We are ramping up again
In the past eighteen months, Liberate Science (LibScie) has been relatively silent. You may have wondered where we were – whether we still exist. Short answer: Yes.
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It has been almost six years since we incorporated and the journey has not been straightforward. When we launched ResearchEquals, we aimed to make our pay-to-close model and supporting memberships sustain our work. It brought in some money, but it could not sustain us as an organization.
We ended up sustaining ourselves with consulting work. It was great to support organizations like DORA, VU Amsterdam, and upcoming projects like STAPLE, a research project management tool. However, consulting took much of our attention away from doing our own projects.
Since the beginning of 2024, we hibernated our work and reevaluated our approach. We continued working on existing consulting contracts and eliminated the majority of our running costs. No more payroll, just server costs for our critical services. As a result, I ended up volunteering my time to keep the business running, alongside a dayjob to provide myself the financial space to be creative again. As a result of this hibernation period, LibScie started becoming profitable – peaking at 384% in the first quarter of 2025. This sounds like a lot, but do keep in mind this meant we would earn around €10,000 and spend only €2,500 in a quarter.
These financial improvements created the space to breathe, filled up our reserves, and allowed us to reevaluate our approach. In the end, it helped consolidate our mission. We know how and why we want to build ResearchEquals version 2.0 – and who we focus on to build a business model without compromising our values.
We are doubling down on our practical efforts towards digital autonomy, of utmost importance given the geopolitical changes in the world. From where we sit, we see the intersection of power and digital infrastructures as an area where we are uniquely placed to help. We want to help people escape the evolving power dynamics, especially in research.
So yes, we have a clearer picture of what we have to offer, and we look forward to sharing that with you over the next months. Curious? Get in touch with me at ceo@libscie.org and let's pick up the conversation – it's been too long and too much has happened.