I am creating a 100% employee owned company, focused on automating the employee’s jobs. Employees will thus own the automation that took away their job. “Own You Job!”.
My mission
I am concerned with the impact of automation on society, particularly employment. I believe we are in a period of unprecedented change, caused by the convergence of various technoIogy advancements and breakthroughs. This has resulted in the capability to automate almost all jobs in theory, and most jobs in practice. This is much different than past advancements, where there were enough new types of jobs created that everyone who wanted a job had a chance to work. While there will still be the need for some human labor, most of the processes to produce what is needed for our basic needs will be automated. Any claims that new types of jobs will provide employment are flawed, because any potential new type of work will also be automated. This is likely to result in a painful transition caused by the fact that the means of production will be owned by a small segment of the population, while the majority of the population will be unable to obtain employment that permits a reasonable standard of living.
I have many years of experience in software development (embedded systems), electronics, and manufacturing. I own an industrial building with manufacturing equipment (CNC, welding, electronics lab, etc.). I am using my experience and the resources of FLEXWEST to bootstrap a new company that will be 100% employee owned. I am doing this to benefit society. This model of company can help combat the negative effects of automation on employment, reduce the wealth gap and grow the middle class, and increase participation in governance. The first vertical market will be automated mobile pizza. Customized pizza to your taste, fresh baked at your doorstep!
My background
I have a multi-disciplanary background which includes software engineering, electronics, manufacturing and retailing. I opened a retail hobby store (radio control airplanes, slot cars, model rockets, etc.) when I was 21 years old. That business failed, primarily due to the high cost of rent. In 1979, I subsequently attended trade school to learn electronics, and became a component level technician in a computer factory working on mini-computers. I purchased an Apple II computer and taught myself to program in basic, pascal, 6502 and Z80 assembler. I then got my first software engineering job, writing a BIOS for CPM-80 at a startup; this is where I was first exposed to Unix on a PDP 11-70. I subsequently worked at various companies, mostly writing hardware related code such as hardware diagnostics and test, OS device drivers and working on embedded systems. I earned my Bachelors degree in Computer Science in 1985. I worked for a variety of companies, small and large, including IBM, Sun Microsystems and American Express, mostly as a contractor. I wanted to help the USA bring back manufacturing, so in 2005 I took a basic machining class in adult school, and got a job as a tool and die maker. Subsequently I became a CNC machinist and then a Manufacturing Engineer. In 2014 I purchased a small industrial building and equipped it with a variety of equipment, including CNC machines, welding equipment, 3D printer, laser cutter, electronics lab etc. I created my current company, FLEXWEST, and have been doing embedded systems and industrial system development under contract to a variety of customers. My skills and background include software development in C/C++/Python, electronics design, manufacturing automation with PLCs, robotics and computer vision, manufacturing with CNC and welding. I am now retirement age, and I am no longer seeking contract work. I am focusing on helping society by bootstrapping the employee-owned company using my skills and background and resources of FLEXWEST.
