TechShop as “the great Satan”

[BeeAmaker]

From the Maker Pro news letter I receive weekly.

* Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (@nancypelosi), the minority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, toured San Francisco’s TechShop and declared that she was “in awe” of the makerspace movement. Pelosi also participated in a roundtable discussion with TechShop CEO Mark Hatch (@markhatch), and local hardware entrepreneurs.

* Speaking of TechShop, two community makerspaces in Grand Rapids, Mich. are worried about the impact that the makerspace chain will have if it opens a local facility (Grand Rapids is on a TechShop list of possible future locations).
The head of one of the spaces, the Geek Group, is seriously concerned, referring to TechShop as “the great Satan” which will “destroy community hackerspaces wherever they go.” The founder of a smaller Grand Rapids makerspace, GR Makers, is just kind of wondering what the impact will be. There could be room for all three, based on what happened a few hundred miles away in metro Detroit, where TechShop opened a facility in 2012, according to the write-up in Crain’s Detroit Business.
Still, more conflicts like this could lie ahead, as the expansion plans of for-profit TechShop overlap with existing community makerspaces.

[ZionPhil]

I am having trouble seeing the problem here. Help me out.

[BeeAmaker]

Feb 17, 2014 1:18:38 GMT -5 ZionPhil said:

I am having trouble seeing the problem here. Help me out.

Grand Rapids is worried that a for-profit Tech shop will destroy the community maker spaces - and I have to somewhat agree.

Just looking at both sides of the coin. I like the Tech-Shop model but I don't like the corporation behind it - Huge corporations are only concerned with one thing.

[BeeAmaker]

And here are some points in favor of, or should I say benefits of a Tech Shop. But I think it can be done without a Franchise.
www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-05-23/techshop-paradise-for-tinkerers

[ZionPhil]

I just don't understand. If someone wants to go pay the higher price to have better equipment then fine. If they don't, then they can go to the other Makerspace. I see it only increasing membership for the Grand Rapids tech shops. They are afraid about nothing.

[bvandiepenbos]

I don't see any "threat" either.
actually a GOOD thing... they would likely have the funds to promote the whole maker movement concept, and like Phil said some people can/will pay the membership or if not go to the other makerspace. everybody wins.

not thinking very open source Glenn.

Personally I would love to have close access to a "Techshop" at the same time promoting/using/building our own.

[BeeAmaker]

It has nothing to do with thinking open source Brian, it's a matter of money, how that money is used, and who is really benefiting from it.

Like I said, I like the Tech Shop Idea - don't want the Franchise, we can do it without it, And yes the GR people are probably just panicking, but that doesn't mean we should just close our eye to the issues. EDIT One must also consider the fact that GR makerspace has probably invested thousands of dollars in getting there own space going and now stand to lose it all, which is just a fact of business, that I understand but I still feel for them.

Here's the thing, Just to get Tech Shop to look at your Area you must collect $25,000.00 which is paid to Tech Shop. If they decide NOT to build in your area - money gone - say good buy - Thanks. I would much rather use that 25K to buy some equipment and start my own.

Become a Lender to Open a TechShop in Your City

Opening a local TechShop store requires significant capital to renovate a suitable location and to acquire equipment and tools. Before we can make a commitment to open a shop in your city, we need to make sure that we have the funds and community involvement to support a store there. That’s where you can get involved. To help fund the opening of a TechShop in your community, we are seeking loan commitments from people like you. We are also seeking loans to assist with the TechShop store that recently opened in Pittsburgh and with the re-location of the existing store in Menlo Park, California.

Each loan commitment will be specific to the location you select, and the loan will only be funded if we receive the minimum commitments for that city (between $2M and $3.5M depending on the city). The minimum loan amount is $25,000. We will accept loans only from accredited investors as defined under Rule 501(A) of Regulation D of the Securities Act of 1933. An accredited investor must have either (i) a net worth of at least $1 million, not including the value of his or her primary residence, or (ii) income of at least $200,000 in each year of the last two years (or $300,000 together with his or her spouse, if married) and have the expectation to make the same amount in the current year). Complete the form below and we will provide you with more information.

If they DO decide to build a Tech shop in your area, there is no guarantee YOU will be in charge of it. They may decide you are not a good fit - your out - Thanks for the 25K. Any Profits are paid to the Franchise FIRST, it does not matter what else you may need, and they do not care.

You really need to do your research on how a Franchise works before jumping in blind. Not everything labeled "Maker" or "Organic" is a good thing, You can not even make that assumption without looking at the situation from every possible angle.

Bottom line - I believe we can raise the funds to do this on our own.

[ZionPhil]

Ok Glenn, I understand where you are coming from now. Just to be clear, I personally never had the idea of creating a Tech Shop in this area. That is not what we want to do. If some other bozo wants to try and do that, then that's fine. That's not the Dream Space vision I had in mind, and thought everyone else did to. There maybe some elements that we are able to "borrow" from the Tech Shop template, but that is it.

[bvandiepenbos]

I think I am being misunderstood. I never wanted to "be" a TechShop franchise... no way. I agree, we can create our own dream space. I just do not see the Techshop guys as a threat. We need to use some of their concepts, not all. Along with all of our ideas and any other source examples of maker/hacker/fab lab we can find.
I see it being a blend of many types of spaces. Like no other that currently exists.

[Larry]

I see it as something like the Wal-mart effect: The big guy moves in and the small local shops typically get run out. Not a problem for us (due to distance to Techshop locations), unless the South Bend folks set up a Techshop franchise. Even then we could boutique it somehow to compete or just let them go their way while we do the Dream Space approach.

[ZionPhil]

Dream Space for the win

[navkram]

I dont want a tech shop either just use rheir model along with others to create oir own dream space. You can have all the fancy stuff in the world but its the core people and value tou offer for the win.

[ZionPhil]

Mark VanDiepenbos for the win