.newlionbrewery.co.uk/lionshare/ and https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/lionshare )

I’d love there to be good open source and co-operative versions of all that too, but none of it is a prerequisite to a business borrowing start-up funds from future customers and then paying them back in products/ services.

See also the very similar concept of scrip which has been widely used for ages:

But, yeah, a nice open source system run by a co-op to make such offers easy would be great! (but still wouldn’t need all the pieces you outline above).

1 Like
23

I know it wouldn’t. My thinking expanded from the initially looking for ways to start something without VC or banks, to realising that there is a scope, and need, to do a lot more than that. I read somewhere that Bristol,UK loses 60 millionGBP a year to the payment gateway fees. I don’t know if the number is correct, but I found it striking. Bristol has a population of half a million, which means that each man, woman and child pay 120GBP a year to the payment gateway. And so do all of us, worldwide. Imagine if a payment gateway of some kind could be created, and easily plugged into websites and shops, that would keep just 10% of that money in the community. Bristol would have an extra 12 million a year to do something with. Every year.
And imagine, for example, if I manage to start up what I wanted to start up… No big deal, I’d be just onemore small business trying to compete with big boys and girls, not haivng the marketingbudget to do it with, or having a marketing budget and having to hand it over to FB to get known even just a little.
But imagine if a coop incubator existed, that would help coops being set up in every city, not just in one, by offering to help raise funds, perform market research, prepare communication material, offer inexpensive secretarial or accounting services, source materials, or space, or furniture, inexpensively (by connecting coops with people who may be able/willing to help), help with marketing, recruiting etc. It could be a whole new world.
If this existed in just one city, it would be nice, but not a very big deal. But if it existed in every city… it woudl be quite a story.
So - I agree. Not all of this is necesary for me to start the project that got me thinking initially, but my thinking expanded from that to: how to make it easier for a lot of people to start their own stuff, without VC or Banks. What tools would be useful? And what tools would be useful to reduce the milking of funds out of localities and sending it all to Silicon Valley? SiliconValley doesnt even need it… And how to connect all the people already making an effort with all those willing to support them and perhaps join in the fun.
Thanks very much for all the links. Truly inspiring.

2 Likes
24

Have you seen Happy Dev, yet? :slight_smile:

NOTE: If you’re based in the countryside, it’s possibly not the easiest time to meet people in the network with COVID and all, but let me know if you’re interested and maybe we can organise something online

2 Likes
25

It’s very early days, but https://development.coop (a co-op of co-op development bodies) have plans not too dissimilar to what you describe :blush:

2 Likes
26

Thank you - looks very interesting, will definitelly connect with them.

1 Like
27

Forgot to say - yes, my email is labrizaude at g mail dot com - you can find me on skype or zoom or you let me know how to find you for a chat?

2 Likes
28

I share your concerns for the earth and I definitely admire your style.

I’m a developer/technologist with a game app out for kids. I’d like to contact you. Is this ok?

Instead of being tied to banks, new co-operatives can work with credit unions, but sadly they don’t often offer official business accounts.

However I’ve worked on a business account format for a credit union which was not implemented - some internal drama occured with the credit union I was working externally for and the idea was mistled on grounds of corporatism. I do however own all the paper work, research and it’s almost ready to go for credit unions.

Tim H-Smith
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-h-smith-2b83a72b/

Squaregames
Squarefish Creative

2 Likes
29

Hi again, please consider exploring Exit to Community, which is now entering a new stage.

2 Likes
30

Thank you, I will. Perhaps it is possible to worm one’s way into some of these teams that seem to do interesting stuff…
Take care.

1 Like
31

We use Discourse to coordinate all our work. It’s free, open source and whilst not decentralised is fully under our control as an org. It is relatively cheap to self host on a VPS. There are various plugins that help with teamwork. Setup is surprisingly straightforward.

I’d also recommend Mattermost for team chat. Also open source and easily self hosted.

Finally consider Big Blue Button for self hosting video conferencing (though this is more expensive to run as you will need a powerful server. Switch it off when you don’t need it)

1 Like
32

Thank you. All good to know.

1 Like