Year One of Limeleaf
• Company
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.
Read post>>The OSI defined open-source AI. Surprise, big-tech AI projects aren't open source.
This week, the Open Source Initiative (OSI) released "The Open Source AI Definition" (OSAID). This is an important step in establishing guidelines around what "AI" means in relation to intellectual property rights and how open-source definitions apply to the technology.
Read post>>Introducing Diggetal
We started Limeleaf to work with smart people on interesting tech projects that make a difference.
But we also did it to have fun, learn new things, and fall in love again with tech.
Today we launched Diggetal, an initiative dedicated to tinkering around with small projects.
Read post>>Why VCs Will Never Give Us Money (And We're Okay With That)
Less than 1% of startups secure venture capital funding. At Limeleaf, we're part of that 99% – but by choice.
Since founding our company, a few people have asked how we plan to fund product development. Most assume we'll try to raise VC money. Today, we'll explain why we aren’t taking that approach and what we’re doing instead.
Read post>>We Are Changing Our Domain
• Company
This morning, Blain educated me about the history of the .io top-level domain. I didn't know that history when I bought limeleaf.io last year before teaming up with Blain and Erik.
limeleaf.net wasn't available then, but to my surprise and delight, it was this morning, so I bought it.
All Limeleaf site traffic and email now redirect from limeleaf.io to limeleaf.net, and I have donated $50 to Chagossian Voices.
Read post>>Step 0 of Starting a Tech Worker Co-Op: Define Your Goals
Worker cooperatives ("co-ops") are a growing alternative to traditional hierarchical tech company structures, which often rely on venture capital funding. Unlike conventional startups that take VC money in exchange for an equity stake, co-ops prioritize worker ownership, democratic decision-making, and profit sharing and strive to embody the 7 Cooperative Principles established by the International Co-operative Alliance.
Read post>>Founding Limeleaf: Part 3, Finding Support in the Cooperative Community
When we started Limeleaf, we wanted to do things differently. We wanted to create a democratically managed business where every worker had a voice and a stake in the company's success. In short, we wanted to start a worker cooperative (even though we don’t call ourselves that, for reasons we covered in Part 1).
Read post>>Founding Limeleaf: Part 2, Writing Our Operating Agreement
In this second installment of our series on starting a tech company as a cooperative business, we’ll discuss how we wrote our Operating Agreement (OA).
Read post>>Foundling Limeleaf: Our Journey to Establishing a Cooperative Company
At Limeleaf, how we do our work is equally important as the work itself. As we explained in a previous post, Limeleaf operates as a worker cooperative, and we are dedicated to embodying the Seven Cooperative Principles.
Read post>>Why Limeleaf Operates as a Co-Op
Cooperatives have gotten a bad rap over the years. They’ve been portrayed as impractical, plagued by decision paralysis, and insufferably hippy-dippy.
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