Year One of Limeleaf

Limeleaf was born on March 18, 2024. Our first anniversary seemed like a good time to take stock of what we’ve achieved so far and where we want to go in 2025 and beyond.

Warren Buffett on Success

Warren Buffett famously said that successful people say no to almost everything. Here at Limeleaf HQ, we lean heavily to the Left, so an ultra-capitalist like Buffett is hardly a role model to us, but we must admit he has a point. The more you say no, the more you can focus on your mission, goals, and values. In today’s tech industry, this is especially true when the “no” is to anyone who offers to give you funding.

However, our definition of success (in business, anyway) is quite different from Mr. Buffett’s. He measures success in growth. When he invests in something, he wants its value to grow over time. Seems reasonable. But the Buffetts of the world can’t abide modest growth—they demand ferocious, rampant, colossal, never-ending growth.

So does the tech industry. Whether it’s revenue, active users, page views, or whatever metric, the theme in tech for the last 20 years has been more more more. No matter how fast you’re growing, it’s never fast enough.

Limeleaf’s culture is not quite the opposite–that would be zero growth. We are a cooperative, but we’re also a business. Like any business, we aim to bring in more money this year than we did last year (especially as inflation looms again), i.e., to grow, but not at the expense of the things we value more than money.

At Limeleaf, we measure success in quality of life, sustainable income for our cooperative members, and making meaningful contributions to our community. If we grow 25% in our second year, but to do it, we have to work 80 hours a week, neglect our families, and ignore our physical and mental health, we would consider Limeleaf an abysmal failure.

If we grow 5% but don’t take years off our lives doing it, well, then...

No, Nyet, Negatory

As a company, we said no to many things in 2024.

First, we said no to structuring and funding Limeleaf like a “normal” tech company. Instead, we chose to be a worker-owned, democratically managed worker cooperative (see these previous blog posts for more about that journey). This is an uncommon structure for a tech company, and it draws quizzical looks from people as if they are thinking, "A co-op? Isn't that, like, a grocery store for hippies?"

We also said no to offers from investors. We did so because we believe the modern startup funding model places too much emphasis on unrealistic growth targets and not enough on sustainable revenue. It also shortchanges the people who actually do the work while lavishly rewarding wealthy people (investors, board members, C-suite) who don't contribute much “work,” in our experience. To be clear, we appreciate the good intentions of those who offered us money. However, one of Limeleaf’s core principles is maintaining complete ownership within our membership, so we politely turned them down.

We also said no to opportunities for work that did not interest us. In some cases, the job just didn't seem interesting. In others, it didn't align with our values. Whatever the reason, we turned them down, and we don't regret it.

Looking ahead, we will maintain our commitment to worker ownership, quality of life, and sustainable growth, rather than chasing rapid expansion at the expense of our principles (and our sanity).

The Privilege of No

It's important to mention that Buffett's "successful people" are predominantly wealthy and privileged. They have the luxury of being able to say no.

As the founders of Limeleaf, we recognize that we come from a similar place of privilege. We’re three middle-class white guys with savings and assets that allow us to be selective about opportunities. Too many people don't have that option—they must say yes to whatever work they can find just to survive.

That's why the worker-owner cooperative model matters. Democratic member control is one of the Seven Cooperative Principles that worker-owned co-ops vow to uphold. The one person/one vote requirement gives every worker-member the power to thoughtfully consider opportunities and say no. It's a way to extend privilege in a company beyond a few elites and create a more equitable and productive workplace.

We aren't naive. We know worker ownership isn't a magical solution to inequality. Still, it's a big step toward a better system—one where people can choose their work intentionally instead of being forced to say yes.

Yes! Da! Hai! Ja!

So, what are we saying yes to in 2025?

First, yes to building products. We’re starting with Apply.coop (our job board for co-ops) and Limecast (our privacy-first, small web podcast platform).

Second, yes to our fellow travelers in the worker ownership movement. Limeleaf will be a true success when 100% of our consulting business comes from clients who share our cooperative values. As a young company, we must be realistic; sometimes, we’ll need to take the work where we can get it. But by saying no to as many distractions as possible, we can devote as much time as possible to the most impactful work, ensuring we make meaningful progress toward our goals.

Last, yes to enough. Our aim has never been to get rich from this enterprise. All we want is enough revenue to provide all Limeleaf members with a sustainable middle-class income, top-quality health insurance, true satisfaction in the work we do, and to help other people.

We are optimistic and excited about year two of our Limeleaf journey. Like all businesses, we face risks (inflation, “AI,” tariff wars, recession, etc.), which can be frightening at times. However, we’d rather be building this company than doing anything else.