ABOUT THIS PROJECT
Hello, my name is Mike Merrill, and I'm your new investment.
After years of doing web-based projects, I've decided to take my commitment to collaboration (and my love of the business world) to the highest level. I'm selling shares in myself.
Using a virtual, fully-functional stock market called KmikeyM.com, I'm inviting everyone to own a part of me and all my future projects. By buying shares in me, Mike Merrill, you not only fund my ideas, but you have a say in which ones I undertake. As our little economy grows, my stock price will become a kind of benchmark for my success; the higher the stock price, the more viable the worth of my projects.
When Shareholder Questions come up, stock owners will be able to vote on significant choices in my life. The more shares you have, the more weight your vote has. You could be the only person voting to send me to night school, but with enough shares behind you, I'm going to enroll. Ostensibly, if we make the right choices, we both win.
Sure, you might say that this is an incomplete way of measuring my success -- or that a business model is not conducive to the execution of creative projects. I don't see it this way. Business is a social science of managing people to organize and maintain collective productivity, and to accomplish particular creative and productive goals; after all, the etymology of the word "business" refers to the state of being busy.
It's is not about generating profits, particularly, although that might very well happen: it's about a group of people working towards the same goal. By using an adapted structure of the market economy, you and I have a ready-built mechanism for operations, accountability, and measuring success that is not only well documented but also easily understood.
K5M F.A.Q.
How do I get started?
Opening an K5M account is easy. All you have to do is sign up at KmikeyM.com, then send money via PayPal to K5M@kmikeym.com. Once that money is received, it will be represented in your new online account. If you have received a physical share, you can register it at shares@kmikeym.com. Just let us know the serial number and where you got it, and we'll add that share to your account.
Is KmikeyM.com FDIC insured?
We're definitely not a bank, and therefore we're not FDIC insured. In this regard, this project is very cutting edge.
Still, although K5M is a future-leaning, Web 2.0 experiment with capitalism, your money is safe. As soon as you send money via PayPal to K5M@kmikeym.com, it will be represented in your KmikeyM.com account. When you buy and sell shares, your money will be transferred from PayPal to an EmigrantDirect Savings account. The money there is FDIC insured.
How do I make deposits and withdrawals?
All deposits and withdrawals are made online through PayPal. Any funds you send to K5M@kmikeym.com will be deposited in your KmikeyM.com account; when you request a withdrawal, you will receive it via PayPal.
I don't have PayPal. Can I fund my account with a check?
Absolutely. Send an email to kmikeym@kmikeym.com and you will receive all the appropriate instructions regarding where to mail the check and who to make it out to.
How long will it take for KmikeyM.com withdrawals to appear in my PayPal account?
Because the money is not stored in PayPal, it will usually take between 4 and 6 business days, depending upon what time of day you initiated your transfer request.
Colophon
This project wouldn't have happened without the participation of the following:
Programming by Greg Borenstein.
Shares designed and printed by Emily Johnson.
Image of Mike Merrill drawn by Corey Lunn.
Web development assistance from Curt Merrill.
Web design by Jona Bechtolt.
Copywriting assistance from Claire L. Evans.
The early inspiration for this work came from the amazing etoy.com website.
