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Comment by leaflets2 | Hacker News Reader

Please tell me more? I've a bit been wondering if a non profit could be better than a Limited Liability Company for some future projects

And I work 60h/week already, cannot join two coops to learn more :-(

I suppose one problem could be that they'd try to make decisions via consensus or votes -- but there might be one person who is brighter and/or knows more than the others, and leaving most decisions to that one can be an improvement?

Imagine the Linux kernel starting to make decisions via consensus or votes, rather than a BDFL?

(I'm sbd else)

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I have little direct experience, but what I do have all points towards failures of consensus.

Look at the most recent company you worked for, and from your colleagues think of: one idiot engineer, one idiot manager, and one idiot admin. Now imagine that they each feel they have equal rights as anyone to share their “input” into that business, and imagine trying to find consensus with you. Now multiply that problem by 10, because it isn’t just idiots that want to have their say, and most people have valid input that needs to be ignored because most businesses need a leader to provide focused power on a few plays.

I know of successful co-ops, but those seem to usually have a corporate structure and members have limited power, and I don’t know their internals.

Do you feel you have the skills to manage a co-op? Superficially you appear to be somewhat idealistic and innocent of the difficulty: although I think most traditional startup founders have and need those traits! Advice is cheap and experience is expensive: go with whatever works for you.

I'm leaning towards an LLC (and not a non profit), even more now.

The engineer, admin and manager example sounds frustrating!

I can run a company (it seems) but a co-op, then I'm afraid one would need much greater charisma and persuasion skills, and also enjoy that?

Otherwise the co-op would be unstable? With equal voting power, then any member with bad ideas and persuasion skills would be an existential threat? But in a company, s/he could just be fired? (Or contract not renewed)

> successful co-ops

For example, Ghost? Does Mozilla count? (A non profit)

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