[hackerspaces] techshop?

[Ron Bean]

Bryan Bishop <kanzure at gmail.com> writes:

>I don't think the business model works out, and frankly I'd
>rather have a hackerspace :-). The gym membership model just doesn't
>seem to work.

My impression of Techshop was that they had a lot more expensive
equipment than they really needed, and they could have kept their
overhead much lower, especially at the beginning. I think this high
capital requirement is what doomed the franchisees. That doesn't mean
that a scaled-back version couldn't work elsewhere.

We have a different sort of place here that's "sort of" a hackerspace,
but it's also a co-working space, and the co-working is what really pays
the bills. The hackerspace is there because the director likes it that 
way. (Currently closed, but re-opening soon in a new location.)