We would like to know if you would invest money in our ventures?
Please read the section explaining what investing means before you formulate your answer. If your conclusion is "NO", please tell us what it would take to make you feel different.
What is this network?
This network uses the open value network (OVN) model. This model is still in evolution, but for the purpose of this survey try to consider the OVN model in a more advanced state. After all, you're answering a hypothetical question, and you can always add comments to justify your final answer.
One of network's main reasons for existence (the reason why people get involved in it) is tangible rewards, which, we all hope, will allow all contributors (and investors like you) to secure their subsistence and well being.
Here are a few important characteristics of the OVN model to keep in mind:
This OVN is NOT represented by a legal entity, which doesn't make it illegal. It can be understood as a platform for co-creation, an environment, or as an infrastructure or a set of tools for collaborative innovation and production.
Affiliates of this OVN can be individuals, organizations, and even other OVNs. This OVN doesn't own property, because it is not represented by a moral person. Everything is owned by affiliates or is part of the commons or of the pool of sharebles.
This OVN produces open source products, under CC BY-SA 3.0 license.
This OVN is open, i.e. it has very low barriers to entry for participation
This OVN is transparent, i.e. internal processes are in public view.
This OVN is decentralized, i.e. there are no instituted power relations between affiliates
Decisions that concern the entire network are based on merit. Sometimes non-affiliated individuals can be included in the process of shaping opinion and consensus building.
All revenue generated from exchanging a product on the market are redistributed to all members that have contributed to make this product and to bring it to market, in proportion to their respective contributions, according to the contribution accounting system.
Contributions are considered investments and can be made in time, cash, materials, space (sharing a physical or virtual space, etc.)
Products are created within ventures, contributions/investments are made to ventures, every venture is treated separately, i.e. investing in one venture doesn't generate revenue from another venture.
Investing in ventures
Contributions can be made in time, cash, materials and other. This survey is about investing cash.
In short, the contribution accounting system takes into account all contributions from all members to a given ventures and uses the benefit redistribution algorithm to compute equity. The equity is represented by a pie share, where the entire pie, the 100%, represents the revenue (potentially) generated by the product issued from the venture.
Every contributor to this particular venture has a portion of the pie. As the venture develops more contributions are made by different members, and the equity distribution changes. This is why we call this fluid equity. When the venture reaches maturity the pie share becomes more stable. Only those who contribute to marketing efforts, who maintain the flow of the product towards the market, will continue to add value, little by little.
An investment is a contribution to a venture with the expectation of a future tangible reward. This reward usually comes from exchanging the product on the market, against other tangible assets, which are redistributed according to the contribution accounting system. An investment is different from a donation, which is a contribution made without any expectation for a future tangible reward.
An individual or an organization who invests cash automatically becomes an affiliate of the OVN. This means that this individual or the organization MUST adhere to the contribution accounting system. Someone who makes a donation doesn't need to become an affiliate of the OVN.