I apologize for the lack of frequent reporting as we are going through ‘growing pains.’ We are busy recruiting for this whole ecology of positions. We had a large number of interviews (30+ recorded on our YouTube channel) and are going at it strong. I am working on the 2 year plan, with a highlight of bootstrap-funding our staff by the fruits of production. This is necessary because our intended goal of viral scaling cannot happen from top-down funding (Foundations), but must be generated from within – if it is to become highly scalable.

The main shift is upon a renewed emphasis on training of people who come to Factor e Farm, because few people have the diversified skill sets necessary. WIth, this in mind, we’ll be able to swarm on problems – including swarming on production runs – where our next milestone (by year-end) is to demonstrate that 8 people and their assistants can finish one complete CEB Press (50 person hour production time requirement has been verified) in ONE DAY. This is part of our lifestyle investor model, where all participants engage in on-ground productivity in addition to ‘desk jobs’ – while learning practical and psychological resilience and problem-solving ability.

We are re-focusing on bootstrap funding. What is the role of the non-profit sector in this? It can and will certainly will provide tremendous help –  but it is too risky to rely on as the core of our funding stategy. I got this advice from Matt Flannery, founder of Kiva, who reported that he received a couple million dollars early on, but had to struggle in the aftermath as the foundations that provided the initial funding dried up.

There are many challenges in scaling an organization, and I am immersed in taking these head on. In the meantime, this looks like a break of progress, but I assure you that underneath, we are building a formidable machine. Thanks for your support as always.