In the previous blog post, I used real estate development as an analogy to illustrate a #platformcoop. In this #platformcoop model, the technology architecture is developed, funded, and deployed within the same legal vessel as that which processes, distributes, and monetizes the throughput data. The tech platform is owned by the same stakeholders as the …
Independent Contractor Agreements in Colorado
Most (if not all) of our clients enter into an independent contractor relationship at some point in their existence. The reasons vary: start-ups do not know whether they will be successful in the long term and therefore do not want to commit to an employment relationship; established clients need help for a brief period or …
New Models for #platformcoop Design Part 2
Click here to read the first post in the series, The Marriage of TechCo and Co-op. If traditional tech platforms are generally designed to maximize liquidity value, and cooperatives are generally designed to maximize use value, how can the #platformcoop movement successfully blend both models to meet the needs of all stakeholders involved? We think one …
New Models for #platformcoop Design: The Marriage of TechCo and Co-op
Over the years, we have advised our clients on dozens of #platformcoop designs, formations, and fundraising campaigns. While the cooperative structure has been used for decades as a legal vessel for both collective asset ownership (e.g. affordable and market-rate housing, commercial real estate, electric generation and distribution, manufacturing, processing, etc.) and for collective distribution access …
Mission Protection for Traditional Companies – Blog 2, Voting Trusts and Agreements
In our previous blog about mission protection for traditional companies, we discussed how golden shares, a type of share with special voting- or other rights, could be used as a tool to preserve an entity’s social mission. In this blog, we discuss voting trusts and voting agreements as another mission-anchoring mechanism for a tradition entity …
Employee Ownership Models
8/10 baby-boomer owned businesses has no succession plan. Nationally, less than 25% of businesses valued at less than $1M can find a buyer. We are living through the largest wealth transfer in human history. In this presentation, Jason Wiener explores the structures and mechanics of converting a small business to employee ownership. The presentation focuses …
Mission Protection for Traditional Companies – Blog 1, Golden Shares
Mission-driven for-profit entrepreneurs often face the tough task of deciding how to balance mission protection with growth. In this blog series, we will explore how traditional corporate entities can anchor their mission in the corporate DNA. In the initial three posts, we will discuss mission-anchoring strategies including: golden or veto share; voting trusts or voting …
What 18,000 crunches taught me about the practice of law
Roughly one year ago I set out to develop a new routine – 50 core exercise repetitions per day (e.g. 50 crunches, bicycle sit-ups, etc.). This routine took me approximately two minutes per day. Over the last year, I found myself doing many of these sets at 9:30 pm, right before bed, in a hospital …
Mission Protection Mechanisms for For-Profit Entities
Mission protection for socially driven businesses can be structured in numerous ways and formats: by tweaking the existing framework of a traditional for-profit corporate form; by combining two corporate structures and form a hybrid entity; and lastly, by choosing a new or alternative entity type, such as a public benefit corporation or public benefit cooperative, …
The New Trusts: Democratic Ownership Beyond the ESOP
This webinar on emerging explorations on trust structures—their promise and their problems features Nathan Schneider (University of Colorado Boulder), Christopher Michael (Christopher Michael P.C.), Camille Kerr (Upside Down Consulting), Derek Razo (Purpose Ventures), Sara Stephens (Sustainable Economies Law Center), and our very own Jason Wiener (Jason Wiener | p.c.). A new generation of lawyers, investors, …
