Bocoup Is Now Worker-Owned

Illustration by Isaac Durazo

tl;dr

• Bocoup has transitioned to a cooperative model, with each team member serving as a worker-owner of the consultancy.
• We are sharpening our focus to capture-resistant, privacy-preserving, public-interest technology. Interoperability, accessibility, and testing will continue to be a core part of our work.
• We’re keeping the same corporate entity, so our existing contracts will all stay the same; the fundamental terms of our future client relationships will not change.
• Boaz Sender, the company’s Founding Principal, has reflected on this milestone in a separate post, “Ciao Bocoup”.
• We are passionate about collaborating with clients who serve the public interest through software. For all new business inquiries, please reach out to hello@bocoup.com.

Today, Bocoup becomes a worker-owned collective.

Over the course of its existence, our company has served clients in a variety of domains ranging from data visualization and robotics to application development, and, yes, multimedia production. We’re grateful for all the people who have been employed here (particularly those who served during the financial hardship and layoffs of 2024); they made a name for the consultancy through their compassion and dedication. The interests of the organization’s current members are more focused than ever, and our new structure places those interests front-and-center. Together, we are reaffirming our long-standing commitment to free software, open standards, shared protocols, and democratic platforms.

We’re focusing on tools not due to some fallacious belief in technology’s ability to solve social problems, but because we recognize the ways tech can empower the people who do that work. We also think we’re pretty good at it.

Our sensitivity to the needs of the marginalized will inform the kinds of tools we prioritize: those that resist capture, safeguard privacy, and interoperate intentionally. That includes the web platform (at least, the one we want) and realms beyond. We offer years of experience working with organizations of all sizes on projects ranging from experimental prototypes to ambitious multi-year, multi-workstream engagements. So, no change there.

We believe the way we work is at least as important as the product of our labor. We’re a multicultural team with equal salary, four-day work weeks, and commitment to personal growth. We understand Bocoup’s success only as a proxy for every member’s fulfillment. To be sure, we still have a lot to learn and resolve, but we’re excited to build a resilient institution that might exemplify a more equitable means of prosperity. Wish us luck!

- Carmen, Chris, cypress, Howard, Mike, and Stalgia