2kproposal

Project Concept:

Describe the general nature and scope of the project and what products and/or services will be offered:

We propose a non profit community center for the modern age.  Accompanied by the internet as a distributor of knowledge, the explosion of entrepreneurism, and the reduction of cost, Maker culture has taken off. We want to expand access to modern, functional, industrial tools to populations including artists, engineers, students and the community at large.  The value of the space will be as much in the tools as in the connections to be made between members.

Explain the need in the market the project addresses, how the project will go about addressing this need:

Make magazine has seen major growth in a dying publishing market and DIY programming has consistently been popular on TV.  For the last several decades American culture swung towards a broadcast society.  Since the inception of the internet that is changing.  People are more and more interested in creating and sharing something with the world, weather that be a youtube video, art, or a prototype.

The phoenix area is full of tech companies and therefore engineers.  Startup costs can be incredibly high in order to gain access to the tools to prototype your design.  There is room here to aid these entrepreneurs in bringing their products to market.        Technical students are more and more becoming disenfranchised with the opportunities available to them in academia.  There was a day many years ago where the only place you could find a 'computer' was in academia, but that time has passed.  Budgets are shrinking which means less investment in anything other than relatively cheap commercial off the shelf technology!   And even this technology is increasingly outdated and barely functional.  Secondarily, Colleges also appear to own stock in bureaucracy so that no cross pollination is allowed to happen.  Students are chased out of labs the second their work is done and not allowed access outside of their specified class hour.

Even historically non technical savvy types are taking interest in this maker culture.  This is evidenced at least by networks like TLC which are full of DIY programming.  Lilypad is an interesting cheap convergence of microcontrollers and fabrics into 'smart textiles'  This softening of the electrical engineering field is bringing in demographics previously unreachable. A perfect place to see this culture in action is at the local First Friday.

Describe the steps needed to successfully launch the project:

nonprofit-in progress insurance a space donations tools marketing

Marketing Strategy:

Describe the market in which the project will operate and what barriers there are to market entry, if any. Include an overview of potential partners. Explain the project’s outreach plan.

This business plan has been successfully tried around the country and even the world under the title 'hackerspace, a list of which can be found at hackerspaces.org. These groups are all unconnected with some of them private, some non profit, and possibly others for profit. Generally, a collection of people pay monthly dues between $50 and $75 per month in order to join and use the complex's tools and network with its users.  It is free to list yourself on this list which brings about national recognition to the users of these spaces.

Techshop, http://techshop.ws/, does a commercial version by charging $125/month to mainly attract Startups. His commercial version has yet to reach Phoenix however.

The major barrier to market entry is capital. Tools and software are extremely expensive and the problem turns into that of the chicken and the egg. Without tools, users are unwilling to pay monthly fees, and without fees there are no tools. Donations will help this as all a company necessarily needs to see is your nonprofit tax deductible status. The space will attempt to partner with any and all technical companies in order to bring in the capital and supplies necessary to bootstrap the business.

We intend to outreach to colleges and high schools and other tech communities in order to educate and gain community recognition. It will also be important to do talks and workshops at the location. This will bring in additional users to continue the subscription model and continue to build our name presence helping us gain new donors.

Project Team:

Summarize the entrepreneurial, academic and/or community-focused aspirations, experience, and/or training of the team members. Describe any relationships with advisors and mentors the team will utilize. Provide resumes or bios for each team member in the appendix, if available. We are a team of artists, engineers and makers with a passion for community service.  We have long existed disparate on the web, developing and sharing and we want to bring that culture back home again. Amongst our group are professional Engineers, seamstresses, musicians, and students.

Budget:

Provide a brief financial summary of the project, including a description of how Entrepreneur Advantage Project funds would be used and how other funding, if necessary, will be secured. The budget (revenues and costs) should include only those activities that can be completed during the award year.  If the nature of the project requires a longer timeframe, explain why. Include the following line items for revenues and costs: We intend to use the initial $2000 to complete our nonprofit status, continue looking for a space to rent and insurance, and continue building the online community in preparation for the space.

Economic/Social/Cultural Impact:

Describe the economic, social or cultural impact of the project, if successful, as well as the ability/expectation of the project to attract other funding, if applicable. This project is entirely about enabling the community to achieve.  Part of our goal will be to constantly continue community outreach not just to offer service to the community, but to survive! As previously described, we believe the only way to grow the nonprofit will be through community outreach.

Attach Appendix (10 page maximum)

Attach resume for team members and/or include other supporting materials, if needed.