4 ms·

It sucks, but they're not going to find that benevolent millionaire. Hackerspaces all over the place have gone through this exact cycle. There's always some h

It sucks, but they're not going to find that benevolent millionaire. Hackerspaces all over the place have gone through this exact cycle. There's always some hope of "well we're all the grassroots of the tech cycles. Surely the ultra wealthy in our tribe will toss us a few scraps!" But no, they won't, and it breaks my heart.

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geerlingguy 4y ago
It's rare, but not unprecedented. Here in St. Louis, we have a very similar Makerspace that basically rose out of the ashes of a failed TechShop. It's called MADE and one of Square's founders funded its move and reopening/rebranding: https://hecmedia.org/posts/made-makerspace-opens-in-st-louis-with-help-from-silicon-valley-giant-jim-mckelvey https://hecmedia.org/posts/made-makerspace-opens-in-st-louis...
- JKCalhoun 4y ago
  Stay safe. The wife and I were just in St. Lou a few weeks back — passing through on a road trip. The arch is amazing — bigger than I remembered it.
- pkdpic 4y ago
  OP here, thank you for sharing! Really interested in concrete success examples here, rare as they may be. I think we're all aware that there's bo shortage of reasons to be hopeless about the viability of makerspaces, positive outlooks are valuable commodities : )
  - thepasswordis 4y ago
    I think the biggest hurdle is that you're a for profit business. Bluntly: your business failed. That really sucks, but also: why wouldn't you run this as a 501c3? If I'm a benevolent billionaire, those yearly 990 filings actually matter to me because I want to know how you're spending the money.
- at_a_remove 4y ago
  How is MADE doing, anyway? I went to some of the groundbreakings after TechShop folded, back when it was Emily and a handful of others holding the place together. I would love to be part of MADE but it is just too far for me, now that I no longer work in the City.
  - geerlingguy 4y ago
    I think their bread and butter are local entrepreneurs who use some of the machines to make their product (shirts, laser-engraved trinkets, etc.). Not sure on long-term sustainability but they seemed to be doing okay when I visited last year. They also have a 'Custom MADE' service that local companies often use to build large and unique objects (like custom soccer goals for STL CITY soccer facilities).

deleted 4y ago

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geerlingguy 4y ago

It's rare, but not unprecedented. Here in St. Louis, we have a very similar Makerspace that basically rose out of the ashes of a failed TechShop. It's called MADE and one of Square's founders funded its move and reopening/rebranding: https://hecmedia.org/posts/made-makerspace-opens-in-st-louis-with-help-from-silicon-valley-giant-jim-mckelvey https://hecmedia.org/posts/made-makerspace-opens-in-st-louis...

JKCalhoun 4y ago
Stay safe. The wife and I were just in St. Lou a few weeks back — passing through on a road trip. The arch is amazing — bigger than I remembered it.
pkdpic 4y ago
OP here, thank you for sharing! Really interested in concrete success examples here, rare as they may be. I think we're all aware that there's bo shortage of reasons to be hopeless about the viability of makerspaces, positive outlooks are valuable commodities : )
- thepasswordis 4y ago
  I think the biggest hurdle is that you're a for profit business. Bluntly: your business failed. That really sucks, but also: why wouldn't you run this as a 501c3? If I'm a benevolent billionaire, those yearly 990 filings actually matter to me because I want to know how you're spending the money.
at_a_remove 4y ago
How is MADE doing, anyway? I went to some of the groundbreakings after TechShop folded, back when it was Emily and a handful of others holding the place together. I would love to be part of MADE but it is just too far for me, now that I no longer work in the City.
- geerlingguy 4y ago
  I think their bread and butter are local entrepreneurs who use some of the machines to make their product (shirts, laser-engraved trinkets, etc.). Not sure on long-term sustainability but they seemed to be doing okay when I visited last year. They also have a 'Custom MADE' service that local companies often use to build large and unique objects (like custom soccer goals for STL CITY soccer facilities).