Last night I wrote about a hybrid work space for startups located in Austin called Tech Ranch. Part of my blog post included some information about my desire to create the Austin Tech Meetup and that we are looking for a space for the meetup to start from. The potential event space list includes Tech Ranch, Cospace (another Austin coworking space), the Austin Microsoft office and if I can find a contact, the Google and Facebook offices.

I received an email shortly after my post from Liz Elam, founder of Link Coworking. I had a great in-depth discussion with Liz about what services they offer, who they target and if the space might work for the Austin Tech Meetup. Liz began by explaining that Link is all about coworking and from what I could gather is the next step when you want to move from working at a coffee shop but aren’t yet ready for a full office space. The goals of Link remind me very much of New Work City in NYC and IndyHall in Philly.

Pricing starts at $200/month with a one-year contract, $250/month no contract and $300 for 10 days within a two-month period. The location is good too – it’s in the back of a strip mall so there are places to eat and shop within just a few steps from the coworking space.

For events like the soon-to-launch Tech Meetup, they can rearrange the open area (the desks are on casters) and the space can hold up to about 60 people. And they have chairs to seat all 60 which is important for us.

Link also offers an outdoor space where you can work (not sure why anyone would want to be outside in 100F+ temps!) and this outdoor space might work great for the networking and drinks time after our new Meetup has concluded.

Liz was able to partner with Turnstone for the furniture and from the photos, the space looks very modern and well-designed. In my post yesterday I compared Tech Ranch to Sunshine Suites for their hybrid office space. Today I will compare Link to Sunshine Suites for their awesome interior design (although I think Sunshine still does fresh Sushi lunches). The partnership between Turnstone and Link is brilliant because it provided Liz with a great discount and provides Turnstone with a showroom.

Here’s a video tour of the Link Coworking space:

Find more stories about: Austin, Coworking, Link Coworking, Texas

A couple of weeks ago I held the first brainstorming session to create the Austin Tech Meetup (modeled after the NY and SF tech meetups). The big questions that the group discussed were: where should the event be located to start and when should the event take place. The when is pretty easy – monthly, most likely on either the first or second Wednesday of the month.

The where is more complicated. Eventually I’d like to see the Austin Tech Meetup grow into a space like the one that the Lean Startup Day used at the AT&T Conference Center at the University of Texas in the midtown area. But we need a good place to start from and grow the group each month. The group came up with several recommendations including the coworking space Cospace, a few theaters and Tech Ranch. Also discussed were the Microsoft, Facebook and Google Austin offices. I am in discussions with someone at Microsoft but would absolutely love any leads on contacts at Facebook and Google!

Today I stopped by the Tech Ranch space in North Austin to learn more about what they offer and see if their event space might be a good fit for the Austin Tech Meetup. I’ve written about coworking numerous times and still think it’s a great model, especially for companies that are just beginning their existence. When I left Tech Ranch, I started to think about how to categorize the space and what I realized is that it sits in the middle between a coworking space and a dedicated company office. Tech Ranch is basically a hybrid startup space — bringing together the best of all three types of work spaces. The space reminded me of another space I profiled, Sunshine Suites in NYC.

About 10 companies have offices at Tech Ranch, each has an actual office with room for about four desks. Small offices of 150 square feet start at $400/month and include internet access, kitchen, desks, chairs, a corporate address, conference room access, and 24×7 office access.

The space had a very positive vibe and they have pictures on the walls that tell stories about entrepreneurship and building great companies.

The event space can hold 60 or so people and Tech Ranch holds a number of regular events including a bootcamp that helps you move from idea to business in a few weeks.

I am told that the office spaces at Tech Ranch are currently sold out so if you are interested, you should get on the waiting list. It’s so interesting to see how many different types of startup spaces have blossomed over the past few years. It was back in 2007 that a bunch of us met in the basement of a coffee shop to discuss creating the first coworking space in NYC and at that time there were just a handful of coworking spaces. Today there’s everything from coworking to hybrid spaces like TechRanch to the now trendy startup incubators. And what’s awesome is that all of these spaces are opening around the world providing a way for great startups to grow in any environment and with a space to meet nearly any budget.

Find more stories about: Austin, Coworking, startups, Tech Ranch, Texas

Back in 2007 I wrote an article wondering if VC-sponsored coworking locations could work. The big names in coworking all shot me down suggesting that the concept couldn’t work or it was against what coworking was all about.  Today there are lots of coworking spaces that have sponsors and or VC-backing. And as the incubators including Y-Combinator and Tech Stars continue to grow in popularity, I believe we will see even more of these “sponsored coworking” locations opening around the U.S. and the world.

