We’re looking for 25-100 artisans who want to take back control from big marketplaces and join us today as early founders. 

We’re offering a special incentive program for our early founders. Any new member who joins up-front in-full by July 31, 2023 will be recognized as a Founding Member for life. Founding Members get special benefits, including lower fees and exclusive access to the Founders Circle.

Membership is a one-time buy-in investment. Costs are outlined on our Membership page and detailed in our Membership post.

What Founding Circle Members get, in addition to our membership benefits:

	Founders Circle Artisans	All Artisan Members	Non-Member Artisans	Founders Circle Supporters	All Supporter Members	Non-Member Supporters
Sales commission(+ payment processing fees)	6.5% (for 1st 2 years)	8.0%	9.5%
Access to handmade verification: be “Verified” on Day 1	✅✅✅1st Priority	✅	❌
Special marketing (additional labels, filters, collections, editorial features) during the holiday launch season with enhanced visibility and discoverability	✅✅✅1st Priority	✅	❌
Behind-the-scenes access and a direct communications channel to the leadership	✅	❌	❌	✅	❌	❌
Community forum area and communications channel	✅	✅	❌	✅	✅	❌
Opportunity to be involved in the design, testing, and beta launch of the marketplace	✅	❌	❌	✅	❌	❌
Listing on a lifetime appreciation page with a link to your website	✅	❌	❌	✅	❌	❌
Ownership rights and democratic control: one-member, one-vote	✅	✅	❌	✅	✅	❌
Financial rights: profit-sharing	✅	✅	❌	✅	✅	❌

We need Founding Memberbuy-ins today for two reasons: 

1. To fund website development in time to support an October launch (Marketplace Development Plan) and 
2. To prove demand to funders so we can leverage additional financing (Funding Plan)

…Plus, as a reminder: the Founding Member investment is an ownership share: an investment, not a donation. When we launch a successful marketplace together, and you want to leave later after we’ve started earning revenue, you are eligible to get your initial investment back. 

We’ve already built the foundation, designed the policies, filed for incorporation, and assembled an amazing team. We want to give a special shout-out to all the people who have already put in thousands of hours of volunteer work to get us where we are today. 

This is your moment. Early member investments are critical: we need artisans on board to prove their interest. Not just for bankers, but for ourselves. We need to see and hear each other and band together. We know this is our best chance to get off Wall Street and take back control of our livelihoods.

FAQ

Where can I learn more about membership? 

Check out the basics on our Membership Drive page and the details in our blog post, Now Enrolling Members.

Where are the details, policies, and plans? 

Access all our policies, plans, and documents on the Policies and Plans page on our website: https://artisans.coop/policies-plans/ 

What do you need the money for? What other sources of funding have you tried? 

Read all about it in our Funding Plan! 

---

About Artisans Cooperative

We are growing an online handmade marketplace for an inclusive network of creatives: a co-op alternative to Etsy.
Shop the marketplace!