1. Entrepreneurship + Building a Sustainable Team Structure August 29 th, 2015 Dean Sirovica, WRRF BOD Member (past coach and mentor – Team 1458)

2. Session Format Structured flow with Bullet Points for discussion Interactivity encouraged with sharing of experiences

3. FRC Team Main Mission: To Develop Students: ●Inspire ●Develop passion in STEM, Marketing, Art ●Grow Leadership and Teamwork skills Learning about robots is incidental … sometimes we lose sight of the “main mission”

4. The Problem Complex set of activities with tight schedules Expensive Club Activity: $7 – 100K per year Steep learning curve Large amount of multidisciplinary work 6-week build season Schoolwork is priority Championship results cannot be accomplished in 1 year

5. The Solution Develop the Club in such a way that it “grows” from year to year Model it on a “startup” company Management, Engineering, Marketing, Finance, … However, there is a complication …

6. The Complication Students come and leave, so do the Mentors, and Coaches … nothing stays permanently The people and their knowledge “pass through” the institution … So: we need mechanisms to retain and grow “institutional knowledge” within the Club

7. There is no single best solution The Team Structure and Processes need to be tailored to Your ideas on what kind of team You want to be …

8. Your FRC Team Philosophy Student vs Adult management these can be shades of grey Role of Coach Passive Facilitator ← → Autocratic CEO Best: Active Facilitator Parent involvement Can be like “comets”

9. Team Functions – its complicated Design & Build Mechanical & CAD, Electrical, Programming Drive-train, Manipulators Drive Team, Pit Crew WebSite, Outreach, Fundraising, Finance Parts & Tool management (single biggest time waster: looking for something we know we have) Awards, Timeline management Scouting, Cheerleading, Food, Transportation Off-season activities Team leadership elections/assignments Annual party Assign owner and create living document for each function

10. Grow “Institutional Knowledge” Especially important in FRC context Knowledge stays with Students, and leaves Students 1-4yrs, Mentors 1-6yrs, Coach 1++ Avoid re-starts - “Plywood, and KOP robots” Document work and sub-assemblies (code, SolidWorks, pictures, spec & calculations). Create short tutorials on common functions Develop Org Structure that enables “knowledge inheritance” Tag teams, Snr-Jnr, eg: two co-presidents Develop strong “teaching culture” from experienced students to novices

11. Fundraising ●CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility (large enterprises) ●Endowments (family/charity) ●City/School ●Student fees/donations ●Seek multi-year sponsorships ●Nurture sponsors - esp key decision maker + Sponsor events ●Local businesses (ACE, Safeway, Pizza,...) ●Ask for discounts –directly and via parents ●Many Parents will have charity matching contributions at work ●Events (car wash, food, etc…) ●Create 1-year cushion ($8K min)

12. Timelines Understand FRC & regional timeline Understand School timeline/events Understand Awards Maintain a living document of these and clearly identify and check for trigger dates A Master Timeline Chart is helpful

13. Create strong intake Court Middle school students & teachers Develop “Brand” Make Club membership highly desirable Appeal to Students, Parents, Teachers, & Principal

14. Create member progression path Give students a sense of growth and progression towards the harder/more important roles in the club Create a number of formal roles the students can hold Progression needs to be both seniority and meritocracy based Encourage leaving seniors to return as mentors and/or visit the club and give talks on how the club helped them

15. Support Infrastructure 1.School 2.Parents 3.Mentors 4.Sponsors 5.Other local Teams 6.FIRST

16. School relationship on-school vs. off-school Funding help and Promotion Facilities (machine shop, space) Teacher-coach - best results* Navigate Rules School Robotics Class is very beneficial Encourage FLL, FTC, FRC programs * Informal survey

17. Mentors are essential Students pre-disposed to learn from adults Mentors are often top-rated professionals Mentors love doing this – encourage them! You couldn’t pay for their service! Realise what you have… Mentors also need to go up the FRC “learning curve” but they improve the next year. Try to keep them.

18. Nurture relationships with local Teams Benefit at competitions Benefit from Mentors Benefit from spares/machining/skills Best: help create a team Partner Teams

19. Develop Team Business Plan* 10-40 pages covering: Mission Statement History Current structure & activities Budget for last few years Sustainability plan Goals (near & long term) Main material for “Entrepreneurship Award” *search web for FRC Team Business Plans

20. Sustainability Summary Organizational structure promoting “institutional knowledge” Well funded with multi-year commitments (incl. 1 year cushion, $8K min) Teacher-Coach is best Multi-year Mentors Link with school Robotics class FLL, FTC, FRC evolution