With our 23rd anniversary happening this year, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what should happen to thoughtbot after I’m gone, and what the next generation of thoughtbot ownership and governance looks like.
The most common path for companies like ours is to be sold to another consulting company, strategic acquirer, or private equity.
While that may lead to a successful financial outcome for the old owners, we don’t have a lot of good examples for how that ends well for the company itself, or the people who work there.
As I grappled with these thoughts, I began to feel that I would rather give the company a shot at persisting forever and have that fail, than to sell the company and almost certainly have them ruin it.
A different definition of success in tech
Our industry has celebrated growth, fundraising, valuation, and acquisition as primary indicators of success for a long time. Meanwhile, healthy, profitable private companies that endure for decades often receive far less attention and are frequently dismissed as “lifestyle businesses” rather than celebrated as examples of long-term success.
Those outcomes aren’t inherently wrong, but they aren’t the only outcomes worth pursuing.
After 23 years, thoughtbot has proven that it is possible to build an independent, profitable company that creates opportunities for employees, serves clients well, contributes to the community, and remains true to its values.
As I thought about what comes next, I realized that preserving those things mattered more to me than maximizing the company’s value in a future sale. I explored company ownership options that prioritized long-term stewardship and we landed on one that works for us.
Why a Perpetual Purpose Trust
I’m pleased to announce that as of June 1, 2026 thoughtbot is now entirely owned by the THOUGHTBOT PURPOSE TRUST, a perpetual purpose trust.
In a perpetual purpose trust, ownership is held by a non-charitable trust called a purpose trust that exists for the benefit of the stakeholders and the purpose established by the founders of the trust.
The trust is an entity that never needs income, never retires, and never dies. It never needs liquidity, so it never needs to sell the company. The trust is not interested in maximizing profit or share value. It’s interested in one thing alone: maximizing the purpose for which it’s founded through the company’s ongoing operations. Control is kept within the company and assigned to leaders who are active in the business and the purpose. In this structure, the company can then focus on running a healthy business where profits serve the purpose and benefit all stakeholders, not just shareholders.
The purpose of the THOUGHTBOT PURPOSE TRUST is to ensure the continuity of thoughtbot and that company leadership will work to further and balance the following objectives:
- Ensure the long-term financial sustainability and profitability of thoughtbot.
- Refer to our values when making decisions, both big and small.
- Reward active leaders in the company for their long-term commitment and mission-driven contributions.
- Invest in professional development, teamwork, and a safe, inclusive workplace.
- Continue to be a good steward of the communities in which thoughtbot participates.
The trust has a group of individuals who oversee the long-term stewardship of the company and trust purpose. The current members of this group are three members of the thoughtbot management team: Ran Craycraft, Becky Dunbar, and myself. At the end of 2027, we’ll add two additional members:
- One Employee Seat: Held by a current non-management employee who has been here at least 2 years. Employees will participate in nominating and appointing the Employee Seat.
- One Community Seat: Representing former employees, customers, or the open-source community. Employees will nominate someone to the Community Seat.
Perpetual Trust Ownership is novel, but it’s not new. It’s been around for a while and is more common in Europe than the US. In the US, you might have heard of Patagonia converting to this model several years ago.
thoughtbot is still led by its management team, but it now has a structure in place, backed by real ownership that ensures we maintain our company and purpose indefinitely into the future. It also ensures that the people who continue to make this company great, the people who work here, are not only part of how it’s governed, but also receive the benefits of the company over time.
And importantly, the thoughtbot we have today is not changing. In fact, the point of doing this is to preserve what we have today.
I believe companies can be built to last, and that the people who dedicate their careers to building something valuable should have a meaningful role in shaping its future.
Success isn’t simply growth, valuation, or an eventual exit. It’s building a company that remains financially healthy while helping people learn, grow, and do meaningful work. It’s creating products that make positive contributions to the world, supporting the communities we participate in, and remaining true to our values.
This structure helps ensure that thoughtbot’s purpose, not just its ownership, can continue to be stewarded long after today’s leadership team is gone.