Open Collective
Open Collective

FLOWLab

​​Our mission is to create more opportunities for diverse leaders to survive the first 5 years in business. We provide education, resources, and a community of support to build equitable and inclusive businesses from the start.

About


Why did we start the FLOWLab⁵ community?

 
Our mission is to help underestimated founders survive first 5 yrs in business.  

The FLOWLab is where we come together to iterate, ideate, ruminate, and maybe procrastinate, in order to keep going. Join us in mutual learning, feel heard, seen, valued, and inspired. And get what you need to go back out there and keep fighting for workplaces that don't suck. 

Small business leaders are doing the work of 4.2 humans, many with the added parenting and house manager, caregiver, or other jobs, and zero dollars or support. You need and deserve access to business, operations, and management expertise who won't charge $1000/hr, or more. (Cough, cough. McKinsey). Our businesses simply are not making it, and we are barely hanging on.

We're here to help relieve you from one of your 4.2 jobs AND provide low & no cost resources, connections, networking, and business advising, with a healthy dose of social justice and opportunities for collaboration.

This is our space to work it out together. Together we can design the "Future of Work" we need and find our Collective Flow


What is Collective Flow?

A flow state that you achieve with others.*
  
That moment when you know you and your team or thought partner are in the zone. The "Are we the same person?" or "OMG I was just writing about that!" That is Collective Flow!
Let's find our flow together, whether that's 2 of us, 20, or 20,000.

*How do we get in that zone?


Spending actual time getting to know each other. Learning each other's work styles, listening to boundaries, articulating your strengths, amplifying the strengths of others.  
Most importantly, Patience. Flexibility. Acceptance. This means being able to work when and where we can, in our optimal time zones and for our chronotypes.

Collective Flow is found when trust exists. You cannot brand or manufacture trust. It comes through sharing experiences and making connections. It comes when we can see our full humanity and embrace it, not just tolerate it. Trust is necessary for innovation, because then everything can flow. 

Who are we?  

We are a community of talkers, not takers. We have loud, strong opinions, even the introverts (of which there are many). We have a lot to say and deserve to be heard, and luckily we are always up for listening too. We are teachers at heart even if we aren't from academia. We love to share what we know. Everyone brings their own magic. 

We each have unique physical, mental, and spiritual needs and work hard to fight the capitalist urge to DO ALL THE THINGS. We help each other unpack old workplace traumas and undo bad habits. We hold space and create space and take up space. We even talk about space. ;)

There is not only one way to show up. Being "here" means different things for each of us. These differences will only make our community stronger and more connected. FLOWLab will help founders and consultants, creators, and caregivers survive the first 5 years in business (or next 5 years of work and life). Collectivism and community are needed now more than ever, whether you show up in a comment, course, or coffee shop...we need each other, especially those of us trying to keep businesses going under impossible circumstances (with no capital).

FLOWLab's Theory of Change is that when it comes to supporting underestimated founders and creators, showing up is what matters.   

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @FLOWLab5
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Our team

Contribute


Become a financial contributor.

Financial Contributions

Goal

Join us at the GROW level and get access to the FLOWLab hub, content, and private community. ➡️ Suggested donation: $5/mo. Read more

$1,428.75 USD of $5,000 USD raised (29%)

Starts at$5 USD

Latest activity by


+ 24
Goal
Beta Member - KNOW

Join us at the KNOW level, everything from GROW, plus free Labs and discounted workshops. ➡️ Suggested donation: $25/mo.

$761.48 USD of $5,000 USD raised (15%)

Starts at$20 USD

Latest activity by


+ 3
Goal

Welcome rockstar. Let's do this! Join us at the GLOW level and get access to GROW, KNOW, + special Rockstar perks. ➡️ Suggested donation: $50/mo. o... Read more

$165 USD of $750 USD / month raised (22%)

Starts at$50 USD / month

Latest activity by


+ 1
Goal

If you believe everyone should have equal opportunity to start a business, work for themselves, create for their clients clients, and serve custome... Read more

$0.00 USD of $250,000 USD raised (0%)

Starts at$500 USD

Latest activity by


Be the first one to contribute!
Custom contribution
Donation
Make a custom one-time or recurring contribution.

Latest activity by


+ 37
Recurring contribution

LIMITED: 20 LEFT OUT OF 20

Become a FLOWLab⁵ member at the GLOW level in the next two weeks –– for 20% off your first year! Read more

$40 USD / month

Latest activity by


Be the first one to contribute!

Projects

Support the following initiatives from FLOWLab.

Project
Assistance for those recovering from workplace trauma and drama, those recently escaping their J....
Project
Supporting our Collective: Hosting events in service of helping our members thrive.
Project
To make inequality, wealth, and wage gaps easier to comprehend, activating change agents.
Project
Create content and resources based on research for social impact small businesses.
Project
Curated inspo to find our collective flow. Guaranteed to fuel your fire.

Events

FLOWLab is hosting the following events.

Past event
08:00 PM-09:00 PM UTC
Come learn about FLOWLab.

Attended by


No attendees
Past event
08:00 PM-08:45 PM UTC
Join us for an informal conversation about small changes you can make to ensure your content work...Read more

Attended by


Connect


Let’s get the ball rolling!

News from FLOWLab

Updates on our activities and progress.

Announcement: FLOWLab⁵ is starting a members-only Book Club! Join now!

FLOWLab⁵ is excited to announce the launch of...
Read more
Published on March 21, 2023 by Emily Weltman

FL5 Community Review 2022 and the year ahead

This is our annual recap written at the request of Open Collective Foundation, our fiscal host. It’s the LEAST we can do to have nonprofit status while not having to manage any of the money, the bylaws, or the taxes. Of course we finished i...
Read more
Published on December 31, 2022 by Emily Weltman

CREATORS GROW HERE - coFLOWco ❤

"Writer, Journalist, Content Creator, Author, Storyteller, Blogger, Reporter, Researcher, Editor...they have similar aims and similar challenges. Call the writing what you want; it's still work, and it's worth compensating."...
Read more
Published on August 4, 2022 by J'Maya Thomas

Budget


Transparent and open finances.

+$18.00USD
Completed
Contribution #549256

Credit from Sam Chavez to FLOWLab

+$50.00USD
Completed
Contribution #657234
+$5.00USD
Completed
Contribution #639219
$
Today’s balance

$657.78 USD

Total raised

$3,133.50 USD

Total disbursed

$2,475.72 USD

Estimated annual budget

$5,459.71 USD