Marco Update #2

Meeting with Mentors and Testing the Waters

Oct 05, 2021

Hello!

This is the second update post for the development of Marco Co-op, a project to build a new e-commerce marketplace of, by, and for cooperatives. Since our first update we have had several notable developments.

First, we’re looking very closely at the prospects of partnering with various incubators and accelerators to aid in Marco’s growth. Most impressive among them looks to be start.coop, which recently helped The Drivers Cooperative raise over 1 million dollars in crowdfunding and become the largest worker cooperative in the United States. They seem to be something of the y-combinator of co-ops. We seek to submit a competitive application to their 2022 cohort, and we are currently scheduled to meet with Greg Brodsky, the founder of start.coop, to discuss Marco.

Second, we’ve been working on developing our social media presence on Twitter and Instagram. We’ve been getting some fun digs in at Amazon over on Twitter, and we intend to have cooperative advocacy content over on Instagram. If all that interests you, consider giving us a follow at the links below!

Third, we’ve spoken with our first cooperative! We talked with the local Whatcom Art Market in Bellingham WA. I was able to get the words “e-commerce,” “cooperative,” and “alternative” out of my mouth before I was quickly handed a business card. I had a great time talking with them and suffice it to say that the waters look warm!

Finally, I recently replied to a post in r/cooperatives asking about clothing co-ops. Please take this list of co-ops selling apparel as a preview of our work-in-progress public catalog:

Charleston Crafts: fine ties/ scarves /purses

https://www.shopcharlestoncrafts.com/accessories-textiles

ACCI Gallery: textiles and accessories

https://shopaccigallery.com/collections/textiles

https://www.accigallery.com/#/

Stitched Up: haberdashery and reclaimed textiles

https://stitchedup.coop/shop/

Surprise, I was a co-op all along!

Grange Coop: farm and ranch supplier with apparel shop

https://www.grangecoop.com/clothing-and-footwear.html

Blue Stockings Cooperative: book store with cozy socks

https://bluestockings.com/browse/filter/t/socks/k/keyword