STEMspace 15040 Kutztown Road, Kutztown PA 19530  |  610-301-2817  |  devin@stemspace.org

Table of Contents

  1. Executive Summary
  2. General Company Description
  3. Products and Services
  4. Marketing Plan
  5. Operational Plan
  6. Management and Organization
  7. Personal Financial Statement
  8. Startup Expenses and Capitalization
  9. Financial Plan
  10. Appendices
  11. Refining the Plan

Executive Summary

STEMspace is considered to be an open-source research and development center. It is a resource for individuals and organizations, who can benefit from free or cheap access to otherwise expensive resources. STEMspace will provide access to anything from CNC machines, basic tools, testing equipment, materials and more. STEMspace is a non-profit organization and will be run by people who are experts in diverse fields such as robotics, art, carpentry, metalsmithing, chemistry, photography, business, and more. The open-source movement is a catalyst to an amazing future of discovery, invention, and problem solving. Open-source development in any field (not just software and technology) is the most efficient means of developing something to become the best it can possibly be. It encourages collaboration and effort among many capable people, all whom benefit by being able to take advantage of other people’s contributions as well. It is also a potential solution for common problems in the traditional business model.

General Company Description

STEMspace is in the business of technology development and education, although it is extremely multidisciplinary as it can serve nearly any industry or field.

Mission Statement

Our mission is to provide free resources to those of the STEM and Maker community and to promote open-source collaboration for educational and technological achievement, as well as general problem solving.

Company Goals and Objectives

STEMspace’s goals are to facilitate education and creation in the technology field, as well as promote collaboration and sharing of resources of knowledge for the sake of improving the efficiency of economic flow. We want to allow businesses to grow and improve, help people realize their passions, and educate the general population in whichever fields they pursue. We want to make a global contribution to society in small and large ways. An example of such contribution would be to develop a technological solution to a big problem.

Objectives:

  • Acquire a facility to contain equipment and resources.
  • Design a layout and implement an optimal structure for making and collaborating efficiently.
  • Begin recruiting users through intensive marketing strategies.
  • Host classes on specific fields and skills development.
  • Obtain valuable partnerships which allow other organizations to utilize our resources for their own benefit.
  • Become a community hotspot for activity.
  • Begin producing valuable products and services.
  • Become even more accessible than before and expand to new locations.
  • Solve problems.

Business Philosophy

The most important aspect is user engagement. STEMspace needs people and organizations to consistently utilize the resources we provide whether it’s 3d printers, tensile-strength testing machines, laser cutters or robotics labs. Prime demographics includes people involved in the maker community, STEM students, technology businesses, and professionals in any field. The industry STEMspace competes with is one that barely exists. It as an open-source facility that brings industries together to share similar resources. It allows businesses to cut costs for resources they need by sharing the costs with others. The business industry that STEMspace falls into is not clear, since the objective is to offer a service to any industry that needs resources. What makes STEMspace succeed is the benefit it provides to everyone. We help other organizations improve or profit more by allowing them to utilize our resources and participate in certain operations. The skills required to operate this model call for a diverse set of technical skills which can be outsourced to either freelance professionals, other companies, or in some cases in-house. The biggest factor for success is the ability to network and help other’s realize the potential THEY have by becoming a member of the STEMspace organization and community. Some of the core values of STEMspace include:
  • Openness and transparency
  • Problem Solving
  • User Experience
  • Scalability
  • Efficiency and economy

Products and Services

The primary service is to provide access to equipment and materials at an affordable cost and in some cases completely free of charge. As the organization grows, it may develop goods on its own, depending on the direction it moves which is based on the current demand and usage of the facility. This service is valuable because there is simply no other facility with such an extensive and easily accessible resource. The costs are low if not totally free, and the help it provides is what keeps STEMspace alive. The consumers are part of the service in many ways. More details can be found in the appendices section.

Example Payment Plan:

Commercial Plan Cost + 10-30% markup (negotiable and scalable) Designs and productions eligible for commercial and private use. Regular Plan Cost (materials, overhead, equipment, staff, etc.) + 0-5% markup. All designs subject to creative commons licensing. Special Plan Free – Users must apply and are subject to STEMspace approval. Terms of acceptance will vary and depend on causes, education, contributions, and other benefits.

Marketing Plan

Although the idea of “If we build it, they will come” is extremely enticing, it is not realistic. Word of mouth is not powerful enough by itself to relay the message to all individuals who can benefit from STEMspace. Therefore, a comprehensive marketing plan is to be headed with the efforts of Strunk Media Group and their affiliates. A more detailed description of the plan can be found in the appendices section.

