Thinking About De-Densifying Your Office?

De-densify is the new word in real estate. Businesses who once paid large sums to fit as many employees as possible into an office setting are now looking for ways to reduce the number of workers in their buildings to adhere to social distancing guidelines.

Some organizations’ employees have said they prefer to work remotely or with less staff in the office until health authorities know more about Covid-19. Employers are listening. Recent reports show King of Freight and Signal Theory are each leaving their large office spaces--both after new and substantial renovations--for smaller offices and remote working.

Traditionally, offices supply employees with the tools they need to succeed: desks, computers, Internet, printers, copiers, restrooms, refrigerators, microwaves, controlled access, heat, air, electricity, and, of course, fellow employees. It is easy for business owners to see that most of these amenities are available at their employees’ homes at no cost to them.

But what about the collaboration that takes place at work? We’ve all been on at least one Zoom call by now. And a Google Meet. Perhaps a few Webexes and Microsoft Teams calls too. Slack notifications permeate our toolbars. Aristotle famously said humans are “social animals.” Are Zoom calls, Meets, and Slack exchanges social enough?

De-densifying can take many forms. In the context that we’ve read it, it means for a business to downsize their office or send employees to work at other workspaces. Groover Labs is a smart choice if you’re looking for someplace to host employees so your business can safely follow social distancing guidelines. We have 37,000 square feet of finished space.

Like the offices mentioned above, we provide members with the amenities of a traditional office, but we also manage services like the Internet and utilities so you can focus on your work. Our gigabit fiber is faster than any other coworking space in town. And our Old Town location has more than sixty parking spaces for the exclusive use of our members. 

We regularly sanitize common areas, and we’ve installed barriers between seats in our hotseat area. We’ve set up additional hotseats in other parts of the building to place distance between workers as more members come into the building. And we've increased space between dedicated desks and casual seating as well.

Another way to de-densify is for a business to lease a private office or desk at Groover Labs. Our contracts are month-to-month. If six months from now it makes sense for them to return to a traditional workspace, just let us know. We don’t charge cancellation fees. But while you’re here, rotate your staff through your office or bring them into our board or conference rooms for team meetings and other collaborative sessions.

You never know who or what you’ll find at Groover Labs. We’re building a diverse community of remote workers, entrepreneurs, founders, consultants and freelancers in our coworking area. Our vision is for our members to work together to help solve each others’ problems. Perhaps you’ll find a new client, strengthen your network, or come up with the next big idea.

One more thing: Our makerspace will be online in a few months. If you like to make things, you’ve come to the right place. Shop leads are busy fitting out the space right now to open to the public. 

If you’d like more information about Groover Labs, contact us here or schedule a tour.

Adventures in 3D printing: Learning the basics

Maggie (in the background) and Tracy sewed hundreds of cloth masks to help provide PPE for the community.

Groover Labs ran nine 3D printers to make parts for face shields as part of a collaborative community effort.

Welcome to the first installment of Maggie's Adventures in 3D Printing!

I'm Maggie Gilmore, the community associate at Groover Labs. I'm the first face you'll see when you come in the door.

In my free time, I love walking my dog, watching (good and bad) movies, listening to podcasts, playing video games and drinking espresso. Other hobbies I dabble in include knitting, sewing, woodworking and pretty much any DIY project I think I have the tools for. I'm also the owner of ICT Dice, a company that makes dice with local restaurants named on all the sides to settle arguments about where to go out to eat! It's been on hiatus for a couple of years, but I am working on re-launching in the near future. More on that later.

I've been aware of 3D printing for quite some time (I believe I first heard about it in Wired magazine eight to 10 years ago), but for a long time it was unobtainable due to the high cost of the machines, even the hobby ones. As the price of hobby machines has gone down though, I've definitely become more and more curious about the process and have intended to look into it when I had some free time! Fast forward to the Covid-19 crisis.

Here at Groover Labs, we wanted to make the best use of our time and resources while most of our members were sheltering-in-place and working from home, so we took to making different kinds of PPE. Tracy (one of our co-founders) and I brought in our sewing machines and made hundreds of cloth face masks that we donated to friends, family and anyone in the community that expressed a need. And Curt (our other co-founder) and Jeremiah (one of our maker lab leads) became involved with a group that was organizing local 3D printer owners to print parts for protective face shields. It was through this that I got my first hands-on experience with a 3D printer as we relocated all of the printers to the front lobby for easier access.

