The Opportunity Factory wants to create opportunities for a new generation of entrepreneurs. We want to do this by addressing the need for affordable sustainable products
How to become a cooperative member?
Step 1: contact us and send us a motivation letter explaining what you would bring to the cooperative, what you would add and how you would like the organisation to support you
Step 2: one or more talks with different founding partners
Step 3: decision by the board
Step 4: feedback concerning the decision of the board and, in case of a positive decision, a proposal for a cooperative members contract
Step 5: purchase of shares and registration as self employed
Step 6: take up your role
It takes about 2-4 months to go through the whole process
What can you do?
There are different roles for cooperative members that could fit with different aspirations, interests and skill sets. The major roles are described below, but if you do not fit in one of these boxes this should not stifle your enthusiasm. If you think you can help us and play a role as an active cooperative member, do reach out and contact us.
Sales
Are you the kind of person that immediately sees people around you who could benefit from our products? Do you like to interact with people and do you want to help people with their day-to-day challenges? Do you want to explain our products to people? Maybe you can play a crucial role in selling our products in your city.
Assembly and delivery
You are reasonably handy and you like to help people. You find our products intriguing and you would want nothing less than knowing how they work. You are a bit of a perfectionist and you don’t like to leave things half finished. You want to help people get used to new things. You like to interact with our customers who share our passion for building a better world, one small step at a time. You could probably play a crucial role in assembling and delivering our products and providing a wonderful experience to our customers.
Working out unique designs
You are creative and you have gone through arts education. You see our products as a canvas waiting for you to express yourself. You are intrigued by the thought of working together with our clients to make their dream of a unique product a reality. Probably you are one of our future artists who designs unique products.
What is in it for you?
Next to the financial return, you will combine working as an independent entrepreneur with working in an organisation that supports you.
The Opportunity Factory is also a safe harbour for those who want to learn the art of innovative entrepreneurship. The path of an entrepreneur is risky and a creative approach and very innovative products adds even more uncertainty. This is mitigated through The Opportunity Factory by the knowledge and means in the enterprise, the support of the organisation and the coaching by the partners.
As a cooperative member you also belong to a group that shares a common goal. You can interact with peers and learn from each others shared successes and failures.
Return On Investment
As cooperative member you buy shares as you enter the cooperative. This means you are investing in The Opportunity Factory. There are several ways to achieve a good return on investment:
- Percentage for sales and/or assembly & delivery.
- A fixed compensation per product for working out and delivering a custom design.
- Royalties for inventors, designers, creatives, … who make a crucial contribution to a new product design.
- Fee per hour for internal activities and support activities.
- Added value on shares (formula fixed by statutory rules).
Next to these direct financial returns, there is also a system of company specific benefits. As cooperative member you can collect credits and exchange them for The Opportunity Factory products, external training, interesting field trips, …
Why?
Our cooperative members are active conscious people who approach challenges in a fundamentally positive way. Does this appeal to you? Do you share our passion for creating affordable sustainable products? Are you itching to venture out as an entrepreneur, but do you prefer to do it as part of a strong team? Do you want to work independently but also want to be part of strong organisation? Do you want to explore your abilities as an entrepreneur, but do you need hands-on coaching? Have a look at what we are looking for in cooperative member and contact us.
Who?
Anyone older then 18 who shares our dreams and values can become a cooperative member. Initially we focus on students and recent graduates. For these groups we have specific offers worked out for self employed cooperative members. We provide guidance and coaching for students and recent graduates as they go through the process of becoming self employed.
If your are not a student or you didn’t graduate recently, but you are still interested in becoming a cooperative member? Do reach out and contact us. If there is a fit, we will find a way to make things work.