Today the U.S. government announced some plans to help entrepreneurs of all kinds start and/or grow their startups. As one of the entrepreneurs the government is targeting, I look forward to potentially partnering with the various programs that can help our startup grow.

This weekend I started to think about how local governments can help entrepreneurs. It seems like office space is one of the biggest issues and expenses that early-stage companies have to deal with. I also read a post by Steven Hodson where a local library was showing off how you can borrow books from a vending machine similar to renting a DVD from a Redbox machine.

You can read post after post about library budgets across the country being cut, locations being closed, hours being reduced and issues with books being stocked on library shelves. Could coworking be the way to save our libraries and create a new class of excellent workcenters?

Many of the discussions on the local meetup groups across the U.S. and U.K. that I participate in revolve around finding space for events. Could public libraries also work for small-to-medium group gatherings?

I like this concept because it could be something wider than just tech. Startups of all types could participate and we can all benefit from a diverse set of businesses sharing ideas on topics including business development, marketing, product management, etc.

When I look at the library locations in Austin, many of the locations are closed at least one day a week. The day that the libary is closed, it is sitting there empty – why not allow the location to be used for a meetup or seminar on that day? The library would generate revenue for use of the building (and would include staff person(s) as needed).

Many of the libraries I’ve been in have plenty of empty space that can be used for coworking. Sure we would have to discuss how the logistics would work since the library is a place where we must be quiet but we can work out all of the details if the concept is solid.

Startups that work in the library would pay for the space and this revenue could amount to a figure that helps the bottom line for these starving libraries.

Lastly, the companies working in the space could offer community sessions to show off their expertise. This would introduce (or re-introduce) a new segment of local residents back into the library scene. It could also lead to new business for the startups working in the library space.

This coworking concept could help all of our libraries move into the 21st-century. I think this concept is a win-win-win…for entrepreneurs, the local community and for the revenue-starved library system.

Update: I should have known that one of the leaders of the coworking movement, Tony Bacigalupo, would have already thought of this concept. You can read his thoughts from last year.

Find more stories about: Coworking

We’ve written about coworking many times here at CN and today we are excited to post that the New Work City coworking location in NYC now has a home. The new space will be located at 412 Broadway which is basically next to all of the subways that stop at Canal St. It was just about two years ago we wrote about the first official space for New Work City at 200 Varick Street.

NWC co-founder Tony Bacigalupo has an overview of the steps the team took to find and secure the location along with how the space will be organized. Important dates related to New Work City include:

• August 27 – launch party
• September 1 – official launch of the new New Work City space
• September 10-12 – Startup Weekend will be held in the space

You can pre-pay to secure a space at New Work City. The team has also launched a Kickstarter donation drive – currently at $9,665 of a $15,000 goal with 24 days left.

I wish the entire New Work City team the best of luck with the new space. If I was still located in NYC, I would definitely be there for the big launch.

Find more stories about: Coworking, New Work City, nextNY, NYC

I’ve been a big fan of coworking for a long time. I’ve written many times about a variety of coworking topics and locations around the world.  My post about VC-sponsored coworking was viewed negatively by coworking experts back in late 2007 yet today we see a large number of VC-sponsored coworking locations around the U.S. and in other countries. I think the number of coworking locations will continue to grow this year.

Today I learned about a new coworking location that will be opening soon in St. Louis. The space is located in one of the city’s landmark buildings and the photos of the upcoming launch look great. The pictures show a space that is more office-sharing than the coworking concept of one large open desk where all of the members sit together. The space offer work areas and discussion zones.

From the overview, “amenities will include WIFI, coffee, a business address, custom dedicated workstations, classroom area, open collaboration and drop-in space, conference room(s), lounge, kitchen with break table, open art counter space with sink, community library, printing, copy and fax, secretarial services, postage and more.”

The first event to be held at the new coworking space is later this month and is already sold out (there is a waitlist).

Apparently the space boasts 47 huge windows overlooking the downtown core of St. Louis. No pricing is listed on the website but there is a signup form if you are interested.

It’s too bad I didn’t move to St. Louis — I would have been one of their first residents.

Find more stories about: Coworking

Yesterday we covered the launch of New Jersey’s first coworking location, Converge NJ. Today we’ve learned about a new service that helps manage coworking locations.

Cobot, created by Berlin-based Upstream, offers a suite of tools for managers of coworking spaces.  Cobot provides user management, new coworker signup, reporting tools, a lightweight CMS and an issue tracker.  The reporting tools includes reports on user turnover, number of coworkers in the location and which plans they are currently on. Cobot can also track location usage so you know how much of the coworking space is occupied, when and by how many.

Cobot is free to use for locations with up to 5 coworkers. Locations with over 5 coworkers are billed at $1.50/month/coworker.

