coop:start [sunny.garden]

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====== An Online Services Cooperative (.ca) ======

**Elevator Pitch**

A Canada based worker-owned cooperative that provides commodity online services such as email, file hosting, photo hosting, etc.

===== Motivation =====

Seeking alternatives to online services not based on exploitation and extraction -- of user data, privacy, profit, control, resources -- and which actively resist takeover and consolidation of control and wealth in the hands of a few large corporations, indeed a few super-wealthy individuals.

While the centralization of control in a few US based companies is a specific problem, simply having a "Canadian alternative" does not automatically resolve the issues of an extractive capitalist model, and does not provide resistance against consolidation and centralization of control.

===== Goals =====

Provide independent, non-capitalist online services for everyone
  * not dependent on Google, Microsoft, Amazon, etc.
  * no shareholders demanding profit growth
  * no ads, no data extraction, no exploitative LLMs, etc.
Employment and ownership for workers
  * protect health, life balance, financial stability
  * resilience against takeover, outsourcing, enshittification
Do a small socialism, from inside capitalism
  * redirect the money from from corporations and shareholders, to workers
  * plant a small seed that may grow and contribute to a growing coop ecosystem

===== Planning =====
==== General ====

=== Feasibility ===

Some [[coop:math|napkin math]].

=== Funding ===

Assuming self-funded, startup funding in the range of $10k-$50k.  Most [[https://canadianworker.coop/funding/|grant]] [[https://canadianworker.coop/funding/other-funding/|programs]] that I've seen offer less than this, and many have very narrow requirements, so are probably not worth the time to pursue.

==== Email System ====

[[coop:email:system|{{:coop:email:20250616-email-system.png?nolink&400|}}]]

[[coop:email:system|System structure]].
===== More Info =====

Some [[coop:links]] about cooperatives in BC and Canada.