What Terran Collective does

Terran Collective is a small, community-led organization headquartered in San Francisco that builds tools, systems, and practices for bioregional collaboration and regeneration. Founded in 2017, it operates as a "community of care and practice" focused on the San Francisco Bay Area bioregion (defined broadly as the 9-county area and its confluence of watersheds), serving a diffuse base of farmers, activists, technologists, artists, entrepreneurs, and community organizers working toward regeneration. The organization's core product is Hylo, a coordination platform stewarded in partnership with Holo/Holochain that enables relationship mapping, resource sharing, and collective sensemaking. Supporting technologies include a relationship graph database, collaborative ecosystem mapping tools for bioregional resource flows, guild coordination tools for sector-based collaboration, and decentralized governance systems built with DAOstack.

Terran Collective runs recurring community-building programs including monthly in-person gatherings, the annual Terran Camp, and the annual Terran Cospiracy conference. Its work is structured across two legal entities: Terran Collective LLC (a software development and consulting agency that works with aligned partners such as DAOstack) and Terran Watershed (a 501c3 nonprofit, fiscally sponsored by Empowerment Works, which receives tax-deductible donations via Open Collective). The five-person stewardship team consists of Kelly Erhart, Clare Politano, Tibet Sprague, Neha Sharma, and Aaron Brodeur. All tools produced are released as free, open-source public utilities.

The organization generates revenue through two streams: community patronage/donations routed through the Terran Watershed nonprofit, and income from Terran Collective LLC's software development and consulting agency work with aligned partners. There is no traditional pricing model; tools and resources are provided as gifts to the bioregion. Growth is strictly organic, driven by monthly gatherings, word-of-mouth referrals, and network effects within the Bay Area regenerative community, with the organization explicitly avoiding venture capital and traditional marketing funnels.

Name

Terran Collective

Legal name

Terran Collective LLC

Website

https://terran.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Terran Collective is a community-led nonprofit organization that builds open-source tools (notably the Hylo coordination platform) and hosts gatherings to support bioregional collaboration and regeneration across the San Francisco Bay Area's regenerative community.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Community Patronage / Donations: Monthly or one-time tax-deductible donations to Terran Watershed (501c3 nonprofit, fiscally sponsored by Empowerment Works). Supporters contribute resources to fund core team's work, community building, and free coordination tools. The collective practices 'divestor' model where donors transfer resources from extractive to regenerative economy.
2. Software Development and Consulting: Terran Collective LLC operates as a software development and consulting agency working with aligned partners (such as DAOstack). This agency work generates income that funds pro bono work caring for the bioregion.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Terran Collective is a community of care and practice that develops free, open-source tools, systems, and practices for bioregional collaboration and regeneration, primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area. Its core offerings are the Hylo coordination platform (stewarded in partnership with Holo) for relationship mapping and resource sharing, recurring in-person gatherings (monthly meetups, annual Terran Camp, and the Terran Cospiracy convening), and an agency/consulting arm (Terran Collective LLC) that builds software for aligned partners such as DAOstack.

Product overview

Terran Collective operates a suite of interlocking offerings anchored by Hylo, a coordination platform it stewarding in partnership with Holo/Holochain for bioregional collaboration. Supporting this core are three event/gathering brands (Terran Cospiracy, Terran Camp, and monthly community gatherings) that build trust and relationships. Two organizational structures carry the work: Terran Collective LLC (the software/consulting agency) and Terran Watershed (a 501c3 nonprofit, fiscally sponsored by Empowerment Works) that receives and stewards donations. The Watershed funds community weaving, technology development, ecosystem mapping, commons governance experiments, and storytelling.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hylo Coordination Platform
• Terran Cospiracy Annual Convening
• Terran Camp Annual Campout
• Software Development and Consulting Services

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and strategic.

• HylocoreTechnology or IntegrationTerran Collective is building its coordination platform on Hylo, a social network for social good. They steward Hylo in partnership with Holo and work to launch new coordination features in partnership with regenerative communities using the platform.
• HolocoreTechnology or IntegrationHolo (makers of Holochain) partners with Terran Collective to steward the Hylo platform. Terran is developing technology roadmap in partnership with Holo to transition Hylo toward a platform cooperative.
• DAOstackstrategicTechnology or IntegrationTerran Collective works as an aligned partner with DAOstack, a platform for decentralized governance. Tibet Sprague has worked closely with DAOstack building the decentralized governance dApp Alchemy.
• Empowerment WorkscoreOthersEmpowerment Works is the 501c3 nonprofit that serves as Terran Watershed's fiscal sponsor, enabling tax-deductible donations to support the collective's work.
• Sogorea Te Land TruststrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerSogorea Te Land Trust is an urban Indigenous women-led community organization that facilitates the return of Chochenyo and Karkin Ohlone lands to Indigenous stewardship. Terran works in partnership with and learns from indigenous communities.
• Amah Mutsun Land TruststrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Amah Mutsun Land Trust brings indigenous stewardship back to the lands of the Amah Mutsun. Terran acknowledges this land trust as a partner in their bioregional work.
• NorCal Resilience NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNorCal Resilience Network catalyzes a Just Transition to an equitable and regenerative region by supporting community-based and ecological solutions in Northern California. Listed as a bioregional ally and trusted organization.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• NorCal Resilience Network: Northern California-based network catalyzing a Just Transition to an equitable and regenerative region. Listed by Terran as a trusted bioregional ally — direct peer in mission, geography and approach to community resilience coordination.
• DAOstack: Decentralized governance platform for DAOs and collective decision-making. Terran Collective operates as an aligned partner and built the Alchemy dApp on DAOstack — directly comparable technology peer in the regenerative/governance tooling space.
• Regen Network: Blockchain-based global marketplace and registry for ecosystem assets, services and data. Listed by Terran as a peer and ally; shares the regenerative economy mission and bioregional coordination orientation.
• Holochain: Decentralized peer-to-peer application framework that partners with Terran Collective to steward the Hylo coordination platform. Holochain provides the underlying infrastructure and shares a community-driven, mission-aligned ethos — the most direct technology peer.
• Hylo: Open-source coordination platform for regenerative communities stewarded jointly by Terran Collective and Holo. Functions as Terran's primary product surface and is the most directly comparable platform peer.
• Sogorea Te Land Trust: Urban Indigenous women-led organization facilitating the return of Chochenyo and Karkin Ohlone lands to Indigenous stewardship. Direct bioregional partner of Terran Collective operating in overlapping Bay Area regenerative space.

Emerging players

• Movement Generation: Bay Area-based activist organization advancing systemic change through ecological regeneration and community organizing. Comparable in Bay Area geography, regenerative mission and movement-building orientation, though with a more explicit activist/policy lens than Terran's tooling focus.
• Project Vesta: Coastal carbon-sequestration project co-founded by Terran's Kelly Erhart. Operates in adjacent regenerative-climate space with shared leadership and mission alignment, though its commercial orientation contrasts with Terran's nonprofit structure.
• Ecozoic Resources: Waterless biofiltration toilet company co-founded and led as COO by Terran's Kelly Erhart. Direct leadership overlap and adjacent regenerative-mission focus.

Others

• One Block off the Grid (1BOG): Residential solar group-buying company where Terran co-founder Tibet Sprague served as VP of Engineering through two acquisitions. Connected via shared leadership, though the business model is commercial rather than regenerative-coordination.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/TerranCollective
• Instagraminstagram.com/terrancollective
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/terran-collective

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Terran Collective