It would be awesome if Cobot could create a coworking directory, signup coworking locations around the world and provide a pass that could be used at any coworking location. This way if my home base is New Work City, and I travel to Berlin, I can use the Berlin coworking space at no additional charge. Not sure exactly how the accounting would work for this type of plan but I am sure something could be worked out.

Update: Alex Hillman, co-founder of Philly coworking space IndyHall has written about Cobot as well.

Find more stories about: Cobot, Coworkers, Coworking, Germany 2.0

Coworking seems to be heating up big time over the past 6-12 months.  Coworking takes many forms…and the number of locations for shared work space continues to rise. Here in NYC we have a variety of locations including New Work City, Philly has Independents Hall and San Francisco has Citizen Space. My good friend Till works at the coworking location in Berlin, Co.Up. We’ve covered many of the other coworking resources including the new NYU-Poly incubator in NYC.

Today I’ve learned about a new coworking location opening on April 1st in New Jersey. The space is named Converge NJ and will be located in Union. If you aren’t familiar with Union, it’s a bit west of Newark International Airport. A bus from Times Square to Union takes 45 minutes. For more details on Union, New Jersey — check out this map.

The website is currently accepting reservations and the pricing ranges from $20/month for 2 days a month through a full 24/7 access with lots of additional perks including a board seat for $400/month.

Here’s a list of some of the listed benefits of membership:

• Hi-Speed Internet Access
• Free use of Printer / Scanner / Fax
• Conference Room Access
• Special access to Members-Only Events
• Coffee / Tea / Beverages / Snacks
• Access to Converge’s Sponsorship Specials
• Access to the space during normal operating hours (9-5, Monday thru Friday except holidays) as well as freedom to use the space during off-hours, if available
• Potential access to Kean University students / partnerships

If you are interested in coworking in New Jersey and/or details about Converge NJ, there’s a meetup this Thursday which will discuss more of the specific details.

If you work at a coworking location, leave a comment with a brief review and link to the coworking location’s website.

Find more stories about: Converge, Coworking, New Jersey

Editor’s note: This post was authored by Tony Bacigalupo who runs the New Work City coworking location in NYC.

Today, New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, outlined the city’s plans to boost the media industry in NYC in a variety of ways as part of MediaNYC 2020, which was originally announced in February.

Most notable and relevant to us, of course, is the effort to build a “Hive” space for independent media makers and other independent workers. The overlap with our ongoing efforts with New Work City and the Runway Project is obvious, so seeing the city make an increasing effort in this area is exciting for us. This, in combination with the city’s announced efforts earlier this year at fostering entrepreneurial growth, is beginning to add up to a real, noticeable effort on the part of the Mayor’s Office, the EDC, and others to foster healthy entrepreneurial growth in the city.

Creating an entrepreneur-friendly ecosystem

Effective spaces do two things: they help new businesses get connected and grow, and they provide a fertile ground for new partnerships to be discovered an evolve. We’ve already seen that progress in our community, where members have formed partnerships to start new initiatives such as LaidOffCamp and Zeitheist, among others. Freelancers, too, have found work in meeting and working alongside their colleagues, and through referrals that we pass along.

Our members also started and run the Runway Project, a community-driven education effort aimed toward people starting new businesses in the wake of the recession, and have helped dozens of newly independent New Yorkers get connected, educated, and on their feet in short order. All of this has sprung out of an environment designed to facilitate this sort of healthy activity.

Creating Sustainable Entrepreneurial Growth

The main challenge to establishing city-sponsored workspaces has been the fact that they have been historically temporary– reliant on below-market leases during bad markets which, when the markets rebound and prices go up, end up folding without external support.

At New Work City, we’ve been making lots of progress toward sustainability on our own. Our aim is to strike the balance between keeping membership rates low enough so as to be accessible to early-stage businesses and independent workers, while still maintaining enough cash flow to run a profitable business that gets everything at fair market rate.

For the new efforts the city is making in establishing spaces, my hope is that any new spaces that are established are done so in a way that creates long-term, sustainable economic growth. That means not relying on subsidy but on a sound business model that will survive tidal changes in economics and politics.

With the city increasing its emphasis on new and small businesses, I look forward to helping the city find ways to create this healthy growth in a city that is very much ready to take its place as a friendly place to be an entrepreneur.

Find more stories about: Coworking, Michael Bloomberg, nextNY, NYC

Back in November we reviewed NY-based SuiteMatch which helps people in several cities in the U.S. find desks to rent. Today I learned about another similar service for folks in the UK called Desk Space Genie.

