Post-Capitalist Entrepreneurship: Startups for the 99%

165 Pages·2017·4.57 MB·English

by  Boyd Cohen

In the online economy today, entrepreneurs and users alike need better options—and
this is a great place to start. Boyd Cohen has created an essential roadmap for how
real-world enterprises can discover opportunities the VCs won’t tell them about.
Nathan Schneider, University of Colorado Scholar in Residence, Co-Founder
Platform Cooperativism
Business as usual? Not necessarily! Boyd Cohen shows us how alternative business
are quickly making their way to become the new normal.
Javier Creus, Founder, Ideas for Change
We live in oxymoronic times. On the one hand, market capitalism seems stuck in
a planet-destroying groove where a general rising tide of wealth is not lifting all
boats. On the other, we are seeing a new plural flourishing of energy, innovation,
and social entrepreneurship. Post-Capitalist Entrepreneurship by Boyd Cohen, makes
the compelling case that we are in a moment of transition and that the next wave
entrepreneurship can be at the vanguard and foreshadow a more just, greener, and
distributed post-capitalist economy.
The book picks up on the buzzy range of alternative forms of organizing in a post-
capitalist economy, and highlights the role of the next entrepreneurs in accelerating
that. In this, through a range of fascinating case studies and working examples,
the ideas are brought to life and brings with it an abiding optimism and positivism.
In a world with much pain and angst, this book does the reader a service. Whilst not
ignoring the perils, it serves to direct our gaze onto the good that is here right now,
and then some - it stretches us to imagine what could be.
Neil McInroy, CEO, Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES)
Boyd Cohen does a great job at mixing and at the same time clearly categorizing
emergent new business and new entrepreneurial behaviours based on technology
developments shaped by XXIst century ethics (platforms, DAOs, alternative
finances, etc.).
A very necessary, timely, and optimist look at a post-capitalism future balancing
what’s technically feasible with what’s socially desirable.
Albert Cañuigueral, Ouishare Spain
If our economies are to become sustainable and ethical, new forms of innovation
and entrepreneurship will be central to the transformation. In this book, leading
entrepreneurship scholar Boyd Cohen eloquently sets out valuable examples and
important advice for city authorities facing up to the challenges involved.
Duncan McLaren, Author, Sharing Cities
By deeply understanding emerging technology and socioeconomics and being a world
leader in the sharing economy movement, Boyd has produced a groundbreaking view
on this emerging paradigm. It is critical we all start thinking about its implications in
order, and we can shape a better world before the opportunity runs away from us.
Jamie Burke, Founder, Outlier Ventures
We can’t continue to live with extractive forms of entrepreneurship that contribute
to the ecological weakening of our planet and dangerous social inequalities, but
just as importantly we can’t live without new forms of ‘generative’ entrepreneurship
that work with natural and human commons and communities, and create livelihoods
for everyone. This shift is the subject of this important book, which asks, based on
extensive documentation from the new actors themselves: What new forms of business
do we need for this era of transition? Boyd Cohen is providing us a great service by
guiding us through the new forms we need. For the young people seeking to construct
a sustainable and fair future, this is a must.
Michel Bauwens, Director and Founder, P2P Foundation
A different type of innovation is possible - and desirable. One that doesn’t rely on
VC and proprietary assets to produce value for the few. In this book, Boyd Cohen
accurately reveals a new paradigm for entrepreneurship that harnesses the potential
of new technologies to nurture commons, fosters innovation at the grassroots level, and
produces abundance. By shedding light on new approaches and opportunities, this
book can inspire entrepreneurs to adopt more contributive models to address social,
economic, and environmental challenges at scale.
Mara Balestrini, Research Director at Ideas for Change and
Project Manager at Fab Lab Barcelona
In this book, business professor Boyd Cohen proposes ways of thinking and acting
differently: He combines open innovation, open data, and alternative currencies, the
platform co-op model, and blockchain technologies to frame a new imaginary for a
post-capitalist economy. Required reading.
Trebor Scholz, Associate Professor for Culture & Media,
The New School and Co-founder, Platform Cooperativism
Post-Capitalist Entrepreneurship by Boyd Cohen makes the compelling case that we
are in a moment of transition and that the next wave entrepreneurship can be at
the vanguard and foreshadow a more just, greener, and distributed post-capitalist
economy.
Neil McInroy, CEO, Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES)
Post- Capitalist
Entrepreneurship
Startups for the 99%
Boyd Cohen, PhD
EADA Business School
Universitat de Vic
CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
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Library of Congress Cataloging‑in‑Publication Data
Names: Cohen, Boyd, author.
Title: Post-capitalist entrepreneurship : startups for the 99% / Boyd Cohen.
Description: Boca Raton, FL : CRC Press, [2018] | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017017499 | ISBN 9781138713390 (hardback : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Social entrepreneurship.
Classification: LCC HD60 .C577 2018 | DDC 338/.04--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017017499
Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at
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I dedicate this book to my family and especially my children as
I am keen to help discover an alternative path of prosperity for
my son Mateo, daughter Ayla, and the billions of other children
facing a much different future than the one I faced as a child.

