North America based Start.coop aims to create a new generation of cooperative entrepreneurs who seek business models that share prosperity among the many, not just the few. Cooperatives unlock ownership and wealth generation for everyone, but especially for populations historically excluded, it claims.
Founded two years ago its chief promoter Greg Brodsky is credited with setting up the Bike Cooperative as a retailer owned purchasing group that enabled over 300 independent bicycle stores to raise their revenue, lower their expenses and to improve their profitability.
Sharing its vision, the unique co-op body Start.coop says “Cooperatives allow more stakeholders to be represented at the board table and share profits more broadly and contribute to a reversal in wealth inequality.”
It also bases its strategy on the fact that consumers are more likely to purchase from a cooperatively owned business than from others. Also, more people would prefer to work for an employee-owned business.
The co-op body handholds entrepreneurs who want more tools and a clearer path to build cooperatively owned businesses. Until now, entrepreneurs haven’t had access to a strong ecosystem that provides the mentorship and practical business experience needed to grow and scale.
We believe that a more robust ecosystem for co-op start-ups will create more shared ownership businesses succeeding at scale – which means unlocking broader prosperity & greater economic opportunity for those who have been historically excluded from wealth generation, the release claims.
Start.coop is an accelerator that empowers entrepreneurs with the knowledge, tools, and financing to build transformative, scalable, cooperatively-owned businesses, it underlines.
It recently announced the appointment of Jessica Mason as accelerator Co-Director. In this role, she will partner with Start.coop’s Founder, Greg Brodsky, to lead the organization as it enters its second year accelerating the growth and development of the next generation of co-operative businesses.
