FAQ

The Basics - Why Cambrian House is good for you

What does Cambrian House do?

Cambrian House is home for a community of broad talents who gather online to exchange knowledge, ideas, and build and commercialize businesses. Cambrian House is the world's first crowdsourcing community.

What is crowdsourcing?

According to Jeff Howe, who co-coined the term in a Wired Magazine article (June 2006), "crowdsourcing represents the act of a company or institution taking a function once performed by employees and outsourcing it to an undefined (and generally large) network of people in the form of an open call".

Why must I join to participate?

Because we can't heap glory and riches on you if we don't know who you are.

Why should I use crowdsourcing to develop an idea or business?

It can be a long, demanding haul between coming up with an idea and commercializing a product. Cambrian House exists to make it easier. The Cambrian House crowdsourcing community is a diverse collective of creative, tech-savvy and entrepreneurial minds who gather online to exchange knowledge, ideas, and commercialize businesses. Enlist the help of the crowd for software development, marketing and sales help, all the way through to advice or leads on raising capital and dealing with venture risk.

I don't live in North America. Can I still join Cambrian House?

Of course you can. North America is not the center of the universe, nor does it have a monopoly on good ideas. The Internet is a global community, and we invite your participation.

Hey, I Have an Idea!

I have this idea and ya I am afraid to post it.

Don't be scared. Cambrian House offers idea submitters a great forum for getting some solid feedback on their ideas before investing time and energy! And using The Wisdom of the Crowed your idea may evolve into something even better. For more info check JR's blog for 4 reasons why secrecy in a startup is way overrated.

How do I know you guys aren't going to steal my idea?

Because if we did that, no one would submit their ideas! In all seriousness, it is in our best interest to make submitting your idea as rewarding as possible - after all, it's our job to build tools for you to tap into the wisdom and participation of crowds to turn your ideas into reality.

What if someone submits the same idea as me?

Either on purpose or by coincidence, sometimes the same idea is submitted more than once. We encourage you to contact members with similar sounding ideas to see if you can work together. After all - a good idea is just brain crack unless you execute it. If members with similar visions work together (i.e. crowdsourcing), your idea will become real faster increasing your chances of success. We believe it's very poor form to work on someone else’s idea without their approval.

How will Cambrian House protect my idea from being stolen and developed by someone else?

Well, we can't. No one can concretely say that an idea was ripped from our site or developed elsewhere. Furthermore, we say, don't be afraid of competition - it is a validation that you're on the right track. Finally, trust our community to outperform any competitor. It's all about the wisdom of the crowds.

What happens after I submit my idea?

If your idea meets the minimum requirements, it is posted in the Idea Explorer, our community-based ranking system. The ideas the community likes best are brought into IdeaWarz, where they compete for top rank. Tournament winners get money to develop their product.

Why isn't my idea visible in Idea Explorer?

The idea may not be posted in Idea Explorer for one of a few reasons:

• Our naughty word filter declared the idea non-appropriate for our community.
• The community has reported your idea as spam or an ad. We just don't do that.
• Your idea isn't an idea. It's a feature request or bug report or suggestion for the site. Those are better forwarded to gotbug@cambrianhouse.com.

Any plans for a futures market for bidding on ideas?

We're currently working with the guys from Inkling to implement a system.

Can I get help to build my idea?

Of course! Creating a commercial product requires broad talents, and vision. It's your choice whether to be the visionary lead or be hands off. The Cambrian House community of entrepreneurs, MBA students, software developers, graphic artists, copywriters, and marketers from all corners of the Web come together at Cambrian House to offer assistance and collaborate with you to make your ideas reality.

My ideas include adult content. Can I submit?

No thanks.

I am under 18. Can I still submit?

No. But, kid genius, you might be able to talk your parents into submitting ideas for you.

Someone has submitted a spam idea, what should I do?

We strive to catch these before they ever hit Idea Explorer. Sometimes we miss one. So, when viewing an idea there is a "Report Spam " link. If you believe the idea you are viewing is spam click this link. The spam count will go up. When three members have identified an idea as spam the idea is removed from public view until it is reviewed by Cambrian House. Each member can identify each idea as spam only once.

Can I vote for an idea more than once?