In an effort to maximize the number of face shields we could print, we tried to keep the machines running as close to 24/7 as possible. This meant that I came in on the weekend mornings to get the first print running again. I'm a morning person and would be up getting coffee anyway. So I got my first, very basic experience running a 3D printer, and the gears started turning with ideas for other things I could possibly make in the future.

As local demand for PPE has been mostly met, we've stopped printing face shields (although we are still laser-cutting them, which can be seen at https://www.grooverlabs.org/face-shields) and the 3D printers have opened up for me to start experimenting. I'll be posting updates to this thread as I start learning more about the process of printing and designing objects to be printed, so if you've ever had an interest but haven't had access to the technology yourself, stay tuned.

SBA busy helping with relief programs

On Friday, banks across the United States began submitting information on behalf of their small business customers into the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) e-tran portal for the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP (or “Triple P”). PPP is part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, a $2 trillion economic relief package signed into law by the president last month. The loans are backed by the SBA through their lenders and are on a first-come, first-served basis. 

There are several relief programs available for small businesses through the CARES Act, including the SBA Express Bridge Loan, a $25,000 infusion from an SBA express lender for immediate payroll and other needs; the Economic Injury Disaster Loan, or EIDL, which provides up to $2 million for working capital; PPP, a payroll program offering up to $10 million in payroll relief over eight weeks; the Small Business Debt Relief Program, which delivers immediate relief for 7(a) and 504 loans; and the Small Business Tax Relief Provisions, which offers refundable payroll tax credits for 50 percent of wages.

The two largest programs, PPP and EIDL, are described below.

Most small businesses with 500 or fewer employees are eligible for the payroll relief (PPP)  loan. There are, however, stipulations. Proceeds must cover payroll costs, most mortgage interest, rent and utility costs for an eight-week period. If employers follow these guidelines, the loans will be forgiven. If, on the other hand, employers lay off employees, reduce their salaries, or use more than 25 percent of funds for purposes not specified in the terms, they must repay part of the loan at 1 percent interest. These payments will be deferred for six months. For more information about PPP, click here.

Unlike past stimulus packages, PPP is also available to independent contractors, self-employed individuals and sole proprietorships. But while qualifying small businesses may already submit requests, gig economy workers must wait until April 10. 

Economic Injury Disaster Loans, or EIDLs, provide economic support to overcome temporary loss of revenue as a result of COVID-19 for small businesses with 500 employees or fewer. Funds come directly from the U.S Treasury, so small businesses must apply directly through the SBA. Up to $2 million will be available for working capital loans repaid over 30 years at 3.75 percent for small businesses and 2.75 percent for nonprofits. For an overview of EIDLs, click here.

The 800-plus page CARES Act provides guidance about how to allocate funds, but it is the role of the SBA and U.S. Treasury Department to create the programs designed to fulfill the act’s requirements. Both SBA and Treasury suggest those interested in the relief programs visit their websites for details about the programs instead of attempting to interpret the language in the act. 

Here are a few important notes from SBA that may not appear in their fact sheets. We wrote these down during a webinar hosted by SBA’s Wichita office.

For EIDLs

• The SBA’s website doesn’t have a registration process, so once you begin the application, you can’t save it and come back later. Make sure you have all the information you need before you start.

• For example, know your business entity type, cost of goods sold, payroll, benefits, 12 months of operating expenses (if you don’t have 12 months worth of operating expenses, submit what you have), ownership information, ownership percentages and P&L statements.

• If you’re unsure about your cost of goods sold, contact the Small Business Development Center or SCORE, which will help you calculate COGS.

• EIDL has a $10,000 advance available within three days of your application which will be tacked onto your overall EIDL disbursement. 

• If you’re denied, contact customer support and apply again.

• If you’re unsure if you qualify, apply anyway.

