OSE Fellowship Model
Intro
The Thiel Fellowship is an inspiring idea, albeit in the broad sense. it affords further concentration of power, as opposed to its fundamental distribution. A Distributive version would be accessible, based on a requirement to share knowhow openly. Further, it must be low cost. But is not 'an exclusive Fellowship for the Common Man' as OSE proposes a fundamental contradiction in terms? Let's design this contradiction out.
Cost must be low, such as free or $10k for entrance. Can it be free? No, some form of 'paying attention' must be displayed. Further, a $10k investment demonstrates an ability to raise this reasonable amount of funds. Indeed, it can be a reimbursed - we just need to show an ideally non-punitive (not interest-based) way to get in.
Options:
- OSE helps find funders
- Family and friends
- KIVA loan
- Zero interest loans
- Veterans apprenticeships, etc
- Go to your local chamber of commerce, promise is after 4 years, after successful completion, you get to bring an operation back to town as an OSE Senior Fellow - working on replicating a facility. Successful graduation means that we collaborate on a new franchise, with the franchise fee enforced as collaborative development. Thus, there is no franchise fee pending such development. Careful metrics are established, such as collaborative development could be:
- Participation in building a new open sector enterprise
- A public project, such as a swarm build in a given community
- Collaborating in a product release of a new contribution to the product ecosystem
Positioning
The OSE Fellowship is a four-year, $100,000 work-study grant for young people who want to learn how to learn, collaborate openly, build new things, and innovate on pressing world issues.
If there is a tuition ($10k) - how to motivate?
At the least, a tool deposit and application fee should be required - so that people are responsible for equipment, and people are paying attention. Tool replacement involves 3 air guns, 2 drills, multitool, router, hand tools, level, etc. About $3-5k used in the first year. Detailed Swarm Build Tool Schedule is based on the tools collated at Fab Tool Icons
To show your commitment, you have to buy in with a refundable deposit - that you work your way out of while getting an education.
Numbers
24 students require $2.4M generated over 4 years to meet the $100k grant per student. This is $600k per year in stipend, or average of $25k per year.
Say a loan of $10k. Living costs are $1000/month-$500/housing and $400 in food. $12k/year.
Work time - Basic Apprenticeship Resource Model gives $500 stipend per student in pay, plus $700 from $50k net on the sale - for a sustainable $1200 budget per student with no money left over for operations. Foundation runway covers operations, and program is self-sustaining.
That is 10 hours/week. 3 month cycle including sale is reasonable - so that the first 6 month hump must be overcome. Once overcome - learning curve of students and time to sale are addressed.
With 2 days of work with 8 hours each - we are at $1920 generation per student per month- about 2 months per house.
Basic model allows roughly $100k generation, every 2 months - at 2 work days per week baseline. There is a clear win here - $2k/month value gen per student. We can afford to pay $1k/month for clear runway. Clear 50/50 revenue share with work-study.
This means 6 builds the first year, based on an inefficient 3000 hour per house. This can be cash flowed, with basic operations secured. But not growing.
After 12 months, we get to 2 days, 1500 hours per house. 8 days work per month - 1600 hrs - one house done per month. At $25/hr, costs $40k in stipends or $1700/person. Definitely enough to live on. $50k rough operations budget per month net - $600k per year net on the apprenticeship model.
This sounds stable, but is not exponential. Lots of time is spent learning - so achieves quadruple bottom line - of education, workers, society, and open sector. But needs fifth and sixth wheel - environment, and global impact. Environment means solar energy powered modernity from dirt and twigs to a new civilization, and global impact means scalability.