Visual Magnetics Partnership
[UPDATE]: We are taking a 1-week period to record any reservations and proposed solutions to this partnership. Please take some time to add your thoughts to our doc (in both columns!): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RCP3Opg7_d_tW-QnHwHuJroybtF3NM9Q0C3eyZwRG2k/edit#gid=0
Hey fam!
I spoke to the VM team last week and today to flesh out the partnership details. In addition to the impending installation of cafe sponsorship, they are also looking to deepen and provide some structure for our partnership. Their hope is to provide our initiatives with their collaborative toolkit and understand how to provide the most values to a "next generation workspace" like ours!
As most of you know, this is a relationship that has persevered throughout our very long construction process; I'm grateful that the VM team has stuck by us throughout all our trials and tribulations (and delays). I still think having them as close collaborators will prove really fruitful for our own programming, our events capabilities, and everyday fun/work/life stuff.
I'd love to field any questions or concerns that you might have! Let me know!
Responsibilities from VM (sponsorship):
1. Activation of cafe (within VM's capacity)*
2. Install and activation of large wall on 1st floor*
3. Install and activation of meditation room*
4. Install and activation of large conference room*
5. Provide 5 table top installs
6. Will produce layers for 5 PP events per year (up to 100 SQFT) any amount over 100 sq/ft with be billed at a discounted rate of $8.00 sq/ft ( standard price of $14 sq/ft)*
Artwork hanging system -- schedule and beta samples forthcoming (there may be some associated cost, but deeply discounted)
- The continued activations of the spaces are correlated to point number 6 (5 events per year 100sq ft of printed graphic layers each event/activation) this could be looked at as 5 activations rather than events, and you can allocate those 5 activations (printing graphic top layers) across the different walls at your discretion.
Prime Produce agrees to provide to VM:
1. 3-Year Term (hopefully this will continue indefinitely, but let's see in 2021)
2. Access 24 hours downstairs-only key cards for immediate VM team: Tori Joe Sandy, + Nick, Lauren, Melissa (6 total)
3. Able to use space for photo shoots in meditation room (and produce quick social media content) as long as planned ahead with PPAC host
4. Able to schedule (VM-activated) conference room from time to time. (A few times a month).
5. The ability to host our own foster labs workshops 5 per year (intimate brainstorms with our clients), scheduled with PPAC host. Generally will have at least 1 week notice ahead of time.
6. Would like to be able to host 2 (non-partnership) design industry events per year -- (long lead time) for Design industry and potential clients.
7. Would like to partner with PP members to produce 4 co-branded public-facing or internal workshops/events per year
8. Small amount of storage for layers + some showroom collateral.
ALSO: I've attached the previously proposed engagement phases (which this proposal supersedes) for reference.
Jerone Wed 30 May 2018 1:12AM
They would be paying with product and installation costs --- a lot of $$$ worth, which is listed out in the pricing sheet. It's something like $30k.
Jerone Wed 30 May 2018 1:13AM
Also that's just the installation, not counting the 5 annual activations. Or the fruits of any collaboration experiments we end up conducting with them!
Rosalind Zavras Wed 30 May 2018 1:37AM
As a whole, I do think that this sounds like a great partnership. I am excited by the potential to activate the space and I think that having more people and projects in the space is a good thing and would help bring in traffic / business.
However, what are the things we'd need in order to accomplish in a productive way for the membership and the VM team. For instance, you mention 24/7 access to the downstairs space. We don't currently have the space segmented, so we'd need to prioritize the alarm panel/door/re-wiring. That is a cost we can't really afford. Also what if the downstairs space is being used for an event and no member is upstairs to host them?
I don't want to confuse the conversations at all so I am fine with us moving forward to vote
without everything worked out. That being said, I want to highlight that my vote is only contingent on those other questions being worked out simultaneously/shortly thereafter.
michelle j. Wed 30 May 2018 1:31PM
I'm ok. continuing the conversation to see where we land and I am interested in the partnership. I just want to make sure that PP is around for the long haul. Is this a complete barter of goods and services? If we cannot afford the alarm panel/door/re-wiring, could they could cover that cost? Is there anything else that would need to happen in the space in order to make the partnership work? I'm concerned with our current financial state, so I am feeling the need to see if there are other ways that they can give back to the PP system. Could they donate curtains to PP? Should we ask for a little to cover cleaning, taxes, supplies, and trash service on a monthly basis? Would they help us to market the space? Should we request that they bring in a certain amount of paid clients into the space as event/conference room rentals? Push out information about PP on their social media? Access to the space is the swap with the VM activations/walls, I get that, but there are impacts of having more people in the space that I'd like us to consider addressing.
Chris Mon 11 Jun 2018 7:31PM
Thanks for sharing this proposal, J. First: I like the exchange. I think bringing on what could be called "anchor tenets" like VM serves the co-op well. In VM's case, this type of partnership would bolster the product and design side of what we are trying to do: create spaces of services, collaboration, and I would add, innovative practices of hospitality.
Chris Mon 11 Jun 2018 7:35PM
Second: Since VM isn't paying rent, they would not come on board as a traditionally defined anchor tenet. The 6 people on VM's team would represent an investment in our culture as well as in the capacity of the space in the form of the product they would give us in exchange for space. Because of this company's family values, size, and areas of expertise, I think the value prop exchange is a good one. That said, I would like to advocate for a scoped out product / space exchange that would take the place of monthly rent. The frequency of exchange isn't as important to me as the existence of a schedule / timeline so that we feel protected and so that the partnership's success can be measured and its metrics made transparent and even tweaked if necessary. There should be a clear baseline for us to start the space-for-product exchange proposed above.
Chris Mon 11 Jun 2018 7:39PM
Third: When I hear about the unlimited downstairs access, I think... well... everyone on their team needs to know that they should not venture upstairs unless another co-op member is present. For me, with the current capability of the building, this isn't an operations or systems based solution. It's a culture one. This means that there should be a moment or two of scheduled on-boarding hosted by a current co-op member that is mandatory for VM team members to attend before they can access the space. Then, when the building has the capacity, or we have the budget to install more options for access, we can move to transition this culture based solution to operations and systems.
Chris Mon 11 Jun 2018 7:44PM
Fourth: I agree with the concerns that Michelle and Roz bring up above. The framing for this partnership to work centers around:
1) VM allowing the guild to increase the collaborative capabilities of the event space and coworking space that can be selling points to prospective clients.
2) VM bringing their own clients by the space to see the product, and by default, to learn about the guild (the co-op needs to want to take advantage of this as a moment to promote what it's doing and have invites ready to gain new members)
3) Promoting this partnership to our small, but significant relationships with journalists and writers, who can help amplify the impact that this partnership will have for the guild's visibility.
4) Clear expectations of the VM team for how they can engage and use the guild.
Qinza Wed 13 Jun 2018 3:39PM
This sounds great and Saks and I are 100% in super excited
michelle jackson · Wed 30 May 2018 12:49AM
This sounds interesting. Would love to learn more. So this is a Partnership, not a membership. I see that there are lots of different ways that they would like to engage with the space. Are they paying anything for the space? I understand that they’ve already provided 40k worth of product to PP and most importantly have stuck it out over the years.