For PPP

• Apply for PPP through your local SBA-approved lender. If you’re a small business, and you have a loan with your bank, the odds are that your bank is already an SBA-approved lender. SBA Wichita will have a list of SBA-approved lenders soon.

• These loans are forgivable if you use them for payroll, mortgage interest, rents and utilities.

• If you use more than 25 percent of funds for other purposes, you will be asked to repay the amount at 1 percent interest. Payments are deferred for six months. 

• There is no way to check the status of your application. Instead, call customer service at 1 (800) 659-2955.

In general

• There are no fees required for applicants. Any fees associated with these loans are between your bank and SBA.

• Anyone who asks for a credit card number or an upfront application fee is pulling a scam. If you have questions, contact your local SBA office.

There are, of course, more terms related to PPP and EIDL. For more information, visit our resources page. Nevertheless, we wanted to highlight some of the most prominent features of the relief packages for small businesses. If you have questions, SBA recommends you contact the following organizations:

The Kansas Small Business Development Center: SBDC offers no-cost advising for small businesses.
SCORE: SCORE is a nonprofit organization of retired small business professionals who want to help grow small businesses.

The Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce put together this handy checklist.

Be safe: Wear a mask and if you can, sew a mask

From our co-founder, Tracy Hoover

As the social distancing and closure orders worked their way through Wichita over the past couple of weeks, here at Groover Labs we decided that it would be worthwhile to start sewing some masks and wearing them. Now we are nearly at the point where masks will be required for everyone.

I did some googling two weeks ago, and here are some I remember from that first search:

https://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Cloth-Face-Mask/

https://www.craftpassion.com/face-mask-sewing-pattern/

https://www.deaconess.com/How-to-make-a-Face-Mask

https://thestitchingscientist.com/2020/03/how-to-sew-a-face-mask.html

https://www.instructables.com/id/AB-Mask-for-a-Nurse-by-a-Nurse/

I just googled again, and there are a lot more now. The New York Times has at least two articles on how to make a mask:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/opinion/coronavirus-n95-mask.html

https://www.nytimes.com/article/how-to-make-face-mask-coronavirus.html

I also looked for guidance on fabric, and it was pretty sparse. Here's the most authoritative source I found, but I had no way to evaluate its credibility:

https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/best-materials-make-diy-face-mask-virus/

And there's some guidance here too:

https://www.owensborohealth.org/news-events/news-media/2020/fabric-surgical-masks-information/

There may be more guidance now, but I already made my decision so I'll talk about that.

There seemed to be consensus that cotton fabric was a good choice, so I went to JoAnn's and found some quilting cotton on the remnant table for $2 and $3 per yard. The print on the $2/yard fabric was Christmas related, so not ideal style-wise, but the price was right. I also asked my quilting mother-in-law for unwanted fabric from her stash. I washed it all in hot water, dried it and then ironed it flat. Don't skip these steps, no matter how tedious they seem. You'll shrink the fabric before you cut and sew, and it will be easier to work with fabric that is not wrinkled.

There are several variations on mask construction methods. You should check out each style and decide which one suits your needs, skills and supplies best. The method I chose requires some sewing skills, but it looks like the articles from The New York Times may be more suitable for those with fewer supplies, equipment and skills.

I ended up deciding to do the AB Mask. It's a good mask that can be worn directly over the face or as a cover to prolong the life of an N95 mask. But it takes a fair amount of effort, so it may not be the best choice for mass production. It also requires some sewing skills, as I mentioned.

I have been able to reduce production time by cutting a bunch at once, and then doing the same construction steps on all the masks before moving on to the next step. If you decide to do this one, it takes 24.5 inches of 44 inch wide fabric to make three masks. You'll have a bit of leftover fabric that you can use for additional ties. You may end up with some Franken-masks at the end, using all your leftover bits.

If you are going to try to mass produce, construct a complete mask before you go on. You'll get the lay of the land and also figure out where you can streamline your process.

I've made 20 so far and have another nine in the pipeline. Each of us in the family has two — one to wear and one to be in the wash. I gave one to our postal carrier and to one of our members. I saw a request from a friend on Facebook and gave her some as well.

