Success
Debian
Debian is a free Linux-based operating system maintained by over 1,000 people worldwide that by 2006 formalized power sharing by recognizing a subset of developers to vote on technical and governance resolutions, all without a legal entity.
Defector Media
Defector Media is a sports and culture publication that emerged in 2020 after staff at Deadspin quit when faced with new management, and formed a worker-owned co-op.
ENS
Ethereum Name Service (ENS) is a public key protocol that decentralized its governance in 2021 by forming a DAO, airdropping tokens to users, expanding collective ownership.
Forward Action
Forward Action is a UK-based digital agency for progressive nonprofits with co-founders that converted the firm in 2022 to an employee ownership trust with profit sharing for every staff member.
Groupmuse
Groupmuse is a platform for live music run that survived the pandemic in 2020 by expanding to online shows, becoming a worker-owned co-op, and then adding a second class designed by an advisory council of musicians.
HackerNoon
HackerNoon is a tech publication that ran a $1.2m equity crowdfunding campaign in 2019 to leave Medium and build a platform of their own.
Namaste Solar
Namaste Solar is a solar installer in Colorado founded by a team that embraced new leadership in 2011 and converted to a worker co-op with $40m in annual revenue as of 2023.
Python
Python is a popular computer programming language that evolved in 2018 from a 'benevolent dictator for life' to a foundation with five-member steering council that included its founder for a term, and currently runs smoothly.
Signalise Co-Op
Signalise is a Sign Language platform based in the UK that raised funding in 2021 for development by selling 10% equity to investor-members.
SongADAO
SongADAO emerged when Jonathan Mann formed a Limited Co-op Association and DAO in order to protect his daily songwriting practice with 100% community ownership and governance.
The Appeal
The Appeal is a worker-led nonprofit newsroom focused on criminal justice with staff that unionized, got shuttered by former leadership, and reorganized with a donation campaign to form a new, independent nonprofit.
The Brick House Cooperative
The Brick House Cooperative is a group of nine publications that protected itself against private ownership by incorporating as an Ohio-based LLC with co-op bylaws and nine equal shares.
The WELL
The WELL is an internet forum founded in 1985 that had many owners and faced many threats, but eventually protected its community in 2012 by selling to an entity formed by 11 long-time users.
Trident Booksellers & Cafe
Trident is an employee-owned bookstore and café Colorado that became employee-owned in 2020 in the wake of COVID-19, and continues to embody its founding ideals.