Market Research

Preliminary

To acquire first-hand data about the potential market for STEMspace, representatives will seek out letters of commitment and possibly pledges from nearby organizations. A lead-generation process will take place to identify potentially hundreds of organizations to reach out to, such as local high schools, businesses and individual consumers in the STEM or maker community. An example of a commitment letter and pledge request can be found in the appendix. This process will be implemented from the time of creating this document till launch and updated accordingly. A list of contacts and minutes will be kept as well for records. We will also list some self-derived data such as local population, traffic, and qualitative demand for the product and service that STEMspace offers.

Secondary

We will accumulate industry profiles in this section and provide specific numbers regarding census data, demographics and publications. For example, articles from large journal companies that discuss the need for ‘Fab Labs’ may be relevant towards our secondary market research campaign.

Economics

  • Size of market? – Global, National, Regional, Local
  • Percent share expected? – 99%
  • Current demand in target market? – High, Mod/High
  • Trends in target market:
    • Growth
    • Consumer preferences
    • Product development
  • Growth potential and opportunity
  • Barriers of entry?
    • Costs
      • Capital
      • Production
      • Marketing
    • Branding and consumer acceptance
    • Training and skills
    • Unique technology and patents
    • Liability
  • How to overcome barriers?
    • Principles
    • Independent success
    • Strong facilitation
    • User Experience
  • How will changes in (blank) affect the company?
    • Technology
      • New technologies will help move STEMspace forward as it is a key motive to continuosly be on the forefront.
    • Government Regulations
      • With the key purpose of contributing to “the greater good”, goverment regulations should align with STEMspace values.
    • Economics
      • STEMspace’s mission will propel economic growth and stability by making business more efficienct and effective. Economic declines will not hurt the demand for STEMspace’s services and may actually INCREASE the demand as businesses will seek more cost-effective solutions to problems.
    • Industry
      • To be seen.

Product (from customer’s view)

Features and Benefits:

  • Daily, open access (affordable or free) to unique resources
    • Networking opportunities and exposure
    • Community involvement
    • Access to tools
  • Expert help and consultation
    • Help with project completion
    • Guidance and instruction
  • Classes and instruction
    • Job specific training
    • Certifications
    • Education
  • Goods such as tools, materials, and products
    • Low cost materials
    • Alternative products

Customers

  • Demographic Profile 1: Maker Community

    • All ages
    • All genders
    • Any location – Typically 25 mile radius of facility (further for business or institutional needs)
    • Any income
    • Any social class
    • Any interest – All fields and disciplines welcome
    • Any education level

  • Demographic Profile 2: Education

    • Universities
    • Grade school
    • Home school
    • Tech schools

  • Demographic Profile 3: Businesses

    • Tech companies
    • Inventors
    • Developers
    • Marketing agencies
    • Retailers
    • Design
    • Research and development

Competition

FabLab

[insert competitive analysis table] – http://edwardlowe.org/how-to-conduct-and-prepare-a-competitive-analysis/ Follow up with competitive advantages and disadvantages.

Maker Space

[insert competitive analysis table] – http://edwardlowe.org/how-to-conduct-and-prepare-a-competitive-analysis/ Follow up with competitive advantages and disadvantages.

Niche

STEMspace’s niche is to be an open design facility with unique collaboration efforts and research & development components for business advantages.

Strategy

Promotion

There will be many avenues of promoting STEMspace. For starters, the full spectrum of internet marketing techniques will be employed. These pillars include web development, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, network targeting, social media, reputation management, community engagement, email marketing, and more. There will also be direct outreach and large-scale networking opportunities by personally reaching out to large companies, educational institutions, promoters, and individual influencers. Traditional media will be utilized as well with a heavy focus on video.

Promotional Budget

The internet marketing budget will allocate $3,250 per month for full-scale marketing and web development services. Other approaches of marketing will be done in-house or contracted accordingly. As the operation scales, so should the marketing plan. The partnering company will be Strunk Media.

Pricing

There will be multiple tiers of pricing. As previously outlined, one sample plan will accommodate special use, general use, and commercial use. The full pricing guide can be found in the appendix. A host of up-sell packages will be offered as well such as ‘patent assist’ and ‘licensing’.

Proposed Location

The location may be on one of multiple options at this point in time. One option is on campus of a nearby University, namely Kutztown. Other options include warehouse buildings in the Kutztown area or as close to Kutztown University as possible for the hopes of developing a relationship or partnership with KU and their students. *UPDATE – 14953 Kutztown Road by BitMoto is the first option. Other possible locations: 15623 Kutztown Road, Kutztown PA, 19530.

Distribution Channels

  • Walk-in
  • Retail and ecommerce
  • Referral
  • Agents

Sales Forecast

The sales forecast details can be found in the appendix. Here, we will summarize the Best and Worst case scenarios.

