The Open Value Manifesto

Declaration

As technology increasingly shapes our collective future, we introduce a new paradigm that transforms how we build and share value in the digital age.

What is Open Value?

Open Value builds upon the foundation of open source—but goes significantly further. It asserts that value created by a community must be shared with that community. Code, capital, and contribution are intrinsically linked in a virtuous cycle of creation and reward.

It’s about building in the open — and rewarding in the open. It’s not just a license model — it’s a movement.

Core Principles

1. Build in Full View

True innovation flourishes in the light. Openness is a starting point, not a finish line. Central architecture, system, process, strategic decision and choice, compliance approach, and design rationale should be visible, documented, and explained—making value creation transparent, traceable, and accessible. This radical transparency creates an unprecedented educational resource where people learn by witnessing the value creation process.

2. Value All Forms of Contribution

Time, talent, and creativity are forms of value. Contributors deserve economic participation—if they help build it, they should benefit. Code is vital, but so are design insights, clearing regulatory hurdles, thoughtful feedback, documentation, end-use testing for an early stage, and community building.

3. Practice Collaborative Governance

Power over open infrastructure must reflect the community that sustains it. Decision-making cannot remain solely in the hands of founders or investors. As communities contribute to building open value systems, they must gain corresponding voice in steering them.

4. Establish Public Trust Through Transparency

Systems that affect people’s lives—whether in finance, health, education, or infrastructure—must earn trust through visible processes, verifiable outcomes, and open accountability. Promises of openness and value sharing must be formalized and made difficult to reverse.

5. Build Self-Sustaining Commons

Open Value means long-term sustainability—not charity, not extractive growth, but shared durability. We are building commons that can sustain themselves through aligned incentives among founders, investors, contributors, and users.

6. Honor the Observers: Learning Through Transparency

Observers are vital: those who watch, learn, and grow by witnessing the process of building in the open. They may not write code or vote on governance proposals, but they gain deep insight into how great systems are architected, how compliance and trust are earned, and how sustainable models are forged. This collective learning is a form of public value.

7. Open to All, Earned by Action

Open Value platforms welcome everyone—regardless of résumé, credentials, or geography. Opportunity is not gated by pre-qualification but earned through value-added contribution. Anyone can step in, contribute meaningfully, and grow from observer to stakeholder—proving their worth by adding value.

What Open Value Enables

• Fair reward systems tied to contribution
• Open financial infrastructure with human-readable trust trails
• Programmable constraints that ensure use aligns with mission
• New forms of equity that extend beyond traditional ownership
• Resilient communities that thrive through collaborative creation
• Living educational resources where people learn by witnessing the entire creation process

The Open Value Difference

The Open Value model is neither traditional business nor pure public commons. It charts a middle path that harnesses market dynamics while rejecting extractive practices. It empowers builders while serving users. Where conventional companies extract maximum value for shareholders, and traditional open-source often struggles with sustainability, Open Value projects create aligned incentives for all.

Join the Open Value Movement

We invite founders, developers, designers, community builders, investors, users, and learners to embrace this new standard:

• For builders: Start your next project as an Open Value initiative
• For contributors: Direct your talents toward systems that share returns
• For investors: Support models that distribute value more equitably
• For users: Choose products and services built on these principles
• For observers & learners: Witness the complete journey from idea to implementation to gain invaluable insights into value creation
• Aspiring Contributors: Whether experienced or beginning, Open Value systems offer a place to prove your ability.

The most resilient systems of tomorrow will be those built collaboratively today, with transparency as their foundation and shared prosperity as the goal.
Start building. Share value. This is Open Value.