Inside the NYU-Poly Incubator in NYC

Yesterday I visited the NYU-Poly incubator in NYC as part of the First Round Capital Startup Trek. The space is basically brand new and is very open. A desk costs $250/month but apparently the space is completely booked. Director Bruce Niswander noted that companies basically have to reapply every six months and their total stay is limited to 18 months. Here’s an overview of the space from The Observer.

Somewhere between 28-33 companies currently share the 16,000 sq. foot space in the incubator. One of the companies in the space you may have heard of  is ChubbyBrain. I will post a video overview from the founders later today. The NYU-Poly incubator houses a diverse set of companies including tech, food, clothing, and energy.

It’s interesting to look at all of the different options available for shared office space. There is a wide range available from coworking where all companies typically share one main work area, to incubators where companies have cubes to full shared offices. I am starting to dive deep into investigating which type of office space is right for my startup. As commercial rents appear to be on the decline, does it make more sense to go directly into a full office and maybe share with only one or two other companies?

Here are some photos from the tour (view the full set):

Large office space

Here’s what your $250 buys

Meeting space

Conference room