So far at nilenso we've seen it swing both ways but the difference is largely a factor of age. Young(er) people are just not that interested in a co-operative c

So far at nilenso we've seen it swing both ways but the difference is largely a factor of age. Young(er) people are just not that interested in a co-operative corporate structure. The advantages (and disadvantages) of a co-op are all intellectual to someone graduating from University and the majority of these folks are more focused on their own career and personal finances than their employer's legal entity. I remember when I was 21 -- I didn't care whether I worked for government, a private corporation, a public corporation, or a non-profit. All I cared about was salary and an interesting technology problem to solve. When it comes to lateral hires, there is more interest from people who have been burned. If someone has suffered from the opaque nature of a large corporation or suffered an opportunity due to an unfair equity structure their eyes light up when they hear about us. The lack of interest seen in lateral hires comes from a pretty narrow segment: software developers who (in the present economy) want to be entrepreneurs. The "I HATE HIPPIES" attitude generally comes attached to an individual capitalist motivation to be on top. This is our biggest hiring/retention challenge, because these are precisely the people we want on board. We have plenty of entrepreneurial folks in the office but we've also lost some because a co-op will never let a person "be on top". As for a "segment of the population", I don't think we've felt restricted there (though we of course suffer from our own bias). We've had a surprisingly wide set of demographics for a tiny Bangalore-based consultancy. :) The huge advantage to hiring in a co-op is agency. The company is inherently democratic and change largely comes from individuals who exact it. There are a number of concrete examples we can give potential hires: moving most of the business to Clojure, running Haskell classes, everyone buying hardware for themselves, speaking at conferences, installing a garden and composter on our rooftop patio... everyone is attracted to a company where they can make the changes they really want to make.