One last bellow from Louder Than Ten

Where it all began

Back in 2009, we launched as a scrappy digital design studio run by a husband and wife team who happened to share the same birthday and an endless love for rewatching The Big Lebowski. We saw companies plastering their websites with "We design beautiful experiences" while treating their teams and clients like afterthoughts. We believed the real experience was in how you worked with people, not just what you delivered to them.

In 2014, we found our true calling and pivoted to digital project management and operations training. Why? Because we saw project management as the connective tissue of digital work—the equalizer, the super glue, the nucleus where real transformation happens. We weren't interested in teaching people to be task jockeys. We wanted to build leaders who could distribute power, question the status quo, and make their teams' lives better.

What we believed (and still do)

We believed in democracy at work with the same fervor most people reserve for government elections. We fought for:

• Power distributed fairly among workers
• Project management as a vehicle for social change
• Making the web more human, not more machine-like
• Building organizations where people have a real voice
• Training digital workers to weather an uncertain future

When we converted to a worker-owned cooperative in 2021, it wasn't just idealism—it was putting our money where our mouth was. We wanted to prove that businesses could run democratically, that workers could own their destiny, that profit and people weren't mutually exclusive. And you know what? It worked. The co-op model made us more resilient, more creative, and more committed to each other and our mission.

Why now?

The decision to close isn't about failure—it's about evolution. The digital landscape has shifted dramatically since we began. The post-pandemic economy reshaped our industry. Big changes in our personal lives altered our paths. And honestly? After 15 years of fighting the good fight, we're ready to channel our energy in new directions.

The co-op structure we're so proud of? It's still the most ethical and humane way to run a business under capitalism. We're not shutting down because the model failed—we're closing because it's time for our next chapters.

Where we're headed

The mission continues, just in different forms:

We're all still committed to improving the lives of digital workers and building a more human internet. The venue's changing, but the song remains the same.

Thank you, thank you, thank you

This journey wouldn't have been possible without an incredible cast of characters:

To our apprentices and their agencies—you trusted us with your careers and your teams. You implemented what we taught, pushed back when we needed perspective, and proved that democratic project management isn't just theory. You're out there right now, running better projects and building better teams. That's a legacy we'll carry forever.

To the co-op community—Chris Galloway, Marty Frost, the Canadian Worker Co-op Federation, BC Co-op Association, and Vancity Credit Union. You guided us through our transformation and showed us what business with a conscience looks like. The co-op model remains one of our proudest achievements.

To our friends and family—you supported us through the late nights, the pivots, the doubts, and the victories. You believed in this weird vision of democratic workplaces even when the rest of the industry thought we were tilting at windmills.

To everyone who read our posts, attended our workshops, joined our community, or simply believed that work could be different—thank you for making these 15 years matter.

The future is still human

As we close this chapter, we're not pessimistic about the future of digital work. Yes, the machines are here. The templates are multiplying. The web sometimes feels like it's being painted in corporate beige. The tyrants are tearing the fabric of society. But as long as there are people willing to fight for democracy at work, to design with heart instead of just metrics, to treat project management as a human discipline rather than a technical one—there's hope.

Our industry doesn't need more process. It needs more humanity. It doesn't need more tools. It needs more democracy. It doesn't need more metrics. It needs more meaning.

We may be closing our doors, but we're not abandoning these beliefs. We're taking them with us into whatever comes next.

Stay in touch

Want to know where we landed? Follow our continued adventures:

• Rachel Gertz: LinkedIn | rachelgertz.com
• Travis Gertz: LinkedIn | travisgertz.com
• Abby Fretz: LinkedIn

To our community members: You'll continue to have access to resources for the time being as we transition. Keep building those democratic workplaces. Keep fighting for human-centered design. Keep believing that digital work can be a force for good.

This isn't goodbye—it's just the end of volume one. Here's to whatever comes next.

With gratitude and hope,
Rachel, Travis, Abby, and the entire Louder Than Ten family

P.S. —Remember: we're all spinning around the sun at 30 kilometers per second, working through project deadlines and wrestling expectations to the mat. Don't forget to lift your chin sometimes and see the bigger picture. That's what this was always about.