No, silly, that's cheating!

Is it unethical to vote for your own ideas? (Hat tip to Andy Doan)

Well if you submitted an idea that you personally wouldn't vote for, why would anyone else want to?

Does my idea have to be a software idea?

No! You can crowdsource any idea. Currently most ideas are software focused however as that is what most of community seems to like.

Let's Get to Work

Where can I discuss a business?

Each business has its own discussion forum. This is where you can discuss all things business related with other business members. It's also a good place to ask questions and ask for feedback from community members.

How do I find work?

It's easy. On the business pages we list all the businesses underway. If a business catches your eye, join, and let the business champion know you're interested in contributing. The two of you work it out from there.

I already have a product prototype, would Cambrian House be interested in this?

Yes. You're welcome to collaborate with the community on businesses at any stage. Connect to with fellow crowdsourcers to develop it further and market it.

Why do I have to join a business or create one to exchange one work?

It's for licensing reasons. People need to get paid ;)

Can more than one person take on a piece of work?

Absolutely - let the team lead know what you're working on and take your best shot. May the best contributor win!

Can I work collaboratively?

Heck yeah. There will definitely be times where you are going to need the help of other community members. Use the forums, wiki, private messaging, and anything else you need to hook up with others and climb tall mountains. If you have someone you have been collaborating with, let the business lead know and some of your reward will go their way.

What if I fix a bug, or make a contribution on my own initiative?

Bring it up with the team lead, it is unlikely that your initiative will go unrewarded. And, remember participation is also rewarded with Glory Points.

Who owns the work done within Cambrian House?

When you accept the terms and conditions and submit assets to the business, you are assigning all rights and interests, including intellectual property rights to that business.

What if I share my work on the business discussion board and am plagiarize by another member?

By sharing on the discussion boards, any plagiarized work will be immediately recognized.

How you Earn $$$ - Your Account

How am I compensated inside Cambrian House?

Your participation is rewarded in multiple ways:

   
• Cash or royalties for your talent negotiated with the people that you choose to work with . You are paid in Cambros.
• Glory Points from Cambrian House for being active in the community.
• Community ownership – every member can choose to be a member in the Cambrian House Co-op.

Can others see my earnings?

Only your Glory Points may be shared if you rank among the top participants in Cambrian House on the Leaderboard. Otherwise, your earnings are kept private.

When will I get paid?

Cash and royalties for your contributions need to be coordinated directly with members you work with. So it’s up to you when you get paid. Glory Points and your member share are provided as soon as you join or when you participate – right in the moment.

Royalty Points

How many Royalty Points are assigned per project?

All products start with 1500 Royalty Points. If the product is so successful that all the points are distributed, additional Royalty Points can be added to represent development of new features.

How does a Business Champion decide how many points my contributions are worth?

The point weight given to code and content submissions will depend on a number of factors, like level of effort, difficulty of task, and quality of work. Negotiate compensation with the members you choose to work with.

How are royalties paid out?

You are eligible to receive your share of the profit once the idea is developed and profitable. Monies are deposited into your account as Cambros by the Business Champion.

Does Cambrian House deduct taxes?

No. Global tax laws are outside our area of expertise, so we don't deduct taxes.

Can I transfer or sell my Royalty Points?

No. Royalty points are not securities that can be traded or sold.

What happens if the final product gets acquired by another company?

The full legalese is up to each Business Champion, but here's a likely scenario: if a company acquires an idea, they have two options. Either they can continue honouring the Royalty Point agreement, or they can buy out the agreement by making lump sum payments to contributors. The lump sum payments would be a negotiated value (i.e. a year's worth of royalties, based on a monthly average derived from the preceding twelve months).

Your Ownership

What does community-owned mean?

We wanted every community member to share in Cambrian House's growth, so we established a co-operative for the advancement of technological entrepreneurship and innovation that offers everyone who joins the community the right to own a share. We were deeply inspired by Om Malik's original blog post about the community commerce conundrum, and we wanted to be the first to solve it. Make sure to thank Om, send him a hat tip.

How does the co-operative work?

The Cambrian House Co-op is a separate legal entity that has a contract entitling it to 1% of the value of Cambrian House's equity and 1% of the revenues of Cambrian House. For more details view the Memorandum of Association and Rules.

