Financial Model
Sustainable economics without advertising or data exploitation.
The financial model is still being developed. This page outlines our current thinking and guiding principles.
The Problem with “Free”
When a product is free, you’re the product. Advertising-based business models create inevitable pressure to maximize engagement, harvest data, and manipulate user behavior. There’s no way around this—it’s structural.
Our Revenue Foundations
We take a different approach: sustainable funding through cooperative ownership and optional paid services.
Cooperative Shares
The initial foundation of our funding model are the shares that members of the cooperative will purchase. Buying a share makes you a co-owner with voting rights in how the platform is run. This creates a broad ownership base that’s invested in the platform’s success.
Free Basic Access
You don’t need to become a cooperative member to use the platform. A basic account will be free of charge and provide access to core functionality. This keeps the barrier to entry low while allowing the cooperative model to grow organically.
Optional Membership Fees
For extended services and features, an optional recurring membership fee will be available. This tiered approach means:
- Basic (free): Core platform features, no cooperative membership required
- Extended services: Additional features for a recurring fee
- Cooperative membership: One-time share purchase for co-ownership and voting rights
Exact pricing is still being determined and will be shaped by member input. Our target is accessibility—this should be affordable for most people.
No Advertising
We will not sell advertising.
No Data Sales
We will not sell user data or provide surveillance-based targeting to third parties.
The Cooperative Advantage
The cooperative structure addresses some fundamental problems with traditional corporate models. A wide base of cooperative members doesn’t just provide financial support—they contribute work. Members spread the word, help moderate communities, provide feedback, and advocate for the platform. This distributed effort reduces costs and builds genuine community investment that money alone can’t buy.
Sustainability, Not Growth At All Costs
We’re not trying to become a unicorn. We’re trying to build sustainable infrastructure that serves its members indefinitely. That means growing at a pace we can manage, maintaining quality over quantity, and prioritizing long-term stability over short-term metrics.