What OuiShare does

OuiShare was an international non-profit community network founded in 2012 in Paris, France, that operated as a distributed 'do-ocracy' across 12 countries over 13 years, convening researchers, activists, entrepreneurs, and decision-makers around the collaborative economy, commons, governance innovation, and the future of work. Its core offerings centered on flagship community convenings — most notably Ouishare Fest (Paris, 2013 onward), Ouishare Fest Barcelona (2015-2017), and Colaboramerica in Rio de Janeiro (2016 onward, 6,000+ attendees cumulative) — complemented by secondary knowledge products including the Ouishare Fest Toolkit (an open-source event-organization methodology), the OuiShare Handbook documenting its distributed governance model, and the Ouishare Magazine containing over 1,000 articles and interviews.

The organization's underlying technology was a community network platform and open knowledge infrastructure rather than a traditional software product: it codified principles of self-organization, stigmergy, and distributed leadership into reusable documentation, and its open-source toolkit aggregated operational knowledge across budget, program, event production, communications, team organization, and documentation functions. The architecture was explicitly designed to be replicable by other emergent communities.

OuiShare operated a hybrid for-profit/non-profit business model described as 'hippies with a business plan.' Revenue came from project-based consulting and partnerships with public and private organizations — including long-standing core partner MAIF (French cooperative insurer) and major institutional partners ADEME, Banque des Territoires, Chronos, IGN, Métropole européenne de Lille, and Collège des Bernardins — with project profits financing both the engagements and the association's infrastructure. There were no commercial products sold; members engaged through local chapters, festivals, and volunteer contributions. After 10 years of operation, OuiShare consciously chose to end its lifecycle through a 'composting' process in 2022, leaving the legacy site (legacy.ouishare.net) as an open archive while former members continue building through spin-off initiatives including Greaterthan, Boundaryless, Resiliences, La Fabrique des Mobilités, and Zero Waste Europe.

Name

OuiShare

Legal name

OuiShare

Website

https://ouishare.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

OuiShare was a global non-profit community network founded in 2012 in Paris, France, that convened researchers, activists, and entrepreneurs across 12 countries around the collaborative economy, commons, and alternative governance models. It operated via flagship festivals, open-source toolkits, and project-based partnerships until its conscious closure in 2022.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Network / Collaborative Economy Services

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts & Culture Service/Support Organizations (Networks, Advocacy, Capacity Building) (BPAGAHAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Cultural Festivals & Events Organizations (BPAGAHAG)

Keywords

• Collaborative economy network
• Community event management
• Open-source governance tools
• Knowledge sharing platform
• Festival organization services

Headquarters

HQ city

Bagnolet

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Project-based consulting and partnerships: OuiShare's business model was based on projects carried out with public and private organisations. Projects emerged from discussions and relationships, and profits financed both the projects and the association's infrastructure (legal, technical, administrative, accounting, and financial). The organization was described as a hybrid between for-profit and non-profit, often seen as 'hippies with a business plan' by the business community.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

OuiShare operated a global, self-organized community network that convened researchers, activists, entrepreneurs, and public institutions through flagship festivals (Ouishare Fest, regional editions) and produced open-source knowledge resources including the Ouishare Fest Toolkit, OuiShare Handbook, and OuiShare Magazine. The organization financed activities via project-based consulting and partnerships with public and private organizations, applying a documented 'do-ocracy' governance model centered on self-organization, stigmergy, and distributed leadership.

Product overview

OuiShare was an international community network focused on the collaborative economy, commons, and future of work. The organization operated as a distributed network active across 12 countries through 7 festivals over 13 years. Its core products centered on convening communities: the flagship Ouishare Fest annual festival (1,000-2,000 participants), supplemented by regional editions in Barcelona and Latin America. Supporting products included the Ouishare Fest Toolkit (open source event organization guide), the OuiShare Handbook documenting governance and network practices, the Magazine with over 1,000 articles on collaborative economy topics, and Resources containing tools, reports, and templates from their research projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• OuiShare Fest: The flagship festival event of OuiShare, gathering thousands of people in Paris and Barcelona to discuss collaborative economy, governance, and alternative societal models.
• OuiShare Fest Toolkit
• OuiShare Handbook
• Lab Ouishare x Chronos
• Colaboramerica
• POC21
• AltShift
• Eco2Fest

Products and services

• Ouishare Fest Flagship annual festival of the OuiShare network gathering 1,000–1,500 entrepreneurs, free thinkers, and activists in Paris over three days to discuss the collaborative economy, governance, commons, and alternative societal models.
• Ouishare Fest Barcelona Regional edition of the flagship Ouishare Fest held in Barcelona across 2015–2017, organized in collaboration with the local OuiShare Spain community.
• ColaborAmerica Regional edition of the OuiShare Fest held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, gathering more than 6,000 people across editions since 2016.
• Ouishare Fest Toolkit Open-source guide for organizing a festival or participatory conference, using OuiShare Fest as the case study. Aggregates insights from budget, program, event production, communications, team organization, and documentation.
• OuiShare Handbook

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,000 articles, interviews, and ideas produced in the Ouishare Magazine
• +4 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, regional and minor.

• MAIFcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMAIF, a French cooperative insurance company, was a long-standing partner and ally in many projects. Without MAIF's support, Ouishare's evolution would have been different. MAIF contributed to financing Ouishare's activities and public-interest work.
• ADEMEmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in multiple projects including Rencontres de l'écologie et du travail (2022), F(r)ictions numériques (2021), Capital numérique, and Mille-lieux study. ADEME contributed to research-action projects on digital transitions and third places.
• Banque des TerritoiresmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Capital numérique and Mille-lieux research projects. Contributed to studies on digital impact and third places on territories.
• ChronosmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Lab Ouishare x Chronos initiatives including Capital numérique (2018) and Mille-lieux study on third places. Deep collaboration on research-action projects.
• Métropole européenne de LilleregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Grand Barouf numérique events (2017-2019), contributing to digital transformation discussions in the Lille metropolitan region.
• Collège des BernardinsregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Croyances numériques project (2021), examining relationship with technology and digital world.
• IGN (Institut National de l'Information Géographique et Forestière)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Guide des communs project (2022-2023), exploring commons and their role in meeting 21st century challenges.
• ANRUminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Capital numérique research-action project on digital impact.
• Est EnsembleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Capital numérique research-action project on digital impact.
• OrangeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Capital numérique research-action project on digital impact.
• Pôle EmploiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Capital numérique research-action project on digital impact.
• CDC HabitatminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Capital numérique research-action project on digital impact.
• TransdevminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Mille-lieux study on third places impact on territories.
• Arp-AstranceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Mille-lieux study on third places impact on territories.
• Printemps écologiqueminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Rencontres de l'écologie et du travail event (2022).
• Les CollectifsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Rencontres de l'écologie et du travail event (2022).
• NUMAregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Ouishare Fest Barcelona 2016, collaborated on joint events and community activities. NUMA is a startup hub/network in Barcelona.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• The RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce): Long-established UK-based fellowship and think tank addressing social impact through ideas, innovation, and action. Comparable as a large-scale nonprofit network convening changemakers around alternative economic models.
• Ashoka: Global organization supporting social entrepreneurs and changemakers. Comparable as a large-scale community and network backing mission-driven innovators pursuing systemic social change.

Direct peers

• Greaterthan: European cooperative ecosystem builder spun off from OuiShare. Direct descendant organization continuing OuiShare's collaborative economy and governance innovation work.
• Enspiral: New Zealand-based network of independent professionals and ventures experimenting with distributed governance and collaborative economics. Comparable as a community network focused on alternative organizational models and self-organization.
• Platform Cooperativism Consortium: International consortium promoting platform cooperatives and democratic digital ownership. Comparable to OuiShare's mission around collaborative economy and alternative ownership models.
• Zero Waste Europe: European network of communities and organizations advancing zero-waste circular economy. Comparable as a spin-off and OuiShare-adjacent network continuing the collaborative economy mission.
• Shareable: US-based nonprofit media organization focused on sharing economy, commons, and collaborative solutions. Directly comparable to OuiShare as a nonprofit network producing content and convening communities around the collaborative economy.

Emerging players

• Loomio: Cooperative decision-making platform used by distributed organizations for collaborative governance. Comparable to OuiShare's governance innovation work and tool-building for self-organized networks.
• Sensorica: Open value network focused on open-source hardware and collaborative production. Comparable as an experimental network applying commons-based peer production principles similar to OuiShare's research topics.

Regional players

• NUMA: Startup hub and innovation network operating in Barcelona and other cities, partnered with OuiShare on festivals. Comparable as an innovation community and accelerator network focused on collaborative entrepreneurship.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/PL8Bt3EbdmpKNRl0m4FvALEYwBKS4YSVS4
• Xx.com/OuiShare
• Facebookfacebook.com/OuiShare

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about OuiShare