If shareholders don't get a cut then where does the capital come from? If the worker co-op needs to buy some expensive equipment then someone has to pay for it. Outside investors will not put in significant capital unless they also have a level of control, and a reasonable expectation of turning a profit. Banks generally aren't willing to lend to such organizations unless they're structured as partnerships and the owning workers agree to personally co-sign on the loan.
Worker co-ops can be fine for businesses that take essentially no capital, like small consulting firms. But if you want to build real stuff or scale up beyond the level of a hobby/lifestyle business then you must address the capitalization issue.
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If shareholders don't get a cut then where does the capital come from? If the worker co-op needs to buy some expensive equipment then someone has to pay for it. Outside investors will not put in significant capital unless they also have a level of control, and a reasonable expectation of turning a profit. Banks generally aren't willing to lend to such organizations unless they're structured as partnerships and the owning workers agree to personally co-sign on the loan.
Worker co-ops can be fine for businesses that take essentially no capital, like small consulting firms. But if you want to build real stuff or scale up beyond the level of a hobby/lifestyle business then you must address the capitalization issue.