🗽 OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE
Independence Day for the Working Person
“Anger comes from frustration. Frustration comes from lack of control.
Take control. Start a business. Where does all that money come from anyway?
With apologies to Pixar: Pretend this is a seed.”
— Founder’s Manifesto
🌱 PRETEND THIS IS A SEED
In Pixar’s “A Bug’s Life,” there’s a moment where a character holds out a seed and says: “Pretend this is a seed.”
That’s what we’re doing.
This platform, these tools, these ideas — they’re seeds. What grows from them depends on who plants them, who tends them, who believes in them.
You’re holding a seed right now.
⬛ OF THE PEOPLE
Who builds this platform?
Not venture capitalists. Not Silicon Valley. Not corporations.
The people who use it.
Every cook who adds a serving. Every maker who posts a design. Every musician who lists a track. Every worker who joins a Guild.
The platform is built by its members, for its members.
⬛ BY THE PEOPLE
Who runs this platform?
Not a CEO in a corner office. Not shareholders demanding quarterly returns.
Councils of workers elected by workers.
Every initiative has a Crown Holder — a First Leader. But the Crown doesn’t own the initiative. The Council does. And the Council elects its own representative to the Board.
As we grow, the members take over. That’s the design.
⬛ FOR THE PEOPLE
Who benefits from this platform?
The people who do the work.
- Creators keep 80%+ of every transaction
- 100% of charitable funds go to workers
- No middlemen extracting value
- Transparent pricing (Cost + 20%)
Where does the money go? To the people who earned it.
📊 THE CHESS LESSON
The Founder has played 25,399 chess games on one account alone. Lost 12,577 of them. That’s a 50% loss rate.
And yet: Rating 2118. Top 0.4% worldwide.
How do you win if you lose half the time?
By playing a different game. By learning from your mistakes. By trying again.
“There’s a benefit to losing: You get to learn from your mistakes.”
— Megamind
🍎 $5 = MORE BITES AT THE APPLE
Traditional business: One shot. Fail and you’re done.
Liana Banyan: $5/year. Try. Fail. Learn. Try again. Fail again. Learn more.
Ghost World lets you practice with no risk. Real World lets you build real business. Both for $5.
How many attempts can you afford at $5 each?
That’s more bites at the apple than any venture capitalist will ever give you.
😤 ANGRY? START A BUSINESS.
“Anger comes from frustration. Frustration comes from lack of control. Take control. Start a business.”
The systems that exist weren’t designed for you. They were designed to extract from you.
Build your own.
We’re not here to fix capitalism. We’re here to build something better alongside it. Something that puts workers first. Something that treats people like people.
Start a business. Join a Guild. Find your room in the Hive. Make your own honey.
🤜 SINBAD’S UNCURLED FIST
In Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, Marina tells Sinbad: “You have a gift. You have a compass in your head that points you straight to whatever you want.”
Sinbad’s response: “Yeah, well, this time it pointed me straight to you.”
But there’s another moment. When Sinbad has to choose between keeping the Book of Peace (power) or saving his friend Proteus (doing right), he opens his hand.
He uncurls his fist.
That’s the choice we’re asking you to make. Not “what can I grab?” but “what can I give?”
The platform is built on uncurled fists. Open hands. Helping each other help ourselves.
🏆 THE INTRAMURAL GIANTS
“I, 5'6”, dropped my shoulder and plowed INTO AND THROUGH the two 6'6" giants. We all slammed to the ground. I got the wind knocked out of me.
But my TEAMMATE? In the time I kept the giants busy, he walked over and dropped 6 balls into the goal. 1 more than the other team.
That’s how we win. By Trying More than Me."
You don’t have to win. You have to create the opening for someone else to win.
📚 UP NEXT: THE CONTENT LADDER
This is just the beginning. Keep reading:
| Next Stop | What You’ll Learn |
|---|---|
| The Hive | Find your room. Make your honey. |
| The Arctic Ghost Train | Practice risk-free in the simulator |
| The Crown System | How leadership works |
| The Economics | How 100% goes to workers |
| The Charter Pledge | Our values, our commitment |
| The Superstructure | How everything connects |
🚂 CAN YOU HEAR THE BELL?
“Can you hear the bell? I can. I’ve always been able to hear it. That’s why I’m still building after 9 years, after 25 years, after 47 years since that floating cities project in 6th grade.
The bell still rings for all who truly believe.
Climb aboard.”
🏰 FOR THE KEEP! ⚔️
“Help Each Other Help Ourselves”