Corporate Training Program

General
1

I would like to put a spin on how we market our services. Many
corporations will pay $1200 to send their employee to a 1 or 2 day
training class on some topic. $1200 is the same as paying $100/mo for
a year at the Hive. So I think we should re-word some of our
offerings and sell it as a corporate training program in addition to
what we already do. This will give a student free classes at the Hive
for a year as well as 24/7 access to our facilities. In reality this
is just another way of being a member (no difference in membership).
I've setup a wiki page to try and capture the content that should go
on a one of our websites.

http://wiki.hive13.org/index.php?title=Corporate_Training_Program

Please read over and update to help make a business case for employees
to join this training program. This will not only help future members
get involved with the Hive but can also lower the membership costs for
people who can not get corporate backing. Plus we can get more tools
to build up our workshop.

Just last night I was at the hive for 2 hours and I saw Xbee
development, Python classes, Worked on getting the ps3 eye working on
Linux. Blender character animation and modeling. There is a lot of
value in the Hive and I think it can be phrased in a way to make it
more obvious to businesses.

I would like to have this ready for Next Thursday when I go to the
ITMartini so I can pitch the idea there as a Hive13 offering.

Thanks,

Craig

PS. If anybody wants to do a collaborative version of this final page
in Wave let me know...that might be fun :slight_smile:

2

On this is a realy good idea.

how about adding a section to the website that explains how the hive can benefit teachers, students, corporations and others (artists maybe? musicians?) ? llke a set of pages targeting each person:
i am a student
i am a teacher
i am a parent
i am a small business
etc.

3

i am a raptor jesus

4

I thought you were a Zombie Raptor Jesus… Huh, the more you know.

5

I hesitate to post this because last time I opposed something people
overreacted. I don't want to start an argument or stop this from
occurring. I just want to put my opinion out there rather than being
silent.

I disagree with a move in this direction for these reasons:

1) In my opinion, this is selling a product that does not truly exist.
It is a distortion of reality. Not to belittle anything we've done
so far, but I don't think any of the programs we've had so far can
really be called training programs, much less programs that would be
worth buying from the perspective of a company's budget.

2) In my opinion, selling the function of the hackerspace as a product
to companies deviates from the purposes of the hackerspace. I think
of a hackerspace as being oriented towards the goals and projects of
the members and the community. I am not against selling things to
make money, but this turns the actual function of the hackerspace into
a product that is for sale. The services we provide to our members
should benefit them and the community around us, not corporations.

3) I don't know if we can even legally allow corporations to be
members. This may violate our bylaws.

4) If this seems to the IRS like a way to make a profit, instead of a
way to simply cover costs it could potentially jeopardize our ability
to be a non-profit organization.

5) Pitching the hackerspace only as a corporate training environment
is likely to turn off many of the people that we should want to
attract - that is independant individuals that are looking for a
third-space to do their own projects or collaborate with like minded
people outside of their regular job.

The above are just my opinions and I just wanted them to be put out
there. Please do not read this as anti-corporatism. Please do not
read this as me trying to impose my vision on what other people choose
to do. I guess I just think that this is a mis-characterization and I
don't think it's worth doing just to get more money.

And now my attempt at some constructive pieces in this criticism...

Here is how I would rather see this type of idea move forward. If a
person wants to join and cannot due to money, we suggest that they ask
if their employer would cover the cost of their membership by
re-imbursing them. If a company would like to purchase memberships
for it's employees, then let them do so, but let it be an arrangement
between the company and the person. We should deal directly with the
individual, not the company. Also, if a company wishes to donate any
amount of money to the cause, they are welcome to do so and we can
write them a receipt. We can do pledge drives, donation matching,
corporate grants of money or equipment and get involved with raising
funds from companies in many ways that would not involve turning the
core function of the hackerspace into something that is bought and
sold.

Thanks,
Dave

6

Excellent points Dave! I agree with what you are saying (although
timing could have been better...I am suppose to pitch this in 12 hours
:slight_smile:

I think we are on the same page. This is not meant to really be sold
to companies directly or to sell a product. We are not asking for
additional money other than normal membership costs. We are simply
rolling up a years worth and providing a years membership. The way
the paypal payment thing works is the 'student' has to sign up and
expense it anyhow. This fits your desires for how this should work.

This is actually based on the hugely popular Defcon hacker conference
in Las Vegas. In the beginning it was a small venue that was just on
the weekend and costs <$50 to attend. The eventually built another
website that was all corporate looking and called it BlackHat. This
page sold tickets for $2000 to the same event but with tags like,
'Talk to real hackers', etc. Eventually they broke this into two
conferences: A corporate Blackhat that happened the week before
Defcon and you got free tickets to Defcon if you bought corporate.

The main difference here is that I'm not charging more. It's the
*exact* same thing as if somebody were to buy a years membership up
front. It just has a nicer page. And if this idea actually works and
people can get companies to sign up then it maybe that there is
interest in certain 'classes'. If so then we use the money to build
those up.

I'm not trying to sell a product or gear the Hackerspace into
corporate land. I'm just trying to add spin to a real value I believe
we already offer and put it into company speak so they can also see
the value in it.

I plan to go live with the page today if there are no major
objections. Everyone please voice you opinion because I was going to
pitch it tonight at IT Martini if we decide to go forward with it.

Page: http://portal.hive13.org/

Thanks,

Craig

7

Dave and Craig,

I think that you both make valid points. I completely agree that we
don't want to turn the Hive into an entirely corporate-funded entity.
However, I look at it much in the same light as Craig proposes : it is
a method to allow interested potential members to have their company
cover the cost. I think of this much like a corporate training budget
item or even a professional membership. In my company, I think I would
try to spin the membership line as there is usually less oversight.

Also, Craig, I have yet to read the page, but potentially there is the
possibility of credit toward continuing education requirements of
professional certifications. I was thinking CISA, CISSA, etc.

I think we should go forward with this offering.

Mike

8

How about taking the word 'Corporate' from the site so it's just:

Hive13 Training Program

And also emphasize self-paced so that nobody feels they are required
to 'teach'. We just have a group curriculum like the Python night
that ppl can work on/towards?

9

Sorry I didn't reply back sooner. I now think we are more in
agreement than I originally thought.

I appreciate the work you're putting into this.

~Dave