Zebras Unite Coop is an international hybrid cooperative and nonprofit focused on fostering an alternative to traditional, high-growth, venture capital-backed startup culture. The initiative traces its origins to a 2017 manifesto, “Zebras Fix What Unicorns Break,” written by four women entrepreneurs: Mara Zepeda, Jennifer Brandel, Dr. Astrid Scholz, and Aniyia Williams. This manifesto called for businesses that balance profit with social impact and collective ownership, challenging the prevailing “unicorn” model in tech and venture capital.
The movement quickly gained traction, beginning with DazzleCon in Portland, Oregon, where over 200 participants gathered to discuss new approaches to entrepreneurship. Almost thirty organizations provided around $750,000 in in-kind support to establish the cooperative. Today, Zebras Unite has grown into a worldwide network of over 10,000 online community members, hundreds of cooperative member-owners, and more than 25 local chapters across six continents.
Its core activities include advocating for distributed ownership models, developing resources for founders historically excluded from mainstream funding, and supporting alternative approaches to business financing, such as community ownership and governance structures. Projects range from local chapter events that foster peer learning and resource exchange, to research and collaboration with organizations like the Institute for the Future.
Recent achievements include influencing economic policy in Japan, educational initiatives in Melbourne and Mexico City, and partnerships with various cities and institutions. Zebras Unite operates with a distributed team and emphasizes mutualism, offering open cooperative membership and programs aimed at reshaping both the culture and capital flows in the startup landscape.