Employee Ownership on Blockchain

Makerstreet, a network of digital agencies of which Elements is a part, is one of the largest players in its field in the Netherlands, specializing in digital strategy, design, innovation, technology, and marketing, with nearly 400 employees.

Over the past ten years, 'the street' has experienced a growth of over 750%. This growth is attributed to a fundamental attitude summed up as 'ownership' - the profound sense of connection to the results that Makerstreet achieves for its clients and, by extension, for the companies in the network.

Because the creators within the network's companies are of essential value to both clients and the enterprises providing these services, Makerstreet believes they are entitled to a share of the value they represent, i.e., employee ownership. And that calls for its own blockchain platform: The Maker Market.

Trading Platform for Employees

Within Maker Market, shares are distributed to employees in the form of virtual tokens. These tokens have a value that can rise or fall, similar to the way the value of businesses fluctuates. In essence, it's like having your own cryptocurrency exchange platform running on a blockchain. Elements developed the platform. Employees of Makerstreet can thus trade with tokens from the 18 different agencies within Makerstreet.

Buying and Selling Tokens

Employees with a permanent contract receive a digital wallet with a fixed amount of tokens from the company they work for. They can trade these tokens themselves and purchase 'shares' of various companies within the MakerStreet network.

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Erwin van Hasselt from Makerstreet says: "One of the fundamental principles of Makerstreet is to apply innovation in everything we do, both within our own organization and with our clients. With the launch of Makerstreet Market, we are one step closer to employee ownership where employees actually share in the results of their efforts. We believe in creating a culture that encourages entrepreneurship and want to be an attractive employer for talent in this way."