Strategy & Naming the dedicated space

[Tony]

Hey everybody,

I've got a little plan and it goes a little something like this:

1. Settle on a name
- Join the Bricabox and vote!
http://nycoworkingspacenames.bricabox.com/
Invite code: ECD6ABE0B8

2. Build a teaser site
- Specify exactly what will be offered
- Gather interest, no obligation

3. Publicize teaser site

4. Monitor interest level for viability.
- Consider a viable level of interest to be roughly double the
number of eventual members needed to sustain the space (figure that
most people who list interest won't actually sign up).
- So if, for example, we need 10 full-time members, 15 part-time
members, and 20 basic members to be sustainable, we would consider 20,
30, and 40 people listing their interest to be a demonstration of
viability.
- Consider timing with regard to interest-- obviously, the odds
someone will actually join up decreases with time, so if getting a
sufficient number of leads takes a long time, the bar will have to be
raised to account for likely decrease in ROI.

5. Leverage interest against possible ways to obtain sufficient up-
front money
- The biggest hurdle at this point is gathering together the large
sum of money it would take to move in. Whether done by a grassroots
method or by employing the resources of a benefactor of some sort, we
will need to be able to demonstrate that the concept can stick with
the above interest list.
- If the interest is there and a workable model exists (check),
obtaining the necessary resources will be easier.

I don't know what the future holds in store-- I know a lot of people
want to see this happen, but I know there are some pretty big
challenges to overcome.

The best we can do is give it our absolute best efforts, and if enough
people are serious about making an awesome community space like the
one we're talking about, then it will happen-- if NYC's not ready yet,
then we'll know it too-- and we'll have a template for the future.

So bottom line-- go vote on a name, or enter your own nominee! Once we
have a name, a lot of other things can stem from that.

The Super Bowl has refreshed my youthful idealism. Let's get moving!

Tony

[Tony Bacigalupo]

If you're having trouble with the link, try first creating an account and/or logging in:

http://www.bricabox.com/signup_or_login?next=http://nycoworkingspacenames.bricabox.com/

And then going to the page: http://nycoworkingspacenames.bricabox.com/

I removed the privacy so you no longer need the code.

Sorry for the confusion!

[David Rosenstrauch]

Tony wrote:
> Hey everybody,
>
> I've got a little plan and it goes a little something like this:
>
> 1. Settle on a name
> - Join the Bricabox and vote!
> http://nycoworkingspacenames.bricabox.com/
> Invite code: ECD6ABE0B8

Nate: DNS probs?

"Firefox can't find the server at www.bricabox.com."

DR

[Tony Bacigalupo]

I think they relaunched with new changes today. Try now.

[Tony]

Also, no longer any invite code needed. The box is now open to
everyone!

http://nycoworkingspacenames.bricabox.com/

T

[Kareem]

Hope all is well guys. So I just found out that the owner of the floor
that I rent office space from has sold it and we need to pack up and
leave by April 30th. I'm considering all my options but ideally I'd
love to move into the yetobenamed spot.

Someone in my existing office took the lead on finding a new place for
the rest of the tennants and then decided against it. The good thing
is that he had already done a some research on space in the union
square/flat iron area and passed it along to me. It seems like leases
range from 1-year to 5-year with 5-year leases usually required if you
want them to build out the space for you.

I think that there may be a way to bootstrap this though. What we need
to do is find a place that will give us a year lease initially with
only 1 month of deposit required. Granted the space may not be laid
out ideally for us but it could serve as a good starting point with
limited downside risk. After a year we'll have a much better handle on
the viability and economics and at that point we could invest in
completely renovating the place or at least have a proven model that
we can take to investors to find a better spot. The catch is that we
need to make sure we have enough committed people to ensure we can
cover the rent every month. So assuming we occupy 2/3s of the place
and rent out the rest, and assuming that each person needs 150 square
feet then every person would need to be willing to commit $700/month
and $700 up front to make it work (with 10 people committed). $700/
month would be within our budget especially given that there is upside
potential - so you can already count two committed folks off the
bat :)