54 lines
2.2 KiB
Markdown
54 lines
2.2 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: E2C Primer
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date: '2025-06-24'
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draft: false
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description: "A comprehensive introduction to Exit to Community concepts and strategies"
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tags:
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- primer
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- education
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- getting-started
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---
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## Introduction to Exit to Community
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Exit to Community (E2C) represents a fundamental shift from traditional startup exit strategies. Instead of selling to the highest bidder or going public, E2C enables companies to transition ownership to their users, workers, and communities.
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## Core Principles
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**Community Ownership**: Users and stakeholders become actual owners of the platforms and services they depend on.
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**Democratic Governance**: Decision-making power is distributed among community members rather than concentrated in the hands of a few.
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**Value Alignment**: The organization's mission remains aligned with community values rather than solely focused on financial returns.
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**Sustainability**: Long-term community benefit takes precedence over short-term profit maximization.
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## Why Exit to Community?
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Traditional exit strategies often result in:
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- Mission drift as new owners prioritize profit over purpose
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- Loss of community input in product development
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- Extraction of value from the community that built the platform
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- Potential shutdown or radical changes that harm users
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E2C offers an alternative that:
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- Preserves the organization's original mission
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- Ensures community voices remain central to decision-making
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- Keeps value creation within the community
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- Provides long-term stability and sustainability
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## Getting Started
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Interested in exploring E2C for your organization? Consider:
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1. **Assess Readiness**: Evaluate your organization's maturity and community engagement
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2. **Explore Models**: Research different cooperative and community ownership structures
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3. **Legal Framework**: Understand the legal requirements and options in your jurisdiction
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4. **Community Engagement**: Begin conversations with your user base and stakeholders
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5. **Implementation Planning**: Develop a transition strategy that works for your specific context
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## Learn More
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Explore our [case studies](/case-studies/) to see real-world examples of E2C transitions, and review our [legal snippets](/legal-snippets/) for practical frameworks and documentation.
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