Business model ideas – PP Eindhoven

Polymer Craft General
1

Hey there,
not sure you noticed the latest youtube video, but an important part of PP,  Eindhoven is running out of money after v4. Since there is still lots of work ahead afterwards, I thought I leave here a short summary of all the patreon and you tube comments :

1. produce goods (youtubers)
2. provide an educational service, like the mentioned ‘PP Academy’ (real training), basically an online webinar, much appreciated by most clients. I explored this today on Discord and came to the conclusion that this could create lots of benefits for PP as a whole. My estimate is in the 10.000 – 20.000 Euro the month, netto. That could be enough to have a decent life for around 3-4 core members. Unfortunately it didn’t seem to gain much interest of Eindhoven so  I can only suggest this to anyone else with prior background and intentions. Btw. this can also be a reward for medium sized patreon tiers since they can have passive access.
3. produce machines (top patreaon suggestions)
4. produce limited and special editions, per month. there seem to be enough fans would pay the extra in top. that could be enough to create income for 2 people. that won’t hurt the eco system and could create interesting effects.
5. attract more patreons with good old Hakken style tutorial videos. this could be also just a monthly podcast.
6. early access programms (EAP). this way machine builders have early access to plans and content and peer content contributors can build on top – instead of doing duplicate work.

Overall, I like the ‘PP Academy’ option. It’s not just work but also a direct invest and content outcome. This is a common model for similar minded projects and works out well.

0

2

Without sounding negative, I read the V4 plan (actually a list of topics) several times, followed the V4 status posts, watched many of the monthly videos, followed the forum activity for much of the year, even with all that, I have no idea what direction PP wants to go. I’ve spent most of my career in complex development programs so I have some understanding of the process. With One Army, Project Kamp, and V4 as a collection of topics competing for attention, I’m not sure how you write a focused grant application or proposal to NGO’s or other potential funding sources.

I hope a little time can be set aside by the management team to either establish or communicate the focus of the future activities.

3

Another thing, when I sell my art, I’ve asked for an additional 10% to go toward my plastic recycling effort.  I’ve received quite the positive response.  Maybe we should ask for tips, and send these additional funds to PP HQ?

4

I am working on getting the final details together to build a business based on recycling plastic.  I am a thriving artist in Hawaii with lots of local business connections.  The stuff I make, whatever it is, will be sold in stores around my community.  I have the support it takes to build a business out of recycling plastic.  I’m going to do the best I can to type out how my business model will work.  I am a much better talker than typer, so here we go.

Promote the value of purchasing recycled plastic goods beyond what the actual product is.  Many people are willing to pay more for something if it’s attached to a set of values they believe in.  Where I live, there are lots of wealthy people who care about the environment.  I’ve decided my first product will be based on the simplicity of design, amount of plastic needed and premium price possibilities.  Patio furniture.  First, I’ll make rocking chairs because it conveys a lot more emotion than a bench or chair.  By perfecting the components (beams) to make a rocking chair, I can use the same basic raw materials to make benches, tables, regular chairs, picnic tables, etc.

I will also sell kits so customers can assemble the furniture at home.  Additionally, I will sell several at once to a bed and breakfast or resort.  Think of the audience we’d have.  They are wealthy, influential, and sitting in my rocking chair.

 

The core of my decision:

 

Make something creative and with broad appeal.

Make something where you can streamline and produce in bulk.

Make something that sells itself as well as the idea behind it.

“This is a recycled plastic rocking chair, made form milk jugs and bottle caps.  Please choose sustainable alternatives to plastic.”

 

Author and public speaker Simon Sinek famously had a TED Talk, “How Great Leaders Inspire Action“.  People don’t buy what you do, but why you do it.  I’ve learned a lot from Simon, check him out.

There’s so much more to the business case for recycling plastic, its sort of hard to get out of my head when I’m sitting here on my couch talking to myself.

5

I just noticed there is sort of a pay for help desk/tech support described on the news page.
_*Sidenote: we also have a few channels for Patreon supporters only. Here members of the core-team answer questions.

_
This is probably a good funding idea. This should have an icon on the top of the forum so people with more specific machine/process questions can get direct PP help.

6

I think the general narrative toward established models or traditional funding has been mentioned on the website: we rather stay poor but ‘free’, much to the misfortune of the entire project and it’s success for everybody involved. This makes it extremely hard to archive the needed work ahead. Looking at the central structures and general attitude toward external contributions, I hope we could at least vote some day what happens to PP.

Myself spent quite a few years too in state and private sponsored contexts and I am having a hard time getting PP’s headquarters policies and actions fitting in any model.

We’re now in the plastic recycling business, baby, it ain’t gonna be cheap and easy to survive in this trade …