> One is that you have to raise all of your capital from your members, rather than relying on outside investment.
Actually, it is possible to raise outside capital. One way is a traditional bank loan, though that usually requires collateral. There's also "patient capital" available from some institutions.
We also have a National Cooperative Bank in the US, created by an act of Congress and later privatized (as a co-op, naturally), that specializes in banking services and loans for cooperative enterprises. They may not be completely up-to-speed on worker cooperatives, however.
A really interesting option is a direct public offering, where you can sell non-voting shares to individuals while avoiding most of the legal implications of an IPO, as long as you comply with various restrictions and raise a limited amount of money. There's a case study about a pickle company that transitioned to a worker co-op by buying out the previous owners that way:
Actually, it is possible to raise outside capital. One way is a traditional bank loan, though that usually requires collateral. There's also "patient capital" available from some institutions.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patient_capital
http://coopcapital.coop/coopcapital
We also have a National Cooperative Bank in the US, created by an act of Congress and later privatized (as a co-op, naturally), that specializes in banking services and loans for cooperative enterprises. They may not be completely up-to-speed on worker cooperatives, however.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Cooperative_Bank
A really interesting option is a direct public offering, where you can sell non-voting shares to individuals while avoiding most of the legal implications of an IPO, as long as you comply with various restrictions and raise a limited amount of money. There's a case study about a pickle company that transitioned to a worker co-op by buying out the previous owners that way:
http://www.buylocalfood.org/real-pickles-financing-case-stud...