In the past year, I have witnessed incredible innovation in how people have organized and come together to provide value and build a common vision into reality. From the E-Corps I have been modeling and starting up at Everyone Inc., to platform cooperatives to DAOs, there is now a vibrant array of new ways to work within communities to find a common vision, raise capital, self-organize to achieve complex tasks, and create wealth. I have spent the past year deeply engaged in how to build more democratic and more participant-managed organizations.

If our systems and organizations are evolving towards less hierarchical structures it is obvious that the next great new businesses of this era will need to have leaders that have vastly different skillsets than that of the old guard. Of course, some of those skills may involve unique dev, creative or growth-related skills - but more importantly, I believe leadership will need to embody a completely new set of core values and ethics to lead.

I came across Dean Spade’s work through AOC’s Mutual Aid Toolkit (see below). I have always been interested in mutual aid as a principle because it certainly feels like how communities should be working together especially in times of need. It feels like people are supposed to help each other out but somehow we forgot that.

https://gdoc.pub/doc/e/2PACX-1vRMxV09kdojzMdyOfapJUOB6Ko2_1iAfIm8ELeIgma21wIt5HoTqP1QXadF01eZc0ySrPW6VtU_veyp

Dean’s book Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the next) is a primer on why mutual aid is so important for individuals, communities, and democracy. The book goes into the theory of mutual aid and its history but is highly action-oriented providing concrete tools and plans to organize in our neighborhoods and create the communities we want to live in.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1839762128?tag=randohouseinc7986-20

It was in the context of building grassroots Mutal Aid that Dean posted a list of leadership qualities supporting mutuality vs. hierarchy.

Those qualities include:

• Being just and accountable vs. success by domination.

• Being Willing to admit mistakes vs. Fear of losing reputation or looking weak

• Wining support by being supportive and trustworthy vs. Winning others’ support through status, fear.

• Fostering compassion and a desire that no one is left out of the group vs. Fostering competition in the group

• Seeing the long view and holds to values vs. Seeking immediate gains, even if it means big compromises.

• Being Controlling, micromanaging vs. Being able to delegate, can ask for help, wants more people’s participation rather than more control.

I think this is a list that every decentralized organization should be seeking from leaders and I hope that a shift in focus will lead to a more diverse, more empathetic, and more successful set of leaders and ventures moving forward.

It is perhaps naively optimistic of me but despite our inability to come together as a nation in so many ways in the past few years — I still have an unwavering belief that collectively we have the talent, tools, and ability to solve these massive problems if we can foster and scale the power of collective action and cooperation.

If we can work together with a shared vision — we have the capital, the tools and technology, and the clear science and data to create innovative new systems to catalyze this era of cooperation.

My Path

I have spent my career focused on helping workers, creatives, entrepreneurs, small business owners, and their families live more stable, secure, healthy, and sustainable lives.

I had my first Union job as a grocery bagger in Milwaukee, WI at age 15. I went on to focus on IP and labor law as a law student clerking with Teamster’s Local 237 and after law school as an associate and then partner at Madon, Malin PC a union-side labor law firm.

In 2002 I created AASEP (The American Association of Self-Employed Persons) to provide a core set of portable services and benefits to a growing group of freelancers, designed to fill the gap left by the lack of traditional employment.

I am a proven business executive, manager, and attorney, yet have deep expertise in design, UX/UI, coding, strategy, and consumer insights. I have worked to help found dozens of businesses and I built and sold 2 companies on my own: VR gaming and panoramic video technology startup Social Animal, Inc and the digital marketing agency Idea Farmer, LLC.

At Idea Farmer, I worked with global brands such as Whirlpool, Toyota, Microsoft, Dreamworks, and many others to build and execute global digital marketing and media strategy while growing Idea Farmer into the #95 fastest growing company on the Inc. 500.

I grew up in Milwaukee, WI, and earned my B.A. from Marquette University and a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law in Manhattan. I currently work from my garage in Carlsbad, CA — surrounded by kids, working constantly while trying my hardest to remain sane, grounded, happy, and healthy.

What’s next?

The urgency of the issues facing us as a society has provided a clear focus for me. I am working to rapidly create and grow several ventures targeted at catalyzing cooperation and collective action through new associations, DAOs, Ventures, and supporting projects I believe do the same.

The fierce urgency of now!

Now active

EVERYONE INC

I co-founded this venture studio focused on participant ownership as an innovation model, we are currently looking for LPs and EIRs to work on the first set of studio ventures.

The Neurorights Foundation

We engage the United Nations, regional organizations, national governments, companies, entrepreneurs, investors, scientists, and the public at large to raise awareness about the human rights and ethical implications of neurotechnology.

Coming Soon -

The Allied

A community of global leaders in opposition to the rise of authoritarianism

Helpful

A participant ownership platform for professional networked services

Resilient

The first therapist owned platform for online therapy

TokenSafe

The world’s safest and easiest way to secure your crypto

Secret Society

A social society and activism DAO developing and supporting blockchain-based startup concepts.

I hope you will follow me on Twitter @tylermalin at https://tylermalin.medium.com/ to hear the latest and, in the spirit of the era of cooperation — if you have any ideas, projects, or subjects I can add value to please don’t hesitate to reach out directly.