Request edit access
Open Business Models Survey:         Distributive Enterprise
This survey in an inquiry into the feasibility of Open Source Ecology's proposed Distributive Enterprise (DE) model of social production. We are exploring the case of an 8 hour 3D Printer build workshop, where unskilled people can produce advanced products under the guidance of experienced builders.

We are developing a novel 3D printer manufacturing model that uses open source, social production. In this model, we are providing immersion learning build experience, while producing marketable products, thereby combining education and production into one model. We have initial results indicating that such a model could yield excellent production efficiencies and quality results, with unskilled labor. We are publishing our enterprise openly for replication as part of our concept of Distributive Enterprise (http://bit.ly/1VNVxvC ). We are testing whether this model could replace a significant portion of factory production by community-based manufacturing - which enriches the community with skill sets and capital.

To engage this process, we are testing the economic results directly by running experimental production workshops. At the same time, we are collecting market survey data on the cultural acceptance of such a program by the cultural-creative public.

We are teaching people to run 3D printer build workshops as an enterprise. The workshops involve facilitating a class of 12 teams building 12 3D printers in one day. See Business Plan - http://bit.ly/1TgA3do .  We are preparing a high value earning opportunity to individuals who are considering an open source lifestyle based on open hardware production. Our goals are to scale this enterprise so that at least 10% of all new 3D printer sales come from this social production model, as opposed from factories.

The basic financial model involves charging participants for the cost of parts + $100-$300 for the immersion workshop. This value is that of immersion training and guidance, where otherwise it would take 1 week if a novice person did the build themselves, provided they did not abort their endeavor due to the significant challenges involved. The feasibility of the model revolves around low cost afforded by building open source machines.

We are asking you participate in a survey to provide feedback to help us assess the feasibility of this model.

This survey takes 20 minutes.

Sign in to Google to save your progress. Learn more
                                                                                                       .
What is your email?
Let us know if you would like us to follow up with you.
Please tell us about your entrepreneurial background. Do you have a track record of entrepreneurial experience?
If you had a chance to buy a turnkey large product (we define a 'large product' as something that costs $1000 or more) - or if you could make the product yourself in a local workshop under the guidance of expert builders - would you buy or make the product?
Assume that the product quality of your build build matches or exceeds the purchased option.
If you could maintain or fix the large product that you built for a lifetime of use - do you see that as a value compared to a purchased product with a limited warranty?
Do you think that a local manufacturing workshop could afford the same or even better quality of a product compared to a factory?
If one product is better, cheaper, and longer-lasting than another, does that typically mean that the former sells better?
If the local production model for physical goods in the one-day workshop scenario is open source, can that provide a sustainable business model?
If we develop a better and cheaper product, but it takes one day for people to build it in the local Distributive Enterprise manufacturing model - would people spend the single day for a build or is that too much time?
Under what conditions do you think that people would prefer to spend one day building a large product in an immersion education setting - compared to buying the same product off the shelf?
How much time do you think it will take for a person to master building a 3D printer to the point that they could teach others?
How much time do you think it will take for a prospective workshop organizer to learn how to run a workshop independently?
Do you think that open access to blueprints for an enterprise (that is owned by the entrepreneur) provides added incentive for creating a livelihood based on that enterprise, compared to another business that is developed from scratch on one's own?
If a person adopts an open source Distributive Enterprise, do you think they will be likely to abide by the terms of sharing any improvements that they make? Do you think that sharing improvements can be enforced?
If there are many individuals running the same Distributive Enterprise, do you think they will be inclined to collaborate on improvements, or be more likely to defect?
How would you suggest that the Distributive Enterprise facilitator (OSE) address continuous product improvement?
How would you suggest that OSE implement a certification process for anyone who is running Distributive Enterprise workshops, and wants to get certified for quality assurance?
How easy or difficult do you think it would be to get 12 registrations to a 3D printer build workshop in a city of 100,000 people - for ongoing workshops that occur every 2 months?
How likely is it that the number of 3D printer workshops worldwide doubles after every workshop (1 person out of each workshop decides to run their own)? How long do you think this doubling can last?
What risks do you envision for the successful doubling of the workshops on an ongoing basis?
Do you think that the collaborative R&D capacity of many indpendent DEs can surpass the R&D power of the largest corporations? What would it take to achieve this?
What type of training do you think is most important for success in running a 3D printer DE?
Do you think that there will be a sigificant number of people with the required skill set to organize 3D printer workshops - or is this skill set rare?
What do you think is the maximum number of people that a single workshop teacher can handle in producing a successful build of a 3D printer?
Do you think that 'productive fusion' can be achieved - ie, can the build team become so well informed by virtue of high quality instructionals and documentation, as well as by teaching each other - that a single teacher is necessary only to kickstart the process, and the builds happens autonomously by the participants? How could this be achieved?
What in your view is the single most difficult part of running a 3D printer workshop?
Do you see as a realistic revenue potential of the 3D printer workshop business model on a per-event net revenue after materials costs are covered?
What do you think is a reasonable fee to charge for the build experience?
Do you have suggestions on how to modify this revenue model for better results?
If you wanted to build a 3D printer at the cost of parts, how much would you be willing to pay for someone to take you through that experience in one day?
As far as preparation time required for running a single workshop - how much time do you you think that will take per event once all open business assets are available?
How much time do you think it will take to streamline the organizational process towards the minimum of time?
How would you rate the importance of Distributive Enterprise in terms of potential impact on the economy?
If the DE produces better and cheaper products in the 1-day build workshop - compared to off-the-shelf turnkey products - what % of the market share of that product do you think the DE will capture?
What are the weak points of the DE 1 Day workshop model?
What are the strengths of the DE 1 Day workshop model?
How important is it that the build time be confined to 1 day or shorter for the 3D printer - as opposed to 2 or more days - if capturing the largest market share is the metric of success?
What other questions can you suggest that would give insight on the ability of the DE model to succeed for the 3D printer?
Any other comments?
Submit
Clear form
Never submit passwords through Google Forms.
This form was created inside of Open Source Ecology.

Does this form look suspicious? Report

Google Forms