Your first co-op founders’ meeting: a useful agenda

A first meeting does not need to produce a name, a website and a completed registration form. A more useful result is agreement about the problem you want to solve, who should benefit, and what you need to find out next. You can be enthusiastic about co-operation while still discovering that your first business idea needs work.

The agenda below is an example for a small founding group. Adapt the timing and format so everyone can contribute. It sits alongside the wider starting-a-co-op pathway; it is not a substitute for agreed governing rules.

Before you meet

Send a short invitation explaining the idea in ordinary language. Ask each person to bring one thing they hope the co-op could achieve and one concern. Offer a way to contribute in writing. Share the location or joining link, accessibility arrangements and expected finish time. Choose someone to facilitate and someone to record decisions; these need not become permanent positions.

If the group includes people with an existing business or property interest, invite them to explain that interest. Clarifying relationships early is easier than discovering later that different people thought the group had agreed different things.

An agenda to adapt

1. Introductions and expectations — 10 minutes. What brings each person here? What would make the meeting useful?
2. The shared need — 15 minutes. Who has the problem, how do they handle it now, and what would change if the co-op existed?
3. Membership and control — 15 minutes. Who might own and participate in it: workers, residents, customers, producers, or several groups? Who is missing from this conversation?
4. A plausible business — 20 minutes. What would the organisation provide? Who would pay, and what would it cost to keep providing it?
5. Capacity and boundaries — 10 minutes. What time, skills and money can people realistically offer? What has nobody agreed to contribute?
6. Next actions — 15 minutes. Pick a few questions to investigate, a person responsible for each and a date to compare findings.
7. Check out — 5 minutes. Does everyone understand what was decided and what remains open?

Record the right things

Create a one-page founding-group record with these headings: proposed purpose; people who should benefit; possible members; what we know; assumptions to test; decisions today; next actions; next meeting. Keep proposals separate from decisions. Write “investigate renting a workspace” if that is what you agreed, rather than “we will rent a workspace”.

For each action, record an owner and a useful output. “Research demand” is vague. “Speak with three potential customers and report what they currently buy, what is missing and whether they would try our service” gives the next meeting something to assess. Treat those conversations as research, not a reason to promise services you cannot yet deliver.

What can wait

A logo, complicated software and a legal-form decision can usually wait until the group has a clearer purpose. A shared document, an agreed contact route and a safe place for notes are enough for many early conversations. Keep ownership and recovery in mind even at this stage; avoid making one person's private inbox the only record.

Your next step is to use the co-op readiness checklist together, then take the unanswered questions to an appropriate co-operative support organisation. The checklist is a discussion aid, not a verdict on whether your idea will succeed.