Contributor

A Contributor is a Bootstrapper who has come to understand the organization, has identified a generalized need of some subset of Bootstrappers, and is willing to contribute to the organization in order to provide some resource that fulfills this need.

Requirements

• Has been an Active Participant of the community for 3 months or more
• Has completed the registration process for Contribution and, if necessary, new initiative creation
• Typical Participation: Creation and/or management of a subgroup formed by Industry, by Venture Stage, or by Topic

How Does it Work?

1. Contributor-to-be thinks up an idea or feels they can solve an expressed community need with their product/service
2. Contributor-to-be gets in touch with the appropriate lead
3. Together they discuss, negotiate and agree on a particular outcome and the time it will take to produce the outcome (use ET system to document as client/performer)
4. After the outcome, the participants are charged in Boot Karma by the Lead. Participants can agree to the debit; if they choose to pay a different amount or 0, they can do so, but have to provide a reason
5. Once the outcome is completed, the Contributor charges the agreed (or modified) Boot Karma (1HR=1BK) to Bootstrap Central.
6. Transaction is approved by the Lead

NOTE: product contributions are not compensated by Boot Karma as it is only based on time put in by the Contributor. Products or hard assets(software/space) are offered for free to the community. For products the benefits received to the Contributor is feedback and an early adopter of their product.

Decision Making Process

Bootstrap initiative teams with more than one contributor are neither consensus-driven nor autocratic. Consensus-drive teams move too slowly and don't allow for bootstrapping. On the other hand, the lead doesn't get to arbitrarily get their way either. Instead, we take an approach that combines the two. The "appropriate owner" of a particular aspect of a project makes the final call. The other contributors only act as advisors and sources of input. It is therefore important for the lead to acknowledge the appropriate owners at the beginning of the project and as they need to be defined along the way.

Community Systems

• Enterprise Teaming - commitments are negotiated and managed through the ET System (provided by bootstrapper Kevin Koym)
• Boot Karma - earns Boot Karma for time put into creating an initiative. Time is negotiated with the lead who manages the initiative. Members who participate in an intiative are charged in BK; payments are made to Bootstrap Central.

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