Contents
Preface ....................................................................................................xi
Introduction .........................................................................................xxi
Chapter 1 Commons Entrepreneurship ..............................................1
The City as a Commons ...............................................................3
Community Land Trusts ........................................................4
Farmers’ Markets .....................................................................5
Commons-Based Peer Production .............................................6
Open Software ..........................................................................6
Open Standards ............................................................................8
Creative Commons ..................................................................8
General Public License ............................................................9
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).....................9
Open Access (Education) ......................................................10
Open Hardware ......................................................................11
Fab Labs and Maker Spaces ......................................................12
From Extractive to Generative .............................................13
What Is the “Business Model” for a Commons
Entrepreneur? .........................................................................14
Conclusion ...................................................................................17
References ....................................................................................18
Chapter 2 Benefit Corporations and Associations ...........................19
Benefit Corporations and Certified B Corps .........................20
B Corp Case Studies ...................................................................22
Ben & Jerry’s ...........................................................................22
Peerby ......................................................................................24
B Corps for Startups ..............................................................25
Research on 14 B Corp–Certified Companies ...................26
For-Benefit Associations ...........................................................30
Conclusion ...................................................................................31
References ....................................................................................32
vii
viii • Contents
Chapter 3 From the Platform Deathstars to Technology-
Enabled Platform Cooperativism .....................................33
Introduction to Cooperatives ....................................................33
Mondragon .................................................................................34
Platform Cooperatives ..............................................................34
Business Models of Platform Cooperatives ........................36
Sharing Business Model Compass ...........................................37
Technology ..............................................................................38
Transaction .............................................................................39
Business Approach................................................................40
Shared Resources ..................................................................40
Governance Model ................................................................41
Platform Type .........................................................................41
From Platform Coop Business Dimensions to a Sharing
Business Model Canvas ............................................................42
Sources of Platform Coop Opportunities ..............................44
Platform Coops as a Response to
Platform Capitalism .......................................................45
Platform Coop from the Ground Up ..................................47
Fairmondo .........................................................................48
Add a Platform to a Functioning Cooperative .................49
AnyShare: The First FairShares Enterprise ...................49
Loomio, from Enspiral .....................................................50
Platforms of Platforms ...............................................................51
Freedom Coop ........................................................................51
Future of Platform Coops ..........................................................52
References ....................................................................................53
Chapter 4 Alternative Currencies and Place-Based PCE .................55
Alternative Currencies as a Grassroots Response
to Capitalism ..............................................................................56
Local Paper Currencies and Hybrid
Paper-Cryptocurrencies ............................................................58
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Associated
with Local Currencies ...........................................................59
Borderless Cryptocurrencies .....................................................61
Cryptocurrency Startups ...........................................................62
Contents • ix
Cryptocurrencies and PCE ......................................................64
Initial Coin Offerings ................................................................64
FairCoin ..................................................................................65
SolarCoin ...............................................................................66
HealthCoin ............................................................................66
Bitcoin for the Unbanked .....................................................67
Timebanking ...............................................................................67
Gift Economy ..............................................................................69
Repair Cafes ............................................................................72
Peerby ......................................................................................72
TOMS Shoes: A Great Story and a Note of Caution! ........73
Online Giving .........................................................................74
Conclusion ...................................................................................75
References ....................................................................................75
Chapter 5 The Distributed Autonomous Organization ...................79
Distributed Ledger Technology ...............................................80
Some Early Examples of DAOs .................................................83
The D.A.O. ..............................................................................83
Open Bazaar ...........................................................................85
A DAO for Uber or Airbnb? .................................................87
Platforms for DAOs ...................................................................88
Slock.it ....................................................................................88
Divvy DAO .............................................................................89
From Distributed Organizations to Distributed Nations? ....89
The Future for DAOs ..................................................................91
References ....................................................................................93
Chapter 6 Venture Capital is Dead in a PCE World .........................95
Background on the Venture Capital Industry ........................95
Is Venture Capital Really Dead in a PCE World? ...................98
Financing Alternatives for PCEs .............................................99
Crowdfunding .......................................................................99
Civic Crowdfunding .......................................................101
Kickstarter........................................................................101
Goteo .................................................................................102
Local Investment Clubs ...........................................................103