What is the purpose of the co-operative?

The co-op was established for the advancement of technological entrepreneurship and for the benefit of its members.

What are co-operative member shares and what do they give me?

You get a vote in the Cambrian House Co-op on all matters respecting Cambrian House Co-op (e.g. election of directors, changes to Cambrian House Co-op's governing documents, sale or dissolution of Cambrian House Co-op, etc.) and are entitled to patronage dividends in the form of cash and/or member shares as determined by the governing board.

How is the co-operative governed?

The Cambrian House Co-op is led by a board of directors elected by its members annually. They have discretion to distribute cash and/or member shares to members in response to participation within Cambrian House as they see fit.

Who's on the co-operative board?

You decide. Board members are voted in annually. Our community council is our interim board just to get rolling.

How do I know what the co-operative is up to?

The co-op holds an annual meeting for members. Ours will be live and online. All members will be notified of the date at least 3 weeks in advance and all are welcome to participate. As a member, you are entitled to attend, and vote at, all Cambrian House Co-op member meetings. Updates on the co-op's business and activities will also be posted on our site.

Do I have to be part of the Cambrian House Co-op?

We’re not pushy. It’s your choice whether you consent to own a share or not.

Technical Issues

I can't log in. What's up?

Be sure to make sure you're typing the right password and that your cap lock is off (passwords are cAsE sEnSiTiVe). If all else fails we can reset your password for you.

Why doesn't your site work?

We currently support the latest versions of IE, Firefox and Safari. In order to view our site you must have Flash 8 loaded on your browser. If you have one of the aforementioned browsers with Flash 8 loaded and you're still having problems, please submit a bug report.

I didn't get my validation email and I use Hotmail. What's wrong?

Hotmail and Hal seem to be at odds. We think it's a messy breakup. As a result, most CH e-mail going to Hotmail accounts end up straight in the junk box, so check there first.

Whenever the power goes out at my house I lose my Internet connection. Are these two events related? (Hat tip to Andy Doan)

Yes unfortunately, but there is something you can do. Before electricity was discovered ancient people would connect to the Internet by lighting their modems or Ethernet cards on fire. Cambrian House does not take responsibility for fires. We suggest waiting until the electricity returns.

Odds and Ends

Why did you launch into Beta++ on August 2nd?

Just wanted to give a shout out to one of the greatest bugs of all time – good ol' off-by-one.

What technologies do you use?

Whatever's the best fit for the feature. Being Web-based, we use mostly php, RoR, Java, Flash, or .NET.

What development philosophies do you subscribe to?

We don't subscribe to any single philosophy, but we do love Extreme Programming and Agile. Iterative time-boxed delivery works well with our quick development cycles and tight delivery schedules.

Why do we love the Queen?

Who doesn't love the Queen! She's ours and we love her.

Who is that mysterious -- yet sincere -- User #9? I feel I can trust him.

That's Peter Harkins, the first ever vigilante contributor to Cambrian House. He tightened up our URL's with a chunk of classy code. (We wonder if he wears a mask and has Chiroptera-themed gadgets.)

He's so handsome. *giggle*

That's probably thanks to his once a year haircut. But be still your beating heart: he has a girlfriend.

What is the best way to communicate with my fellow Cambrian House members? (Hat tip to Andy Doan)

You can chat it up on the Forums and get to know your neighbors. Jonesing for some real-time Community interaction? We are now chatting with the easy to use Campfire, you can find us hanging out at https://cambrian.campfirenow.com/c3b69  Don't forget to keep in touch with your fellow Community-mates and make Friends.

My spouse or significant other tells me I spend too much time on the Cambrian House web site, what should I do? (Hat tip to Andy Doan)

Without breaking eye contact with your screen say "Don't let the door hit you on the way out, baby!"

How can I get my idea into the legendary IdeaWarz Tournament?

A few hints from the IdeaWarz master of ceremonies JR: 1) Pick a good product name 2) Avoid tech speak 3) Talk about benefits not features 4) Keep it short 5) Format 6) Describe how it makes money. For the full meal deal check out 5 tips on pitching your idea for an IdeaWarz tournament.