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Start Here: What is Heirloom?

What is Heirloom and why do we build

Start Here: What is Heirloom?

Heirloom is public-benefit infrastructure that helps people build better businesses and projects together.

At its core, Heirloom exists to solve a quiet but common problem:
most good ideas don’t fail because they’re bad, they fade because people lose momentum, structure, or support.

Our mission is simple:

Increase access to entrepreneurship and creative work by giving people the structure to keep their ideas alive.

Why We Build

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Heirloom started from a personal place.

Back in 2024, I left my job to pursue Heirloom because I was passionate about helping people pursue their passions. But I also recognized the privilege in being able to do that. Heirloom was created to give other people that same opportunity, without them needing to quit their job just to get started.

Because the truth is: plenty of people have great ideas. Stuff they’re genuinely passionate about. Side projects they want to pursue. But between responsibilities, lack of capital or knowledge, and a smaller network after leaving college, things get in the way.

Over time, those obstacles add up. And without the right support network, most ideas eventually fade away.

We don’t think that should be the default.

This is basically the tool I wish existed when I was trying to build Heirloom while working.

Everyone should have the opportunity to pursue what they’re excited about, because work created out of joy is usually the best work we can create.

So we built Heirloom to give teams structure:

  • a place for isolated ideators to meet people who actually want to help grow the idea
  • tools to organize the work
  • a system that keeps things moving (instead of scattered across notes, texts, and half-finished docs)

A big part of Heirloom: dynamic equity

In the current landscape, there are only so many ways to get external help.

A common option is freelancing, which can be great, but it often turns into a transactional relationship where incentives aren’t aligned. You want the best possible work for the product. The freelancer wants to get it done and move to the next job. It’s short-term, and usually not built for deep ownership.

People also look for cofounders. But the current methods have problems too:

  • it’s hard to find cofounders in your existing network
  • tools like YC Cofounder Match can help you meet someone, but equity often becomes a mess later
  • a lot of teams set splits early, then reality changes

A huge source of cofounder conflict is equity not reflecting the work that actually made the business succeed.

Dynamic equity flips this idea on its head.
Ownership is earned through work done.

This helps early teams (sometimes strangers) align motivation:

  • people put their best foot forward
  • contributions stay visible
  • you avoid “we picked a split on vibes” problems down the line

Heirloom is also about shared ownership culture

Heirloom is also about changing how people relate to their work.

It’s inspired by worker-ownership models, cooperatives, and the growing desire for people to have a real voice in the things they help build.

Too often, people are treated as interchangeable labor rather than creative contributors. We think that’s a missed opportunity.

Good ideas don’t only come from the top.
They come from everywhere.

That’s why Heirloom includes systems like proposals and open discussion; low-lift ways for people to share ideas, suggest improvements, and participate meaningfully in a project’s direction.

One user put it this way:

“It’s like Asana, but it makes sure your work is fairly recognized and you actually feel empowered to contribute ideas. You’re not just completing tasks, you’re participating in growth and shaping the vision.”

That feeling of ownership, agency, and recognition is foundational to what we are trying to create.

The future we’re trying to create

A future where responsibilities don’t automatically kill passion.

A future where anybody who wants to create can find the right people to create with.

A future where building something meaningful doesn’t require burning out or going it alone.

Heirloom is designed to support:

  • startups
  • nonprofits
  • cooperatives
  • artistic and creative collectives
  • long-term projects that don’t fit traditional molds.

If it feels harder than ever to bet on yourself, Heirloom exists to make that first step easier without needing to take a leap of faith.

If you’re interested: sign up, add your idea, and see where it goes.
Join the community and start building better together.

Why the name “Heirloom”

An heirloom is something precious you protect and pass down. That’s how we think about good ideas, most people have a few they genuinely care about, but they’re fragile without the right support.

Heirloom exists to help those ideas survive long enough to become real, and eventually become something you can be proud to hand off: to your team, your community, maybe even the future “family” you build along the way.

What to do next