[hackerspaces] Start a Kickstarter for Your Laser Cutter Today

[Carlyn Maw]

Hey Tim,

How did your not-for-profit status get in the way exactly?
Non-profits can lease equipment, have a positive cash flow, etc, I
thought. Just curious where y'all ran aground - in case we're about to
make the same mistake!

Best,
--C

On Mon, Feb 7, 2011 at 1:30 PM, Tim Saylor <tim.saylor at gmail.com> wrote:
> I put together that same exact plan for PSOne but our non-profit status got
> in the way.  In order to pay back investors someone would have to assume all
> the risk  and take charge of making the laser profitable personally.  That
> was a bit too high a hurdle for us.  I'd love to find out that there's a way
> to make it work though, if anyone knows more about non-profits than I do
> (which shouldn't be hard).
> Tim
>
> On Mon, Feb 7, 2011 at 11:15 AM, bre pettis <brepettis at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> I will also donate on kickstarter to any hackerspace wanting to get a
>> lasercutter. I recommend getting a non-chinese knockoff brand. Get the
>> biggest one you can afford!
>>
>> It would be a nice sell if your hackerspace could also say something like,
>> "we've pulled together 8k and need another 12k."
>>
>> At NYCR, we had 20 people become LAZZZOR investors and each put in between
>> 500 and 5000 dollars to get 20k together and get a nice epilog 35 mini and
>> blower system. We charged for use of our laser until the money was paid back
>> to the LAZZZOR investors. If I could go back, I wish we had bought the 120
>> watt 24x36 machine...
>>
>> It really is a wonderful tool! (It also is the reason we were able to
>> create MakerBot)
>>
>> Bre
>>
>> MakerBot Industries
>> http://makerbot.com
>> Recent Press:
>> http://blogs.forbes.com/davidewalt/2011/01/07/the-makerbot-is-best-at-ces/
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Feb 7, 2011 at 2:43 AM, I.T. Daniher <explodingmind at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>>
>>> What about "Lasersaur"? "DIY Desktop CNC Machine"? Both are currently
>>> funded kickstarter projects involving the creation of an open-source laser
>>> cutter.
>>> -itdnhr
>>> On Mon, Feb 7, 2011 at 02:36, tetsu yatsu <tetsuharu at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Not sure if you're speaking from personal experience or just trollin',
>>>> but the only loss is a loss in confidence.
>>>>
>>>> Sounds like you already know about the whole kickstarter
>>>> 'all-or-nothing' deal, so I won't proselytize about that.
>>>>
>>>> If you're willing to try again, might maybe you could phrase it a little
>>>> differently :). We made some stupid flyers that we distributed to all the
>>>> local college campuses, and had a silly story about how we were going to
>>>> decrease the out-of-control secret agent population.
>>>>
>>>> We could help you make flyers if it's holding you up?
>>>>
>>>> On Mon, Feb 7, 2011 at 2:25 AM, Tim Saylor <tim.saylor at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Well, the worst that will happen is you won't have a laser cutter but
>>>>> you've already cashed in your chips with whoever you convinced to go
>>>>> "donate" once and now they'll be less inclined to "donate" for your second
>>>>> try even though they haven't really donated yet.  Kickstarter is a great
>>>>> tool but you should put some thought into your proposal before kicking it
>>>>> off.
>>>>>
>>>>> On Mon, Feb 7, 2011 at 1:17 AM, tetsu yatsu <tetsuharu at gmail.com>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> https://www.kickstarter.com/start
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Now I may just be high off sublimated acrylic fumes, but I love our
>>>>>> lab's laser cutter and I want everyone to have this chance. I cut out 15
>>>>>> Hudson-CI logos to entice people at my work to buy into continuous
>>>>>> integration, 8 stupid keychain things, and I couldn't help but fill the
>>>>>> sheet with little rockets that say 'derp' on them. Now I have 2 dozen 'derp'
>>>>>> rockets. And I'm cutting out a big wooden Github Octocat made by our member
>>>>>> JohnBentCope, which my girlfriend thinks is adorable, and was a big hit at
>>>>>> the MagicRuby conference.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I want everyone to have a laser cutter.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> If you start a kickstarter for getting a laser cutter, I will donate.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> There's the link. Doesn't cost anything. Just do it.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Worst that'll happen is you'll not get a laser cutter, which is where
>>>>>> you are now.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Come on.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I got my pocket book out. Let's get you a laser cutter.
>>>>>>
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>>>>>
>>>>>
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