Section 1: Basics about your Business
    1. Business Name: ReLeaf
    2. Business' website: https://releaf.site
    3. Business address: 1726 Hillcrest Lane, Austin, Texas 78721

Section 2: Learning about you and those with whom you are working to build this business
    1. Team Status: I am a solo founder working on the business part-time.
    2. Current Structure: We are seeking a planning team, advisory board, and/or a governing board.
    3. Committee or board: John Benton (NYC - Sculpture artist and master carpenter), Natalie Hill (Austin, TX - UX designer, performing rock musician), Charlotte Belle (Austin, TX - Art teacher, mobile haircare business owner)
    4. Your name: Bryce Benton
    5. Your email: brycebenton@gmail.com
    6. About Yourself: I was a member-owner at a bakery when I first arrived in Austin. I have extensive experience in socially conscious and educational software and processes for public libraries, schools, and academia. I'm passionate about ReLeaf's innovation of complete "Life Story" metadata, facilitated by giving a unique QR code to every component and work contribution, meaning every product has 100% transparency, from waste harvesting through installation and maintenance. 
    7. First Time Founder: Yes
    8. LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryce-benton-3982b282

Section 3: Learning about the details of your business
    1. Elevator Pitch: ReLeaf is an eco-innovative cooperative transforming business and residential waste into lush, living walls, reducing waste disposal costs, and contributing to a greener Austin.
    2. Business Overview: 
        - Problem: Residents and businesses pay high costs for waste management. It's environmentally damaging to dump into landfills and less ideal to use centralized single-bin recycling.
        - Solution: ReLeaf helps people and businesses save money by reducing waste, and also by transforming waste into beautiful vertical gardens. These continually blooming and accumulating modular planters are sold once or with a maintenance subscription.
        - Product/Service: Vertical gardens made from recycled waste. 
        - Likely Customers: Austin-based residents, businesses, and educational institutions. 
        - Business Model: Revenue through service fees for waste disposal, the sale of our vertical gardens, and educational workshops.
    3. Opportunity Size: Initially, we are focused on the Austin market. However, considering the ubiquity of business waste, the potential market size is vast and could expand nationally or even globally with the right scale of operations.
    4. Competitors: Conventional waste haulers, other selective waste harvesting companies, and Austin Resource Recovery.
    5. Top 3 Challenges: Establishing efficient waste collection logistics, ensuring the quality of our vertical gardens, and scaling our operations.
    6. 5-Year Vision: Success for ReLeaf means becoming Austin's go-to solution for sustainable waste management, with our living walls becoming a common sight in the cityscape. We also aim to have established a strong cooperative community.

Section 4: Your progress to date
    1. Time Spent on the Business: Less than 6 months
    2. Milestones: Developed and launched a website, published articles, how-to's, and fictional narratives involving circular economy storylines. The website is ready for facilitating sales and subscriptions. Started to grow the first vertical gardens by diverting 100% of our residential waste.

Section 5: Your cooperative ownership
    1. Start-Up Status: We are in the early stages of our startup and are actively seeking to launch as soon as  possible. We're also seeking additional founding member-owners.
    2. Owners: Workers, users/consumers, producers, or other small businesses.
    3. Ownership Milestones: Our first milestone is understanding how to organize effectively as a cooperative. We are actively exploring ways to establish a fair pay structure for all contributions and provide residual income streams for people who contributed to each.
    4. Worker Ownership: We are currently working on a model that allows every worker to become an owner, and aim to reach 250 member owners within the first 3 years.