I'm sitting here in Sri Lanka right now and thinking back to November 2017, when I was sitting in the same place and happily decided to join starwings, a self-organised startup with a product for dynamic share distribution based on blockchain.

Now, in April 2019, I'm sitting here again and thinking about why starwings no longer exists and what I've learnt and taken away from that time.

The prerequisites were all there:

Check 1: WHY /Purpose

A great, sustainable vision, the "WHY", i.e. the reason why starwings exists, clearly formulated and what has brought the people at starwings together. An incredible attraction. Vitus, the founder and soul of starwings, was able to bring many people together with the "WHY". We had a wonderfully formulated manifesto that clearly stated what we do and how we do it. It was signed by all of us. The 'WHY' attracted many people, but was it enough for sustainable cohesion?

Check 2: Shared values

We were able to distil the shared values in an innovative process in a 3-hour workshop - they were appropriate, came from the heart and soul of the individuals and described starwings as a whole very well. Very apt and unifying

Check 3: modern form of organisation – 

1.  Self organisation
2.  Transparent salaries

But without a structural framework, self-organisation can lead to confusion and a lack of direction.

If many of the framework conditions were right - why did it still fail?

 

The framework was missing - self-organisation needs a good framework or guard rails

• • There was no predetermined framework, everyone was able to contribute according to their own energy - everything was possible - but therefore nothing....
  • Without a structural framework, without a backbone, self-organisation can lead to confusion and aimlessness
  • In my view, a small strategy team is needed - at least at the beginning - to set the direction and take the wheel,

Too few people committed to 100%, which is too few for a startup

• • Involved from the start in a loose network with varying degrees of commitment - very difficult; a lot of time was spent on communication (picking up individuals, decision-making, etc.)
  • There are always people who promise more than they actually deliver. It's difficult when you work in a self-organised way
  • To build a start-up, you need 100% dedicated people who work on the idea, the product and the organisation

Salary determination - a sensitive topic

• • • I was a great advocate of transparent salaries and transparent salary determination - now I would do it differently depending on the situation
    • We looked for a way - out of consideration for different sensitivities - that would take all possible factors into account and take them into consideration; we had an elected salary committee; everyone was allowed to decide for themselves where they saw their salary; the salary committee then put a picture of the group on an income beam... and the bad feeling started with those who were at the bottom... and those who were higher. What is justified? What is fair? Is that even possible?
    • We had discussed all possible models: standardised salary for all - regardless of experience
    • But as soon as I make the connection between experience and contribution, it quickly becomes personal: why am I "only" worth so little? Is it because of me as a person? And whoosh... From this point on, the motivation of our (very young) development team was at rock bottom. I think they felt that their special expertise was not valued.
    • In my view, transparent salary determination can only work if everyone earns the same. Of course, this is easy if everyone has the same level of experience. Finding a balance between transparency and individual appreciation is essential. As soon as different experiences, skills, etc. come into play, the "fair" distribution that was so well thought out quickly begins to be perceived as unfair. What experience counts? Is professional experience more important than blockchain experience? What is really important?

A sustainable business model

Our business model has changed repeatedly over the past 1.5 years - partly due to regulations. The version that we used ourselves at starwings to dynamically adjust our shares worked really well. We also found many interested start-ups and VCs. The problem was and still is the current tax law, which has nothing to do with dynamic share distribution....

What do I take with me?

1. Valuable self-experience of how self-organisation can and cannot work
2. Experiencing how far a good vision, a great purpose and a visionary founder can motivate and pull a group - and where the limits are
3. An innovative method of creating sustainable corporate values in a highly individualised, personalised way and in a short space of time
4. Salary determination requires special attentiveness
5. And of course the great people I was able to meet.

I would like to thank everyone who has been involved during this time and made starwings what it has become, helped to bring the technology to the world and created events that have connected people: #vitus #katrin #markus #marco #christoph #christian #andré #dominic