I'm about to send a few to my brother in New Hampshire. His significant other works in a hospital ER. I wanted to give one to my UPS guy this morning, but I was at home and all the spare masks were at Groover Labs. So I think I might try to carry a spare to give away when the opportunity strikes.

Our community is collaborating during COVID-19

Our grand opening on Jan. 24 exceeded all expectations. Soon afterwards we were looking forward to the start of spring and jumpstarting the Groover Labs community. We gathered for our first member social on Feb. 21, enjoying time on a Friday afternoon to get to know each other better over local brews, chips and salsa and treats from the Nifty Nut House. We shared stories about our work, and co-founders Curt Gridley and Tracy Hoover talked about their vision for our coworking and makerspace areas.

Then COVID-19 gave us a big jolt.

Now we’ve temporarily closed Groover Labs to the public.  Our members and staff are following CDC guidelines and following the recommended precautions such as wearing masks, increased cleaning and social distancing. In addition we’ve postponed all events.

This has clearly been frustrating for everyone connected with Groover Labs.

We’re still just a fledgling community looking to grow our wings. The pandemic has put a hold on our original plans.

This has caused us to turn our energy toward helping the greater Wichita community during this public health crisis. Curt and metal lab lead Jeremiah Burian are running multiple 3D printers to make Prusa-designed face shields in collaboration with the online group Combating COVID-19 As A Community!! Curt, always looking for ways to make things better, faster and cheaper, is evaluating new designs that would be much quicker to produce since 3D printing can be rather slow.  We hope to have news about this soon.

In our hotseat area, Tracy and community associate Maggie Gilmore are sewing non-medical cloth masks. Their first batch went to staff and community members to help them flatten the curve.

We’ve also recently become involved in a larger scale effort to produce cloth masks — details of which will emerge within the next couple days.

This is exactly what Groover Labs’ mission is all about — fueling collaboration and helping bring products to fruition.

Though it’s been a long time coming, we’re about to activate our online forum as a central place to exchange ideas and talk about our work in progress. It will allow us to more quickly share updates and engage with our community about the details of our projects. You’ll be hearing more about this from us within the next few days.

Anyone can participate in the forum — you don’t have to be a Groover Labs member.

We're here to do our part to help Wichita weather this pandemic, and we hope you'll join us.

Update from Groover Labs about coronavirus

Groover Labs is closed until further notice to anyone who is not a member. 

We have cleared our calendar of all events, and we are not allowing more than 10 people in our building at the same time. Our small staff continues to work on site for as long as that makes sense. 

We are actively looking for ways to apply our makerspace equipment to deliver critically needed resources such as surgical masks and face shields for local medical personnel. If you know of a local medical facility or first responder that needs masks, face shields or other critical components, please let us know through our contact page.  We're here to help.

Like other organizations, we’re closely monitoring updates and guidelines issued by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). You can read more about recommendations from the CDC here and WHO here. This is a fluid situation, so we will adapt as the guidelines change.

Now is the time to act smartly, so we’ve stepped up our regular cleaning procedures. At the front desk and in the kitchenette area, you will find both hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes. Wash your hands often. Use Clorox wipes to wipe down any public space before you sit down to work. 

Our building is 37,000 square feet of finished space, so we are well-positioned to practice social distancing while we work.

We’ll send staff home if they’re not feeling well.

If any of our members are found to have contracted the virus, we will contact each of you directly by email and provide more information about our next steps.

Thank you for supporting Groover Labs. We didn’t expect a global pandemic when we broke ground, but here we are. We appreciate your trust in us. If we can answer any questions, please let us know. 

Sincerely,

The Groover Labs Team

Curt, Tracy, Maggie, Jeremiah, Paul, Deb and Parker

Has the coronavirus impacted your small business? The state wants to hear from you.

We know these are anxious times for business owners — especially for startups and small businesses.

We wanted to share this information from the Kansas Department of Commerce.

The Department of Commerce is working closely with the Kansas Department of Emergency Management (KDEM) to complete the required steps for requesting a Small Business Administration (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan Declaration.  As part of this process, KDEM needs to obtain information from small businesses that have suffered substantial economic injury as a result of the COVID-19 disaster.

STEP 1

Businesses affected by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) disaster should complete the Estimated Disaster Economic Injury Worksheet for Businesses form in its entirety.

