Thank you! We are still figuring so many things out, but we want to be as transparent as possible if it might help others learn about co-op startups and different ways of doing things.
The hardest moments have probably been at structural transition points. We used to have a much more open "swarm" approach, with lots of volunteers and part time contributors. It was great for bootstrapping the project off the ground, but we reached a point where we had to hire a core team for long-term commitment, and get a lot more focused. The result was some people leaving. It was challenging, but we navigated it through very honest and open communication, and all making decisions with the good of the co-op and social mission above our own individual preferences. This handbook page talks a bit about our organisational structure history over time: http://loomio.coop/working_together.html
What would I do differently... in some ways I think we were slow to learn certain things and we could have moved faster. We are a very diverse team, with backgrounds in social change, facilitation, community sector, and civil society, as well as business, technology, and startups. It was a long process to integrate all these perspectives into one coherent product and business model. But I also think that diversity, and going through that process, makes us much stronger today. Now we're pretty good at thinking strategically together and getting the whole team very focused. Working in highly collaborative and inclusive ways often means investing more time getting everyone on the same page, but the benefit is once you get there you can move together very effectively.
The hardest moments have probably been at structural transition points. We used to have a much more open "swarm" approach, with lots of volunteers and part time contributors. It was great for bootstrapping the project off the ground, but we reached a point where we had to hire a core team for long-term commitment, and get a lot more focused. The result was some people leaving. It was challenging, but we navigated it through very honest and open communication, and all making decisions with the good of the co-op and social mission above our own individual preferences. This handbook page talks a bit about our organisational structure history over time: http://loomio.coop/working_together.html
What would I do differently... in some ways I think we were slow to learn certain things and we could have moved faster. We are a very diverse team, with backgrounds in social change, facilitation, community sector, and civil society, as well as business, technology, and startups. It was a long process to integrate all these perspectives into one coherent product and business model. But I also think that diversity, and going through that process, makes us much stronger today. Now we're pretty good at thinking strategically together and getting the whole team very focused. Working in highly collaborative and inclusive ways often means investing more time getting everyone on the same page, but the benefit is once you get there you can move together very effectively.