MOTM

Paul Schreiber
Fort Worth, TX

BSEE Texas A&M (started out in Physical Chemistry)
MSEE SMU (was on sco-pro, oldest white male in class, students thought I was
the prof several times)
10 US patents (4 with Doug Curtis of CEM chip fame, but on DVM circuits for
Tandy)

MOTM Chief cook and bottle washer

Musical talent: none
Mechanical talent: banned in 12 states from power tools over 1/16HP

MOTM modules: MOTM-900 and a broken MOTM-110 and maybe a broken MOTM-800
somewhere.

Other stuff: 3 OB-8s, MemoryMoog, 5 Synergys, MKS-80/MPG-80, D-550, Xpander,
Elka Synthex,
MG-1 (had to buy it off eBay, the shame!), 1961 black-face Super Reverb amp,
dead mint  (just to irritate Barlow).

Why I started MOTM: about 2 years ago, folks on DIY and AH were complaining
that there were no
good kits anymore. So I open my big mouth, and now look what happened!

Music likes: Wendy Carlos got me started, Larry Fast (Synergy) made me
change majors. I still
play Wakeman's Six Wives 40 times a year. Played ELP so much, it's in my DNA
structure.
Also like Miles Davis, Pat Metheney/Lyle Mays, Robert Rich, most ambient
stuff.

What I do when not MOTM-ing: boring digital & DSP stuff. Lots of 8051 coding
(assembly).

synth1@... writes:

>> What I do when not MOTM-ing: boring digital & DSP stuff. Lots of 8051 
coding (assembly). <<

So what is the module count you must ship before you can concentrate on MOTM 
full time?  We need some of those basics like Mixer and Multiples.

If people on this list haven't purchased at least 20 modules each by now, 
shame on you.

-Elhardt

> So what is the module count you must ship before you can concentrate on
MOTM
> full time?  We need some of those basics like Mixer and Multiples.
>

I do get this question from time-to-time, and it's a fair one.

The problem is that MOTM will probably never be "full time" because the
pricing of the
modules has too low of a profit margin. I would have to sell about $300,000
worth per year
to match my present salary, NOT INCLUDING medical/401K, and CERTAINLY not
my "golden handcuffs" (ie stock options, vested over the next 3 years) which
if the market
trends stay consistant, THEN I could possibly do this full time.

MOTM has a fixed overhead: my phone bills are about $3500/yr, the credit
card fees are about
$7000/yr, and the website is about $1200/yr. So, just to cover those costs,
that translates to
about 250 modules!! Oh, and I spent $13,732 on postage last year (mostly
covered.....mostly!).

Just as a point of contrast: the DSP emulators I sell are $3500ea with $2600
of that profit!!
So 1 DSP sold = about 56 modules, profit-wise. So please realize, as I grit
my teeth every night at
1am after 15 CAD hours, "this is a labor of love...."

But really, it's not "time" but in order to speed things up, I need several
employees. NOW there
is a money sink! But, I can speed up some areas, and plan to do so. The main
one will be over
the next few months for assembled modules: I plan to go to wave solder in
April. That should
speed up processing assembled orders 2-3X.

I guess my business model is my limiting factor. BUT...I don't charge $500
for VCOs and $1100
for a small case/power supply, either.

Paul S.

Hey everyone, come over here--Elhardt's handing out money! Now we won't have
to spend our grocery budgets on MOTM anymore! I feel the shame alleviating
already...

> From: Elhardt@...
> If people on this list haven't purchased at least 20 modules each by now,
> shame on you.

synth1@... writes:

>>The problem is that MOTM will probably never be "full time" because the 
pricing of the modules has too low of a profit margin. I would have to sell 
about $300,000 worth per year...<<

I see.  The reason I asked was because you had mentioned that you would be 
finished with some project in January, I thought that implied you would be 
back to MOTM stuff at least almost full time.

dbivins@... writes:

>>Hey everyone, come over here--Elhardt's handing out money! Now we won't have
to spend our grocery budgets on MOTM anymore! I feel the shame alleviating
already...<<

I'm buying a round of MOTM modules for everyone, on the house.

-Elhardt

Heh, make mine a 300!  I could use a VCO...

--PBr

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Elhardt@... [SMTP:Elhardt@...]
> Sent:	Thursday, February 17, 2000 9:44 PM
> To:	motm@onelist.com
> Subject:	Re: [motm] Paul Schreiber profile
> 
> dbivins@... writes:
> >>Hey everyone, come over here--Elhardt's handing out money! Now we won't
> have
> to spend our grocery budgets on MOTM anymore! I feel the shame alleviating
> already...<<
> 
> I'm buying a round of MOTM modules for everyone, on the house.
> 
> -Elhardt
>