Quarterly Knowledge Base

KmikeyM

6 min read

KmikeyM

Overview

KmikeyM is a technology holding company and experimental venture studio founded by Mike Merrill. Operating at the intersection of technology, collective governance, and creative experimentation, KmikeyM maintains a diverse portfolio of projects ranging from enterprise software platforms to avant-garde social experiments.

Mission: To explore innovative models of organization, governance, and technology while building practical tools that solve real-world problems.

Core Philosophy: KmikeyM operates on principles of transparency, collective decision-making, and experimental economics. The company itself is structured around the KmikeyM Project—where shareholders vote on strategic decisions, embodying the radical transparency that defines the organization’s culture.

Portfolio Focus:

  • Enterprise technology platforms (Quarterly Systems)
  • Experimental governance models (KmikeyM Project)
  • Media production (Blippo+)
  • Research and development initiatives (Quarterly Labs)

History

Origins (2008)

KmikeyM emerged from a bold social experiment in 2008 when Mike Merrill, inspired by Etoy.Corporation’s shareholder art project, decided to create something more ambitious: a functioning stock market for a human being. The project addressed a critical gap—while others had created shareholder structures, none had built a true marketplace where shares could be actively traded.

The catalyst came from an unexpected source: a failed Portland Mercury charity auction bid. When friends pooled money to support Mike’s scheme, he had a realization: “If my friends trust me on this one weird random project, then they probably just trust me. So why not have them give me that money for my next big project?”

Early Development (2008-2017)

Phase 1: The KmikeyM Project Launch

  • Initial share offering at $1 per share
  • Building the shareholder voting system
  • Establishing governance protocols
  • Growing to 160+ shareholders
  • Share price growth from 8.75

Professional Foundation: During this period, Mike built crucial experience:

  • Ten years at Panic (software company)
  • Co-founded Chroma, a protocol software studio (later acquired)
  • Worked at Sandwich ad agency
  • Participated in Barclay’s Fintech Accelerator and Nike+ Accelerator

Expansion Era (2017-Present)

2017: Los Angeles Move Mike relocated to Los Angeles to pursue film and television opportunities, expanding KmikeyM’s scope into media production.

Media Recognition: The KmikeyM Project gained widespread attention with features in VICE, The Today Show, Playboy, The Hustle, WIRED, The Atlantic Monthly, Fast Company, and CNBC. Mike presented the project at TEDxVienna.

Near-Hollywood Adaptation: The concept nearly became a feature film with Jason Bateman attached to direct and star, demonstrating the project’s cultural resonance.

Technology Ventures: KmikeyM evolved beyond the personal stock market experiment to launch Quarterly Systems—a portfolio of integrated business applications and services.

Current Development:

  • Executive producer on Blippo+, an IPO-themed series in development with Amazon and Sony Pictures Television
  • Expansion of Quarterly Systems platform
  • Launch of Quarterly Labs for experimental projects
  • Continued governance through shareholder voting

Evolution

What began as a performance piece examining finance has matured into a multi-faceted organization demonstrating that experimental governance models can coexist with practical business ventures. KmikeyM now operates as both a working example of collective decision-making and a technology company building tools for modern businesses.

Quarterly Systems

Quarterly Systems is KmikeyM’s flagship technology portfolio—an integrated suite of business applications and services designed to support modern organizations. Launched as part of KmikeyM’s evolution from pure social experiment to practical technology venture, Quarterly Systems embodies the company’s dual nature: combining innovative thinking with useful tools.

Relationship to KmikeyM

Quarterly Systems operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary under the KmikeyM umbrella. While the KmikeyM Project explores radical transparency and collective governance, Quarterly Systems applies those learnings to build enterprise-grade software that any organization can use.

Shared Values:

  • Transparency: Built into the Operational Status dashboard and knowledge base
  • Collaboration: Team-focused tools like Office Communications and Vibe News
  • Experimentation: Quarterly Labs for testing new ideas before production
  • Local-First Architecture: Emphasis on data ownership (The Body Electric, VibeCode)

Product Philosophy

Quarterly Systems products are built with several guiding principles derived from KmikeyM’s experimental ethos:

  1. Radical Transparency: The Operational Status dashboard makes all activity visible, mirroring the transparency of the KmikeyM Project
  2. Self-Hosting Options: Office Communications offers self-hosted deployment, giving organizations full control
  3. No Vendor Lock-in: Open architectures and data portability across the platform
  4. Progressive Deployment: Beta releases allow early adopters to shape products
  5. Integrated Ecosystem: All applications work together while remaining independently useful

Current Offerings

Quarterly Systems comprises:

Primary Applications (5 products in production):

Quarterly Labs (Experimental division):

  • Vibe News - AI coding news aggregator
  • GitHub Graph Spider - Developer network analysis
  • InstantDemo - Real-time database prototypes
  • K5M Dashboard Experiments - Interface and interaction research

See the full Applications page for detailed information on each product.

Strategic Vision

Quarterly Systems serves as the commercial arm of KmikeyM’s broader mission to explore new organizational models. Revenue from Quarterly Systems supports:

  • Continued development of the KmikeyM Project
  • Shareholder distributions
  • Research and development through Quarterly Labs
  • New venture exploration

The platform demonstrates that experimental governance and practical business success are not mutually exclusive—organizations can be both innovative in structure and productive in output.

Governance

Like all KmikeyM ventures, major strategic decisions about Quarterly Systems may be put to shareholder vote through the KmikeyM Project platform. This ensures the technology portfolio remains aligned with the collective vision of the KmikeyM community while maintaining operational autonomy for day-to-day decisions.

Leadership & Team

Mike Merrill

Founder & CEO

Mike Merrill leads KmikeyM and its portfolio of technology ventures, including Quarterly Systems.

Projects & Properties

The KmikeyM Project

The world’s first publicly traded person experiment—a fully-functional virtual stock market where shareholders purchase shares in Mike Merrill’s life and vote on his personal and professional decisions. Running since 2008, this unprecedented social experiment explores collective governance, personal transparency, and experimental economics.

Key Features:

  • 160+ shareholders voting on life decisions
  • Active share trading market at kmikeym.com
  • Binding shareholder resolutions
  • 15+ years of collective decision-making

Quarterly Systems

A portfolio of integrated business applications and services forming a complete technology platform. Includes knowledge base, operational status dashboard, and suite of productivity tools.

Blippo+

Current media production project with Mike serving as executive producer.

Contact

General Inquiries

Email: kmikeym@gmail.com

Shareholder Communications

For KmikeyM Project shareholders, subscribe to updates via:

Social Media & Online Presence

Quarterly Systems Support

For product-specific questions or support, refer to the Applications page or project-specific repositories.

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