Food for Thought

There is no doubt that we have seen the power crowdsourcing spread its branches across numerous industries.  Today however I came across a first…a restaurant fueled entirely by an online community of voices.  Elements, a Washington based eatery, prides itself on creating a “third place between home and work for people of all ages, preferences and backgrounds to meet and nourish themselves, the people around them, and the planet.”  The Elements project was originally launched in 2007 by Linda Welch, a Washington business woman who partnered with friend and local entrepreneur and crowdsourcing proponent Neil Takemoto.  Welch had originally purchased the business and liquor licenses of nearby Sparky’s, a failed coffee shop, but had no idea what to do with them.  Soon thereafter Takemoto and Welch had a very deep and inspiring chat.  According to the Washington Post the conversation between the two went something like this:

Takemoto:  “How about crowdsourcing the restaurant?”

Welch: “Great!’ “ She remembers. ” ‘What the hell is that?’ “

A month later, the group had its first meeting.

 ”I ordered one pizza and picked up a six-pack of beer,” Welch said. “I thought if there were three or four people there, that would be a lot.”

There were 14 people at the first meeting.  Since that day, the entire build process has been driven by a dedicated community of crowdsourcers including architecture buffs, food lovers, designers, potential chefs and servers and a local nonprofit called Live Green, whose purpose is to help establish affordable, environmentally sound businesses.  However, the part that I find most intriguing is the points system.  Members earn points for their participation efforts, such as attending meetings and referring new members; those with at least 1 percent of the total points are eligible to share in the 10 percent of profits allocated to members.  Definitely a unique and uncharacteristic approach. 

In case you’re wondering, Elements serves only organic vegetarian dishes provided straight from their own garden which is housed in a facility that more than exceeds environmental standards.  As if this wasn’t enough, Elements also supports balance globally by cutting waste, composting, recycling, and by neutralizing carbon output with offsets and green energy. If you’re at all interested, check out the Elements website, track their progress, or submit your own ideas.  With over 400 members and counting in their online community, it will be very interesting to see how the Elements project fares against what many say is the toughest industry for startup success. 

-PB