
Ask HN: How to start and build a successful hackerspace in your city - DyslexicAtheist
Like many other smaller cities, the place I call currently my home (Zagreb) has no hackerspaces [0].<p>Being a newcomer&#x2F;foreigner in this town, I&#x27;m a bit lost tbh finding connections and common interest. Meetup groups are academic and sleepy here. Paris, Berlin and London have great hackerspaces and I can usually find like minded ppl quickly. I think it would be cool to see hackerspaces also in smaller cities and where old + young guys can interact and teach each other.<p>Has anyone here been involved with building a hackerspace?<p>How are they are organized and set up?<p>What is the best way to figure out if there are enough people are in your area to make it a viable project?<p>Who sponsors these places? e.g. Is it individuals who are providing their private garage or companies who provide the facility? Do I approach companies and ask them if they want to cover some of the facility&#x2F;running costs?<p>I can see many of benefits why companies would encourage these spaces such as helping their engineers get broader hands-on skills during after-work activities. And a great network effect for the company where people can easily find a new colleague in these places if their company happens to have a job opening. (all without recruiters and with lower risk because the persons skills are known etc).<p>If anyone can share some experience? Thanks<p>[0] http:&#x2F;&#x2F;hackerspaces.org&#x2F;
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Pyrodogg
Persistence.

In the spring of 2009, as a senior at university, I was one of the first few
people involved in the movement that became Twin Cities Maker, now a
hacker/makerspace in Minneapolis, MN.

Movements start small. The very first meeting was just three of us meeting in
a coffee shop after one guy started by boldly registering the web domain and
looking for interest.

This eventually grew to a consistent weekly social meeting in the back room of
a coffee shop. Over time informality gave way to an official club with
officers. We started collecting dues to save money for a lease while still
keeping the energy by meeting _every_ week at the coffee shop.

I moved away for work soon after graduating in the summer but initially kept
in pretty close contact with the group. By January 2010, with the help of a
group-merger, Hack Factory of MN dba Twin Cities Maker officially held a lease
to a space in town. Since then they've expanded to lease more of the building.
At the Hack Factory you can tinker with electronics, 3d printing, CNC routing,
milling, welding, woodworking, textiles,....

Even after acquiring the shop, the weekly coffee shop meet turned into a
weekly open house on Wednesday evenings that still runs today.

Credit for this success goes to the individuals who stepped up to volunteer
running this crazy enterprise. I have crazy amounts of respect for everyone
who's served as an officer or otherwise helped organize things.

After returning to town in 2011 I officially rejoined as a member, although I
happened to loose much of my enthusiasm for social tinkering. I was
interested, but not committed, so i'd sit in on board meetings but not
actually run for office. Eventually, I spent less and less time at the shop.

Since then I've always felt odd talking about my involvement in TC Maker,
because other than being one of the first few people in the door, I never
personally took much of a real lead role in the organization. By 2013- I was
considering myself to just be the longest dues-paying member who actually
participated the least.

I'm on another "hiatus" now as I moved to Helsinki, Finland last spring. I'm
still on the mailing list, and I still admire the group for doing their own
thing and making it work. If I'm ever back in MN and it's still around I'll
undoubtedly be involved again at _some_ level.

[http://www.tcmaker.org/blog/](http://www.tcmaker.org/blog/)

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thecupisblue
This is crazy! I had the same thought in mind about Zagreb after coming back
from London and having fun at Google Campus. We need something like this! Was
thinking maybe it could be funded by making it an EU project and/or getting
the new government on board to provide a city space (there is a bunch of old
abandoned factories, for example the one on the Branimir street), but that
takes a lot of bureaucracy and time.

~~~
DyslexicAtheist
get in touch please :-)

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Tomte
Look a week or so back in my submission history, there were some slides by CCC
people about two of their hacker spaces.

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DyslexicAtheist
thanks for the pointer Tomte

[https://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/attachments/100...](https://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/attachments/1003_Building%20a%20Hacker%20Space.pdf)

