“I think that going in with something imperfect and running with it is what made the following five years possible, and the following five years had so many great things.” — Karim Rizkallah

Like most founders, Valery and Karim didn’t know what they didn’t know. In the last episode of Season 2 of Life Without Us, they celebrate the five year anniversary of kickstarting the Clarens Commons community through a look back on their experience as founders.  

In this episode:

* Valery and Karim’s reflections on what they’re grateful for, most proud of, and how they failed, as founders

* The perfect timing of their connection as co-founders . . . at a moment when both had a high degree of of readiness to hit 'go' on founding a community

* The accelerated timelines they had to navigate because of their choice to offer on a home first, and find additional co-founders later

* The optimism that left them less prepared than they wish they had of been for community member 'exits' (and new 'entries') 

* The call for ownership models that keep the 'financialization of housing' and 'living in community' further apart

* Valery’s regret around not having a vision statement, and a shared regret around wishing there had been more time for celebration 

* The everyday, week, and month recurring events (from house dinners to movie nights to home improvement days) that stand out as highlights because of their regularity

* Resource recommendations and a Karim and Valery.

Find Karim Rizkallah and Clarens Commons in the Media: 

The Toronto Star

CBC Tapestry

VICE

CBC Now or Never

Supernuclear Case Study 

Find Other Episode References:

The Radish FriendLLC Model Explained

The Heart of Intimacy, The Root of Conflict

Finding Co-Founders and Creating Cooperative Culture with Yana Ludwig 

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