From Hackerspace to Hackerhome

Chris Meyer, founder of the Sector67 hackerspace in Madison, Wisconsin, traces the group's path from a 2010 business plan contest entry to a self-owned building. Early on, the group ran small community events such as soldering workshops held at a university, then rented a former lawnmower repair shop with a personal guarantee on the lease. A landlord's redevelopment plan forced a move, and a three-year effort to partner with an insurance company ended when its goals did not line up with the space's.

The group then decided it had to own its home. Savings from years of unpaid founder salary, plus a crowdfunding campaign that drew around 118 donors, covered the purchase of a 1949 warehouse and the cost of lifting its roof. The talk covers the harder parts of the build: a late-night propane tank accident that sent the founder to hospital, while volunteers kept the project moving; occupancy and fire-rating rules; concrete work in freezing weather; and salvaging building materials to cut costs.

The finances stayed free of loans, with memberships as the main income and eBay resale of surplus stock adding more. Meyer closes with practical advice: tie training to specific tasks, expect entrepreneurship to be hard, and look at community "third place" writing when planning a shared space.