Download the Estimated Disaster Economic Injury Worksheet here.

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) disaster incident period began 1/31/2020 and is ongoing. This means that businesses may look at losses beginning 1/31/2020.

STEP 2

Save your form using the following naming convention: County 2-letter abbreviation.companyname.date.

Example: ABC Manufacturing located in Wyandotte County submitting the form on March 17 would save the document as WY.abcmanufacturing.17Mar2020

STEP 3

Email a copy of your completed form to amy.selm@ks.gov at the Department of Commerce. You will receive a confirmation email that the form has been received and forwarded to KDEM.

Download the overview of SBA Disaster Assistance Resources for Businesses.

Additional information is available on the KDEM website: http://www.ksready.gov/

A Message from the National Cyber Security Alliance

Beginning in late January, we began to promote two cyber security workshops with our partners from SBA Wichita and FlagshipKansas.Tech. We received word earlier this week from the National Cyber Security Alliance that due to recent events, they have decided to postpone. We’ve spoken directly with NCSA, and they are eager to reschedule at some time in the future. When we have more information, we’ll let you know.

Message from the National Cyber Security Alliance:

In an effort to promote social distancing and slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the National Cyber Security Alliance's (NCSA) two planned in-person workshops, scheduled for March 26, 2020 in Wichita, Kansas will be postponed. The two events, which were scheduled to be held at Groover Labs, were:

CyberSecure Your Business (9am-12pm) &

CyberSecure Your Family & Home (6pm-8pm)

NCSA will work with Flagship Kansas.Tech and the Small Business Administration’s Wichita District Office to reschedule another series of events once the COVID-19 threat has subsided. 

A Message About Rise of the Rest 9.0

If you haven’t had a chance to read the message from Steve Case about postponing the Rise of the Rest tour, we’ve posted it below. We look forward to their return to Wichita at a future date.

All,

Like you, Revolution has been closely monitoring the coronavirus situation and what it means for the Rise of the Rest Road Trip this April. The tour involves thousands of participants and dozens of venues across five cities in four states. Unfortunately, given uncertainties about the ability of attendees to participate in the tour, we have made the very difficult decision to postpone our ninth Rise of the Rest Road Trip.

We put a lot of thought and time into making this decision, but believe that protecting the health of everyone that comes together for the tour from across the country—founders, startup champions, investors, and press—is of paramount importance.

We also know that part of what makes the tour so powerful is the opportunity to bring people from your community together—with individuals in the startup world from other cities—and celebrate what makes your city special. We want to make sure that when the bus rolls through, it has the desired catalytic impact we’ve promised.

We are working on rescheduling the tour and hope to share information soon, including next steps for pitch competition applicants.

All of our Rise of the Rest tours have provided an extraordinary lens through which to view a city and develop relationships with those who are relentlessly dedicated to building a better economy and future for startups and the city they call home. It became very clear during the planning process, that your city was no exception. We are so grateful for your partnership over the last few months and look forward to solidifying our future plans in the coming weeks.

If you have specific questions, you may submit them to RiseOfTheRest@revolution.com. 

All the best,
Steve

devICT: Hacking for a good cause — encouraging people to vote

Interested in learning more about elections and local politics but don’t have time?

Sign up for voteict.org, a project of devICT, KMUW and AB&C Bilingual Resources. The website allows people to sign up for push notifications that gives up-to-date information about voter registration, elections, candidates and more. The notifications are available in English and Spanish.

Volunteers from the local tech community recently participated in a Civic Tech Hackathon at Groover Labs, focusing on the website. The two-day event drew a crowd of about 10 people.

In the past, devICT participated in the National Day of Civic Hacking but decided to go out on its own to focus on voteict.org and Open Meetings, an app for government meetings that are open to the public, said Seth Etter, the founder of devICT and an at-large board member.

“We wanted to focus on voteICT. It’s an important year for people to get their voting reminders,” said Julia Winegeart, vice president of devICT.

During the hackathon, volunteers worked through an existing backlog of feature requests and app maintenance.

Anyone interested in learning more or helping with the projects may visit devICT.org and sign up for its Slack channel.