· Cooperatives, Worker direction
How an owner hands a business to its workers
The design we are testing: founders keep a veto and are repaid for what founding cost them, workers earn membership, and the other members buy the founders out.
News and articles
Cooperatives
Co-op models, principles, and the businesses running on them.
13 posts · all posts
· Beanchain, Worker direction
Where the handover stands, October 2026
A dated report on handing Beanchain to the people who work here: one person certified, nobody a member yet, $15.50 an hour, and two founders without a wage.
· Cooperatives, Beanchain
Co-op, ESOP or something else: what the Cooperate Network would ask of a business
Stage three of our plan opens shared services to other businesses. What co-ops and ESOPs give the people who work in them, and what we would ask in return.
· Beanchain, Cooperatives
Why Beanchain plans to grow in Cells, not franchises
A Cell is several drive-throughs and a couple of bigger stores, owned as one cooperative. Why we plan to grow that way, and what the nonprofit in the middle is for.
· Leadership, Cooperatives
Worker Direction: Philosophy and Practice (Update)
Worker Direction is our approach to building a workplace culture that prioritizes democracy, participation, proper incentives, and mutual respect. It draws on the 7…
· Community, Leadership
Brewing Cooperation: How Beanchain Lives the Cooperative Principles
A workplace built on the Seven Cooperative Principles, the global guidebook for worker-owned businesses. At Beanchain, these principles aren’t abstract ideals…
· Leadership, Cooperatives
Building a Better Workplace: Beanchain's Worker-Directed Philosophy
In an era defined by stagnant wages, workplace abuses, and deepening mistrust between workers and management, Beanchain Coffee is pioneering a refreshing…
· Community, Leadership
Why We Started Beanchain
Why We Started Beanchain. My wife Shannon and I created Beanchain as a living experiment in economic justice. It is a worker-directed company, meaning we are…
· Community, Cooperatives
How to Get Involved with Beanchain Coffee’s Mission
Beanchain Coffee isn’t your ordinary coffee shop. Based in Mesa, Arizona, Beanchain is pioneering a unique model, worker-directed businesses that prioritize…
· Community, Cooperatives
Beanchain Coffee: Building a Better World through Worker-Directed Business
Beanchain Coffee: Building a Better World through Worker-Directed Business. Beanchain's core mission is ambitious and clear: to build fair, worker-directed coffee…
· Community, Cooperatives
10 Reasons Beanchain Coffee is the Best Coffee Shop in Mesa (and Probably Everywhere else too)
10 Reasons Beanchain Coffee is the Best Coffee Shop in Mesa! At Beanchain Coffee, we’ve built more than just a coffee shop. We’ve built a community. While it might…
· Community, Leadership
All about Beanchain Coffee
Learn all about Beanchain Coffee! Beanchain Coffee is a worker-directed coffee shop and community space in Mesa, Arizona. Founded in 2023, we are proving that a…
· Leadership, Cooperatives
The Solution Seeking System Brief
TLDR one linerThe Solution Seeking System assists systems(any group of people) by identifying solutions that improve communication, connection, wisdom, leadership…