Abbas Shapuri’s journey into the worker co-operative movement is not a typical one. Many worker co-operators arrive from the “alternative” or activist scenes. Abbas, however, came from the heart of capitalism: corporate accountancy.
In this episode of Punchcard, Abbas and I talk about what led to him betraying his politics and values to work at big corporate firms, like KPMG & IHG, and how he eventually managed to escape.
Help connect more workers like Abbas with the worker co-op movement & support for Punchcard £5/month on Open Collective
⚖️ From the Corporate World to The Co-op One
Something I was thinking about when talking to Abbas is how many other people there must be in the same position that he was in – stuck in a corporate job that clashes with their values, unable to see an alternative, or too afraid to take the jump. How do we reach those people?
Abbas’s journey has plenty of twists and turns, but the one that seems the most impactful is his best friend Aqeel. Aqeel shared Abbas’s politics, but acted on it – joining a Radical Routes housing co-op, discovering Third Sector Accountancy and introducing Abbas to the illusive world of co-ops.
And this points to a solution, but also an issue. If Abbas hadn’t had Aqeel, a friend inside a housing co-op, he might never have found his way in. The worker co-op sector’s growth is held back by our reach, and if we want it to grow, we need to start punching above our weight.
That’s why I started Punchcard, to introduce people to co-ops at scale. To share the stories that make people stop and think “maybe I don’t have to keep working like this”. If Abbas did it, maybe I can too.
Support Punchcard for £5/month to take us to the next level – better audio, better video, greater reach!
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💼 Learning from the Enemy
Abbas is the second Punchcard guest to highlight the benefits of spending some time working outside of worker co-ops. While our self-taught, DIY ethos is powerful, the reality is that KPMG gave Abbas access to skills and experiences that you’d struggle to find in a worker co-op.
The same message came from our episode with Ai Van, who, while at the Leeds Bread Co-op read traditional business management books and brought us the £1 model. She has since left the Leeds Bread Co-op to see what she can learn from working in a traditional business and may return with more insights and tools that could strengthen our co-ops.
Building on the impact of Ai Van’s episode, season 2 of Punchcard is featuring more innovators and practical solutions for worker co-ops. Upcoming guests include Paul from Navigate, sharing tools & frameworks to manage conflict, and Steffi, Novara Media’s fundraiser, discussing fundraising campaigns and the power of newsletters.
💬 What other useful tools & frameworks would you like us to explore on Punchcard?
[→ Share your thoughts in the workers.coop forum ▷]
📈 Growing the Co-op Accountancy Sector
According to Third Sector Accountancy they have no shortage of organisations asking for accountancy support. So why aren’t they growing to meet the need?
A common concern for Abbas, and many other cooperators, is the risk of diluting or losing the values and ethos of their co-op. So how do we build and maintain cooperative culture?
In a previous episode of Punchcard, Beau explained how Suma Wholefoods strengthens its values through a secondary set of principles, a framework that goes deeper than the standard seven international cooperative principles and the members have more ownership over.
Unicorn Grocery takes this a step further, embedding their values into the rhythm of daily life with fortnightly trainings where members can present everything from sectoral trends to how to better include neurodivergent members.
💬 What about your co-op? How do you maintain your co-op’s values & culture?
[→ Share your answer on the workers.coop forum▷]
Help connect more workers like Abbas with the worker co-op movement
Worker co-operatives are still a fringe model, known by few and understood by even fewer. Punchcard exists to change that, bringing co-operative ideas and real-world stories into public consciousness.
By building a dedicated worker co-op podcast, we’re reaching new audiences and showing that another way of working is not only possible – it’s already happening.
We’re aiming for 50 listeners donating £5/month to take Punchcard to the next level – better audio, better video, and greater reach.
[→ Support Punchcard on Open Collective ▷]
Thank you to everyone who has supported Punchcard and helped us get to this point,
– Caleb Elliott & Punchcard
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