I Did a Thing

I co-founded a new company, Cooptimize (https://cooptimize.org/)!

Starting a new company is something I’ve thought about for a long time. But I never could quite figure out all the pieces put together. Over the past couple years, I started to realize the missing piece wasn’t some idea or process, it was how the company would be structured.

In my career, I never got to sit at the “big kids” table when it came to important decisions. And the companies I worked for didn’t see me as an equity-worthy employee – any value I had to them was “settled up” every pay period.

The last thing I wanted to do when founding a company was to treat the “next Joel or Joella” the same way. That’s why Cooptimize is a cooperative where 100% of the profits are split amongst all employees, big decisions are made democratically, and transparency is the default position. In most practical ways, my role as cofounder doesn’t afford special treatment.

I’m so excited for this new venture!!