January 2014 - Beyond Nonprofit Funding

(could use some cleanup)

Notes:

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True Fans Hangout Notes - January 30, 2014

Hello everyone.

January 2014 - Beyond Nonprofit Funding - In the first True Fans Hangout of the year, we will discuss our learnings on funding - and what it takes to grow a social good project when we give all of our information away. We are working on workshops and revenue generation for OSE to become self-sustaining as an organization - by using a production model combined with education - where our real product is education. After years of product development, our products are reaching a stage where they are robust enough to function reliably under difficult field conditions. We have already put several production workshops on our schedule - Microhouse Builds, Brick Press Builds, Tractor Builds - and we are offering a special attendance discount to our True Fans. To run successful 3-5 day workshops - we are bringing the production time down to a single day - for each of our machines. What is the key to achieving financial self-sustainability via production workshops? How do we maintain all of our information absolutely free? What are the limits to the scaling of our method? What do we aim to achieve in our workshops, in addition to production of physical products?

Andrew- Kickstarters for clients of the workshop - clients fund their workshop, to build a tractor. We provide the clients with a media kit for our clients. For people building their tractor - organic farms that produce their own tractors - instead of funding a traditional tractor. Challenge is confidence in people. Handholding - Kickstarter to fund their own build. The biggest concern is something that will work - they can fix readily. Tool library - workshop. $600 for month of a Liberator on his property. Money paid for workshop gets you a workshop credit.

Missoula Montana - Paul Wheaton - big in Permaculture Community - Kickstarter for him to do a tractor or CEB. Permies.com. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/paulwheaton/wood-burning-stoves-20-the-dvds

Jesse DePinto 3D Laser Scanner - custom laser scanner consultant. Custom 3D scanner for medical, etc. 3D Printer Experience - shop in Chicago that hosts their 3D printer workshop. OpenERP -

Fred Eisele Many of the machines are targeting agriculture. Farming is a tough business unless you are big. Small farms typically lack capital. It will be difficult for a small farmer to pay much to OSE projects. What would be a reasonable contract between something like "Bird Creek Farms" and OSE look like? [I am interested in starting something like BCF here in Tennessee (btw I grew up in Kinde, MI)].

Mark Sims Computer graphics and security, sold that biz (Netrex) in 1999. Then started open source software company (called Nanorex) for engineering nanoscale engineering systems. Retired. Interested in farming, Port Austin, Lower Peninsula, Michigan. Mark's good friend Scott Steigerwald, who made money in Silicon Valley - wanted to farm. Scott started an Organic farming biz - Bird Creek Farms. Starting organic farming training - sponsoring students for internship - high school or college age kids. Remodeling industrial kitchen. Training facility with classrooms and greenhouses. Bubblehouses. Very well insulated greenhouses that allow year-round growth. Investing in aquaculture. Probably Tilapia. Interested in a Build Workshop. They need a tractor, and some buildings. Bird Creek Farms wants to grow food and build machines to show that an entire farm can be run on OSE machines.

Bird Creek Farms on FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bird-Creek-Farms/324398284350356

Mark and Scott want to invite Marcin to Bird Creek Farms in May, 2014 to meet them and talk about how Bird Creek Farms could start a Workshop and build the machines that BCF needs.

http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/Calendar

Rafa - Business Model Canvas - filling in the gaps. Clinets? Services? Model it based on o Business http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/MJ_Critical_Path . Business Model Canvas for OSE: https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1PcQjhXCzby5lSWTlQwlizzMDZROG9yyCBZN-7c9j3dE/edit .Rafa - Monday - Europe. Start filling in, we take it further.

Joe Post - Overland Park. Wants to donate a bitcoin.

Anthony DiFranco Credibles.org -