Founder's Letter
Re: EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
Dear Visitor:
Introduction and intention. I’m Matt Martensen, founder and, for now, sole employee of User Co-op. I hope this letter finds you well and encourages you to become a member (owner) of User Co-op, a consumer-owned cooperative tech startup that promises to deliver the data deal that, I believe, we the people deserve.
We deserve a better data deal. The data that billions of us stream through our tech use—through our clicks, taps, swipes, etc.—is the foundational insight upon which tech companies are built, and it exposes each and every one of us to risks, like those to our autonomy, that we can’t practically fathom, let alone quantify or hedge. Yet, the most we can possibly claim to get in return for capitalizing these companies with our data is free access to their services—access that perpetuates our data streams, compounds our personal exposure, and shoots their profits to the stars.
Time to go into the tech business. I believe that we can do better for ourselves. Almost two hundred years of free-market precedent tell us that the ones who risk the most to provide something of value to a company are the ones who get to own it. And I’m certain that, by virtue of our data streams, we meet this qualification in relation to the tech companies we use. Not only that, but the sheer volume and continuity of our data streams over the life of a tech company leave no room, in my opinion, for conventional owners, like entrepreneurs and investors. That, of course, is not to detract from or demean their contributions, but let’s face it: their toil, money, and opportunity costs pale in comparison to the elemental truths about the millions or billions of us who use their services. So, I believe that we have a fair-market claim to wholly, not partially, own and control the tech companies we use and that we should set our goals on that basis. Unfortunately, we can’t get whole ownership and control of the tech companies we use today because it’s already spoken for. We have to go into the tech business together to forge the data deal we deserve, and I believe it’s high time we do it.
Enter User Co-op. This website is where we the people get together and go into the tech business for ourselves as equal members-owners of User Co-op, a consumer-owned cooperative tech company that combines REI’s member-ownership model with Big Tech’s business models to deliver each and every one of us the data deal we deserve. To become a member of User Co-op, all it takes is a few clicks and, if one chooses, a few dollars to complete the Membership Form. User Co-op’s staff, which is just me for now, handles all of the day-to-day business activities in accordance with the Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, and Business Plan, and such activities are laser-focused on developing and deploying profitable tech services for members and businesses. Meanwhile, as User Co-op’s members, we capture all Co-op profits that aren’t reinvested through dividends in proportion to our individual data streams—data streams that are measured by the number of our clicks, taps, swipes, etc.—and we democratically govern the Co-op so that we can hedge against any losses that could arise from data exposure or anything else.
Ramp-up. User Co-op’s transition from a website to a world-class tech enterprise will be a methodical one. The first order of business is to recruit as members those of us who are dissatisfied with today’s data deal—somewhere between 75% and 90% of all tech users worldwide—that’s four to five billion of us—and to build a formidable cash treasury from voluntary member contributions. In co-ops, by the way, members provide for initial cash needs, typically through membership fees or a similar arrangement. Then, as soon as members, money, and circumstances permit, User Co-op will start cementing its economic foundation by developing and deploying free members-only tech services, starting with a web browser and a search engine, and a targeted ads service for businesses. Once such a foundation is in place, User Co-op will no longer need money from members, and it’ll have the financial capacity to go almost anywhere from there.
On dividends. The question has come up a few times about how much money one can expect to get in member dividends. The answer is “I don’t know,” but I choose to think big and beyond the money.
Beyond the money. By going into the tech business for ourselves, we are, indeed, forging the data deal we deserve, but we’re also giving rise to an entirely new concept in our relationship to technology—a new concept in which technology, for the first time, truly serves us, not a detached group of shareholders or others whose interests can only be incidental to our own. Through User Co-op, technology becomes beholden to us, and it can only possess the power that we voluntarily give to it. User Co-op enables every connected person of every distinction to share fully and equitably in technology’s prosperity, and it brings to bear our values, common sense, and spirit in deciding how and, indeed, whether technology ought to have a role in solving our problems. As a result, User Co-op causes technology to change from being a mechanical force—a force that, ultimately, favors a relative few at the expense of billions—to a moral force—a force for good as we the people define it. That kind of change couldn’t come at a better time than right now, when we're encircled by the mechanical forces of technology, which are closing in on every aspect of our lives, and when we’re beset by accelerating change, complex global challenges, an erosion of trust in our institutions, and increasing confusion about our role in history, especially considering more disruption on the horizon by new A.I. systems that are meant to, quote, “outperform humans at most economically valuable work.” I believe that by forging a basic fairness into our data transactions, we put ourselves on a path to discovering what technology and our data are truly capable of doing for us, and my guess is that we ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
Closing. In the meantime, I cordially invite you to join and contribute to User Co-op—every dollar counts—and, if you do, I hope you’ll share User Co-op with your communities. I’ll be updating this website with more content as we go along. If you have any questions or comments, please drop me a line.
Thank you.
Matt Martensen
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
User Cooperative