Building an economy that shares prosperity among the many, not just the few.
Our Approach
Our mission is to cultivate the next generation of cooperative businesses at scale:
We're here to jump start the next generation of cooperative businesses: we grow the entrepreneur pipeline and strengthen the cooperative ecosystem, we equip cooperative entrepreneurs with skills and tools for success, and we connect cooperative businesses with the capital they need to thrive.
Our Team
Greg Brodsky
Greg is the Founder and Executive Director of Start.coop. Greg brings a powerful background of financial strategy, tech, and entrepreneurship to growing the cooperative landscape. Greg's work has ranged from business development to strategic planning for multiple cooperatives.
Prior to launching Start.coop, Greg founded and led the Bike Cooperative, a division of CCA Global Partners, and also helped to launch the nation's only purchasing co-op for craft breweries. Greg also previously served on the board of the Cooperative Development Institute for 10 years and was board chair for 3 years.
Greg also convenes the Equitable Economy Fund, a $2 million pilot fund convening angel investors to scale shared ownership. He is a graduate of Wesleyan University.
Katie is Director of Program Operations at Start.coop. She has 15+ years of experience in program management, cross-cultural exchange and business development in higher education and non-profit sectors that spans five different countries. Her program management experience includes leading a team delivering full-cycle programs focused on entrepreneurship (recruitment, admissions, operations, financials, impact reporting) as Program Director at the Saltire Foundation (Scotland) and delivering individually tailored programs for over 200 emerging leaders from 60 countries for the U.S. State Department's International Visitor Leadership Program.
Katie Michels
Shantae J. Edwards
Shantae J. is Director of Community and Training at Start.coop. She is passionate about organizational culture, sustainability, equity, and leadership development. At Start.coop Shantae J. is responsible for and oversees the day-to-day management of the Start.coop Grad/Alumni Community, facilitates our education initiatives, including incubators and accelerator programs.
In addition to her role at Start.coop, Shantae J. is an adjunct professor at New York University.
Based in New York and Chicago, Shantae J. enjoys spending time with her family, reading, traveling, and discovering her next favorite coffee roaster.
Mica Fisher
Mica is Director of Finance & Operations at Start.coop. She is an organizer and advocate for economic democracy. At Start.coop she leads our fiscal sponsorship program and oversees the processes and systems that allow Start.coop to grow beyond the startup phase.
Mica has deep experience with cooperative development, having previously been Managing Director of the National Coalition for Community Capital (NC3) and having managed NYC’s Worker Cooperative Business Development Initiative.
Based in NYC, Mica originally hails from Southern California and is learning to love seasons on the East Coast. Outside of work, you can find her gardening, reading, going to see a movie at a local theater, or listening to one of her favorite podcasts.
Our Board
Clark Arrington, General Counsel, The Working World
Stephen Bediako OBE, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Turning Basin Labs
Howard Brodsky, Co-Founder, Chairman & Co-CEO, CCA Global Partners
Joseph Cureton, Chief Coordinating Officer, Obran Cooperative
Jen Horonjeff, Founder & CEO, Savvy Cooperative
Hélène Lesterlin, Worker Trustee & Co-Executive Director, Good Work Institute
Martin Lowery, Board Member, International Cooperative Alliance
Nathan Schneider, Assistant Professor, Media Studies, University of Colorado at Boulder
Jermeen Sherman, Managing Director, Black Ambition
Meet our Entrepreneurs & Alumni
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Justice
Co-ops have a long history as vehicles for economic development in Black communities. Indeed, co-ops -- particularly in sectors where we have high participation from Black and other workers of color -- can help these workers build economic stability and resiliency to better weather social and economic upheaval and help them build wealth for themselves and their families. However, only a tiny fraction of the 30,000 co-ops in the United States are Black-owned.
At Start.coop we believe we need to actively work to dismantle the white supremacy that is so pervasive in business culture and the economy at-large. We have an obligation to advocate for and pursue structural changes to make business ownership more accessible to Black and Brown entrepreneurs, workers, and communities and we must center Black and Brown entrepreneurs as we work together to build a new, anti-racist economy. Ending systemic oppression requires a long-term commitment and we are committed to continuously reexamining our organizational culture and internal policies to address the ways that racism and oppression show up in our work.
Ours is a diverse community that values the unique perspectives and experiences each member brings to the table. We endeavor to create a community and space in which everyone, and particularly our BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ community members, can show up as their true selves, and in which we can have brave, tough conversations in addition to the fun ones. Together, we engage in critical dialogue through conscious questioning and active listening, and we work to address systemic racism and the root causes of inequality.