“Best Guess”

  • 200+ active standard members
  • 1,000+ ‘free use’ members
  • 5+ corporate contracts
  • 10+ licensing opportunities
  • $10k + research funding
  • 2-3 daily class/course offers
  • Quarterly job specific training
  • $50k online sales and advertising revenue

“Worst Case Scenario”

  • 10+ active standard members
  • 40 ‘free use’ members
  • 1 corporate contract
  • 1 license
  • $0 research funding
  • 1-2 weekly classes
  • $5k online sales and advertising revenue

Operational Plan

Production

The products and service mainly include access to equipment and expert consultants or technicians. The equipment will be sourced via donations from distributors or purchased from a plethora of sources including direct from the manufacturer, Amazon, and other sources as needed. Expert consultants will be hired as freelance specialists and used on an as-needed basis. Technicians will be employed full or part-time, preferably as graduate students or interns from partnering institutions. STEMspace and the members will eventually begin producing their own goods which can be marketed to the public. Classes will also be offered for many purposes, including general learning, accredited courses, and job-specific training. Patent and licensing opportunities will provide a steady stream of revenue in the form of royalty use. Similar models as Invent Help will be implemented. Accumulated knowledge from research and development projects are also viable means of revenue.

Location

The minimum requirements for a location include the following technical specifications:
  • 1400 square feet
  • 1 water sink with hot and cold
  • 8 4-plug outlets with 110 V
  • 1 220-240 V
  • 1 ventilation to outside for fumes
The ideal location will be 20 miles or more from competing vendors, but within 3 or more large organizations with a vested interested in the space. Current examples include Kutztown University, East Penn Deka manufacturing plant, Air Products and several small high schools. Several possible design plans are laid out in the appendix section. The cost can vary based on location, but we will outline the least and most expensive current options.

Legal Environment

Outsourced legal adviser and ‘Legal Zoom’ account for quick reference issues.

Personnel

1-2 on staff. Access to experts in most fields. Select teachers for courses. Expert Consultants:
  • Alternative energy
  • Robotics
  • Computer engineering
  • Mechatronics
  • Software development
  • Electronics
  • Granular physics
  • Optics

Inventory

List of supplies available in appendix.

Suppliers

  • MakerBot
  • Metals Depot
  • Sugru
  • Home Depot & Lowes
  • Matter & Form
  • Forge
  • Arduino
  • LabX
  • Elmi
  • Amazon
  • Google
  • Tesla

Credit Policies

No initial credit offers. Applications available in appendix.
Managing Accounts Receivable & Payable
Delegated through Strunk Media.

Management and Organization

Professional and Advisory Support

  • Director(s)

    • Devin Peterson

  • Board Members

    • Matthew Strunk
    • Paul Quinn
    • Dolores Peterson
    • Justin Schmoyer
    • Alyssa Dubois
    • Norman Mikalac
    • Andrew Coffin

  • Attorney, insurance agent, banker, consultant(s), mentors, etc…

    • Contracts with these agents are currently pending

Personal Financial Statement

Individual Personal Financial Statement

Prepared for Devin Peterson on 11/12/2016

Name: Devin Peterson Address: 15623 Kutztown Road, Kutztown, Pennsylvania, 19530 Phone: 610-301-2817

Detailed Summary Listing of Assets

Bonds: $10,000 Checking Account: $8,000 Notes Receivable: $5,000 Personal Residence Real Estate: $10,000 Savings Account: $20,000 Stocks: $2,000 Vehicles: $20,000 Individual Total Asset Value: $75,000
Individual Total Liabilities: $0

Detailed Summary of Monthly Income Asset

Employer Name: BitMoto Monthly Salary or Wages: $4,000 Other Income Sources: $500 Individual Total Monthly Income Asset: $4,500

Detailed Summary of Monthly Expense Liability

Groceries: $250 Housing or Rent: $900 Medical: $350 Other: $500 Individual Total Monthly Expense Liability: $2,000
Total Assets: $79,500 Total Liability: $2,000 Total Net Worth: $77,500

Startup Expenses and Capitalization

The main costs of starting include the facility, equipment, and personnel. Current estimates indicate a first-year cost of 100k, plus yearly operating costs of 80k or more. Initial capital will come from private donations, grants, and funding from partners.

Financial Plan

Full financial plan coming soon…

12-Month Profit and Loss Projection

Four-Year Profit Projection

Projected Cash Flow

Opening Day Balance Sheet

Break-Even Analysis

Appendices

  • Brochures
  • Studies
  • Blueprints, layouts, plans, and schematics
  • Maps and photos
  • Articles
  • Detailed list of equipment
  • Leases and contracts

Refining the Plan