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Hi there.


There has been some speculation in the press since our launch that Ello will someday be forced to allow paid ads on our social network.


With virtually everybody else relying on ads to make money, some members of the tech elite are finding it hard to imagine there is a better way.


But 2014 is not 2004, and the world has changed.


To assure that Ello always remains ad-free, Ello converted to a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC). A Benefit Corporation is a new kind of for-profit company in the USA that exists to produce a benefit for society as a whole — not just to make money for its investors.


The Ello PBC charter states in the strongest legal terms possible that:


1) Ello shall never make money from selling ads;


2) Ello shall never make money from selling user data; and


3) In the event that Ello is ever sold, the new owners will have to comply by these terms.


In other words, Ello exists for your benefit, and will never show ads or sell user data.


Simple, beautiful, and ad-free.


There is a better way.


We, as founders and investors in Ello, vow to support Ello’s mission and to abide by the terms of the Ello Charter.


[Signed]


Todd Berger
Lee Bouyea
Paul Budnitz
David Cohen
Cairn Cross
Tim Davis
Brad Feld
Lucian Föhr
Justin Gitlin
Matthew Kitt
Seth Levine
Ryan McIntyre
Jason Mendelson
Ari Newman
Mark Solon
Damon Way
Gabe Varela
Jay Zeschin

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