On Thu, May 14, 2015 at 06:58:34PM -0700, Viputheshwar Sitaraman wrote:
>    Hello,
>
>     
>
>    I'm Vip Sitaraman, founder of [1]Draw Science and [2]#IndieSci. I'm
>    travelling through Europe conducting a study of the financial structures
>    of successful indie labs and simultaneously meeting with key partners for
>    setting up the upcoming Draw Science open access, infographic [3]journal.

Hello Vip,

I am in no position to provide you with an official statement on our
policy or anything else. This is only my personal opinion. In no event
shall be the views presented construed the views of the hackerspace, my
employer or anyone else but me.

>    I wanted to meet with you at brmlab sometime between July 26 to 30 while
>    I'm in Prague, CZ. I'm hoping to stay in a nearby hostel (any
>    recommendations?) and meet you a few times to discuss potential
>    collaborations and learn more about what you do. 
>
>     
>
>    I decided to study indie labs in Europe having recognized the long-term
>    failure of attempts at indie labs in the United States. The most visible
>    of the few successful indie labs in the US are Breakout Labs and
>    Brightworks CoResearch, both of which were privileged to enjoy high
>    initial investments and large funding pools. I will be investigating the
>    structural organization, research flexibility and goals, target audience,
>    and business model of the indie labs that allow me to visit. The study of
>    indie labs will be submitted for publication on a scholarly journal and
>    further described on the #IndieSci website.

The business model: the members of the hackerspace pay they monthly
dues, the hackerspace (a nonprofit corporation) rents the space.

We have never obtained a significant amount of money from nonmembers
(we have some nonmember supporters that give us money -- I recall it is
less than $15 per month in total). We are being provided with free
internet connectivity and free VPS server from our sponsors. Those are
nonmonetary gifts to the hackerspace.

The equipment we have at our disposal can be divided into three broad
categories and one narrow one:
  - long term loan from our members
  - gift from our members
  - old equipment discarded from elsewhere that was obtained cheaply
    (e.g. a microscope that was discarded from a high school that no
    longer had use for it)
  - equipment bought from the member dues [that's the narrow category]

The "research goals" are set by the individual "researchers" based on
their interests. (I am using the quotes because I don't feel the words
describing the situation appropriately, the connotation of researcher
being a person that has to conform to some institutional pressure (be it
the lab management, thesis advisor or the grant agency rules). The rules
our members conform to are self imposed.)

See https://brmlab.cz/project/start for the list of the projects our
members are doing, are planning to do, or have done.

Unfortunately for you, the biohackers would probably not be available to
meet you during your stay.

>    I was wondering if/when you'd be available to meet while I'm in the area.
>    I'd love to hear what you have in mind for our collaborations and/or
>    conversations. Thanks!

There is always a throng of people Tuesday evenings when there is the
regular weekly meetup. You can check whether there is someone present on
our IRC channel #brmlab on freenode. You are welcome to drop by.

However, the aforementioned paragraph shall not be construed as
a guarantee of your questions be answered to your satisfaction. Your
inquiry has not generated sufficient interest from the more
knowledgeable members so far.

Sincerely,

--TMA