Tech coops list
A list of tech coops and resources concerning tech coops and worker owned cooperatives in general.
Contributions to this list are very welcome. Just clone this repo, edit this file (README.md) or edit it directly (open it and click on the pencil icon on the upper right) and create a pull request.
What are worker-owned tech cooperatives?
A very general definition:
Worker-owned cooperatives are business enterprises that are owned and governed by their employees. All worker cooperatives have two common characteristics: 1) member-owners invest in and own the business together, and share the enterprise’s profits, and 2) decision-making is democratic, with each member having one vote.
Tech cooperatives are worker-owned cooperatives that operate in the information technology industry. This list focuses on tech coops that are providing software development and consulting services.
Tech cooperatives could be a solution if you feel alienated by big software corporations and startup culture or you feel alone and in search of solidarity as a freelancer.
Table of Contents
- Coops
- Networks of coops
- Resources
- Information on tech coops and coops in general
- Talks
- Mailinglists
- Tools
- Products created by tech coops
- Jobs and contracts
Coops
| Coop | Business Areas | Region/Country | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agile Collective | Web development | UK | |
| Alma | Software development | Saint-Martin-d’Hères, France | Founded 1979; LinkedIn |
| bits.coop | webgl, maps, p2p, offline data replication | ||
| Brierwood Coop | Mobile apps | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | |
| C4 Tech & Design | Web Design, Business IT Services, Computer Repair | New Orleans, USA | |
| CoLab | Ithaca, NY, USA | "CoLab’s mission is to contribute to a new economy of justice and cooperation while bringing clients beautiful, cutting-edge technology." | |
| dtc innovation | Web development, design and engineering, cooperation, open {data|source} | France, UK, Québec | |
| Electric Embers | Hosting | San Francisco, CA, USA | |
| Enspiral | NZ | Network-type | |
| Feel Train | Portland, OR, USA | "Feel Train will never consist of more than 8 people." | |
| Fiqus | Web and mobile development | Buenos Aires, Argentina | |
| Gaia Host Collective | Hosting | Greenfield, MA, USA | |
| Go free Range | Web development | UK | |
| Igalia | Free Software consultancy | A Coruña, Spain; Global | 40+ workers |
| IT Kollektiv | Cross-platform apps, web development, backend development, consulting | GER | Network-type |
| IT Kollektivet | Copenhagen, Denmark | ||
| Koumbit | Hosting, Websites, Sysadmin | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| Loomio | Online decision-making app | Wellington, New Zealand | Wikipedia |
| MuchDifferent | Game technology, Engineering | Uppsala, Sweden | |
| Nilenso | Development (Clojure, Javascript, Ruby, Haskell, Go, Java) | Bangalore, India | |
| Palante Technology Cooperative | Web development, CiviCRM, Tech support, Training | Focus on NGOs | |
| Plausible Labs | Development, Design | New York and San Francisco, USA | Bylaws |
| Protozoa | Web development | NZ | |
| Quilted | consulting, graphic design, web development | Berkeley, California, USA | "Quilted is a worker-owned, cooperatively-managed company stitching together technology and social change." |
| RadicalDesign | Web development | Oakland, CA, USA | Focusing on non-profit and grassroots social change organizations |
| Root Systems | Consulting | NZ | "Pod" within Enspiral |
| Sassafras Tech Collective | Research, User experience design, Development | Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA | |
| TechCollective | tech support | San Francisco & Boston, USA | |
| Tecso | Development, Information services | Rosario, Argentina | Founded 2002; 150+ associates |
| Vulk Coop | Design, Development | Austin, TX, USA | |
| Webarchitects Co-operative | Hosting, Sysadmin | UK |
Other lists
- Awesome Tech Cooperatives - A collection of awesome cooperative tech companies and projects
Networks of coops
- CoTech - Network of tech coops in the UK.
- FACT[TIC] - Federation of tech worker-cooperatives in Argentina.
- Tech Co-op Network - North American Technology Worker Cooperatives.
Meetups
Resources
Information on tech coops and coops in general
Handbooks / Guides
- A Technology Freelancer's Guide to Starting a Worker Cooperative, 2009
- A Document To Help You Start A Tech Cooperative - By Feel Train.
- The Loomio Co-op Handbook
- Discussion on Hacker News.
- Enspiral Handbook - More information about the Enspiral network.
- Starting a Cooperative, One Step at a Time - 12-page eBook by Huia CDS a consulting company for cooperative enterprises.
Articles
- Can Coops Revolutionize the Tech Industry?
- Co-op of digital co-ops – arise, er, Megazord?
- The Argument For Worker-Owned Tech Collectives (Fastcompany)
- The Case for Technology Worker Coops from a Former Freelancer
- Post-Capitalist Solutions: How Worker-Owned Tech Co-ops Are Boosting the Solidarity Economy (occupy.com)
Financing / Salaries
- A new financial model for consulting - How we’re making our salaries fair and transparent
- Coopensation - Worker-Owned Incentive System.
- How a Worker-Owned Tech Startup Found Investors—and Kept Its Values
- "Loomio Points" - A system to acknowledge the work people did for free to get the project off the ground.
Legal
Conflict
Other links
- Ask HN: Examples of tech worker cooperatives? - Interesting discussion with lots of links.
- /r/cooperatives - Subreddit about cooperatives.
Videos / Talks
- Applying the Advice Process to a Software Service Co-op
- Grow Your Own Economy in a Company, Don’t wait for the system out there to change — make your own rules and live in the economy you want, right now.
- Two Years Wiser, The Nilenso Experiment - Steven Deobald
Mailinglists / Forums
- tech-coop listserv - Main mailinglist about tech coops. Check out the archive for interesting threads in the past.
- Cooperative Technologists Community - CoTech (UK) community forum.
Tools
- Cobudget - Crowdsource and fund projects within an organization. Developed and used by Enspiral.
- Loomio - Online decision-making
Products created by tech coops
- Cobuy - Group wholesale purchases as a consumer co-op (by Root Systems).
- Up & Go - Cooperative Home Cleaning Services (by CoLab).
Jobs and contracts
- Tech coops growing - Tech coops forming or looking for new members.
- CoTech Jobs - Jobs category on the CoTech Network (UK) community forums.
License
This work and all contributions to it are released into the public domain under the terms of the CC0 1.0.