Intro

Hintersoft helps its clients grow their product development teams, enhance their innovation, and end up with a committed team. The company is co-owned and co-managed by the people who embody it and contribute to it.

Alignment

	Impact
What for?	A world of decentralized ownership and collaborative management. People co-own what they create and co-manage their work.
	Purpose
Why?	To help people learn how to truly own their work, their communities, and their world.
	Mission
What?	Generates a positive EBITDA. Starts to get known as a Radical company. Hintersoftians attest to a Radical life.
When?	Generate 35% EBITDA on their second year of operations.
How?	Its culture and ownership structure are rHintersoft's brand. Attestations are via video and blog content.

A vignette of four frames. The young man tells the young woman, 'Basically, CEOs are treated like kings and queens.' He continues, 'And employees are nothing more than replaceable peasants working our land in exchange for protection.' She then asks, 'Protection?' To which answers, 'Healthcare.' She exclaims, 'Feudalism is back!' and he closes with, 'You said it.'

Origin Story

Most companies are owned and operated like feudal estates: commands flow down and wealth flows up.

In a business, you help create a revenue stream, the business brand, its copyrights, patents, contracts, customer loyalty, and its growing equity value. But as an employee, you don’t own any of it. In exchange for your work, you get a wage and maybe a few other benefits like health insurance.

ARadical company like Hintersoft makes it possible for the people who embody it to take control of their lives, behave as adults, and take full ownership over what they create. Hintersoft is co-owned and co-managed by you and all the people who contribute to it. It is a community of people who come together to contribute broad value to society and make an impact on the world.

How It Works

Hintersoftians work in a healthy environment, physically and psychologically safe. This is just not a promise: as co-owners, Hintersoftians can make sure it works this way. When it gets off the rails, Hintersoftians, as co-owners, can put it back on track.

Joining a Client	After an agreement is signed with the client, anybody can join the team. If the member is already part of another team, he would have to work out a transition plan to keep everybody whole.
Leaving a Client	You could leave because you found something better aligned with what you want to do (see Joining a Client, above). Or you may want to leave because your current client is not working for you. Maybe your work is not meaningful any more, or maybe you no longer get a good feeling out of being part of their team. In either case, you have to have that conversation with your client first and work out a transition plan.
Predictability	When a Hintersoftian decides to leave a client, her income, health insurance, and his ownership are not at risk. This gives Hintersoftians the wherewithal to have full control over their lives.
Investments	You can propose funding a new project simply by putting up a Banner.
Mind the Business	As a co-owner, you need to mind the Hintersoft business. Not “to put food on the table,” but as a commitment to yourself and the other co-owners.
Predictable Recurring Income (PRI)	You decide how much wealth to extract from the company to take care of your recurring expenses. We still have to make the company work financially. This is not a magic wand to fend off hard situations or avoid difficult decisions. The PRI fund pays the PRI when the company is bringing in less than the total PRI. Once the revenue goes up above expenses, dividends are given to co-owners (i.e., as it is given to owners in businesses). Unless other agreements have been made, the PRI fund gets paid first. The PRI fund is fed by Radical investments which has to be paid back and the PRI policy has to take that into consideration. OK, it doesn’t have to, but it is highly advised that it does so.
Stay Healthy	A big part of making the business work includes keeping yourself and each other healthy. If the work is not contributing to your wellbeing, then it’s time to make a change, for everybody’s sake.
Experiment and Thrive	Experimentation is basic to the success of Hintersoft. There are consequences to your actions, but it is not paupery or slow death. More like clean up and learn.
Miscellaneous	Hintersoftians can work on the latest and greatest technology regardless of where they live. Hintersoftians may work for companies located in places like the San Francisco Bay Area, London, or São Paulo, but they don't have to live there. Time zone alignment and physical proximity are still important. People want to talk to people who are working on the same problem. Hintersoftians may prefer to live close to where they grew up or at a place where they choose to raise a family. Everyone has their reason for choosing the place they call home. This decentralization of location brings sustained growth and wealth to the hinterlands. Not just financial wealth, but also cultural wealth and more diversity.

GLOSSARY

Hinterfolks	Includes Hintersoftians and Hintersoft's clients, ex-clients, affiliates, ex-Hintersoftians, etc.
Hintersoftians	Hintersoft co-owners.
Product Developers	Everybody in the team who contributes to making software products and tools. It includes UX/UI, Interaction Designers, Graphics Designers, Product Stewards, Manual Testers, Programmers, and the cleaning crew. Altogether they are referred to as product developers.