Desk Space Genie is a marketplace for companies with extra desk space and people looking to rent a desk. One thing I like about SuiteMatch which the Desk Space Genie team should look at adding is the ability to see what’s near the open desk space. For example, how far is it from transit, are there any good fish ‘n chips nearby, pubs, etc. The map helps to provide an idea of the overall area before inquiring about the space. I really like the interior office photos on Desk Space Genie. It should almost be a requirement to post that the company shows photos of the office, bathroom, etc.

Some other features Desk Space Genie might look at adding include:

• ability for prospective renters to create a profile so that the companies can get an idea of who the renters are (linkedin profile, facebook, job history, criminal backgrounds, etc.)
• I think it’s almost a must that they allow renters to create profiles – will help DSG continue to push out new ads, subscription options for new open space based on my criteria, etc. – don’t let them leave so quickly!

During their beta period, they are allowing companies to post their open desk space for free.

As more companies unfortunately reduce their staff, more office space will be available and I like the idea of offering it up to others to use at reduced prices. It’s a great complement to coworking – which several of my friends are using across the world and have said it’s working well for them.

Find more stories about: Coworking, Desk Space Genie, Quick News, SuiteMatch

Today I wrote about coworking for my InformationWeek column. We’ve written about coworking many times on CN and have reviewed shared office space provider SunshineSuites as well. What about if you have an office and want to share space with another company or if you are looking for space for your team?

Hoboken-based SuiteMatch is like Match.com for office space. You can post open space at your office and you can search for space for you and/or your team. Currently they are listing open space in New York, San Francisco and Chicago. While they are in beta postings are free and they note that after that there will be a fee to post.

I love the design of the site – the information is very well presented and the Google Map not only shows you the location of the office space but nearby establishments (coffee, food, etc.). To be honest, they need to take their setup and duplicate it to work for apartments off Craigslist. That would certainly be a step up from the crappy experience Craigslist provides.

Sam at LeveragingIdeas wonders if they will be able to get past just startup listings and into real open space. Frankly this is a perfect time for SuiteMatch to go after large company openings as companies potentially layoff staff and have open spaces. I’ve written before that large corporations should embrace startups in their environment and SuiteMatch could be the tool to help bring both groups together. 

Find more stories about: Coworking, nextNY, NYC, Quick News, Reviews, startups, SuiteMatch

We’ve written about coworking several times here at CN and today we are excited to post that the New Work City coworking location in NYC now has a home. The space is located at 200 Varick Street which is right on top of the 1 train!

The New Work City team has a post which outlines the space and has a photo with the all important lease signatures. Apparently the building is used by a variety of digital companies which should make for a good bit of networking. They are offering day rates and monthly full-time memberships ($550/mo).

Big congrats to NWC lead members Tony Bacigalupo and Sanford Dickert and the entire coworking community in NYC and beyond who helped to get this ball rolling!

Find more stories about: Coworking, New Work City, NYC, Quick News

Tony Bacigalupo put together a great list of some upcoming coworking events here in NYC and I thought it was worth sharing. Get your cowork on!

New Work City Space Tour & Membership Meeting

New Work City’s an in-the-works community-driven coworking space. It’s been a long time coming, but it looks like we’re just about on the verge of securing a space! Come check out the space and join us as we work on the final steps to getting up and running!

When: Thursday, September 25th, 6:00pm
Where: 200 Varick St, Room 507B
More details and RSVP: http://nwc.tumblr.com/post/51584138/lets-do-this

Ditmas Workplace Grand Opening

The fine folks at Ditmas Park Blog are opening a coworking space in a house! Their grand opening is on Thursday evening as well, so we’ll head over there after the NWC event.

When: Thursday, September 25th, 8:00pm
Where: 535 E 17th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11226
More details and RSVP: http://ditmaspark.blogspot.com/2008/…workspace.html

Second Anniversary of Williamsburg Coworking at The Change You Want to See

Brooklyn’s own Williamsburg Coworking, one of the first-ever coworking spaces in the world, celebrates its second anniversary this Friday with a Jelly and birthday party! Come out between 9:30 and 5:00 for an open house Jelly coworking session, and then afterwards we’ll be breaking out some beers to celebrate!

When: Friday, September 26th, 9:30am to 5:00pm (for the Jelly) and 5:30pm onwards (for the party).
Where: 84 Havemeyer Street, storefront – Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 11211
More details and RSVP: http://wiki.workatjelly.com/JellyBrooklyn2008-09-26

Find more stories about: Coworking, NYC, Quick News

Coworking is really starting to gain steam here in NYC. We met with Sunshine Suites a few weeks ago, there’s Jelly and NewWorkCity is coming soon.

Now there’s a new hybrid space named SparkSpace in Manhattan which is aimed at taking companies from pre-incubator all the way through the big time. Mary Kathleen Flynn, of TheDeal.com’s Tech Confidential, interviewed David Rose and took a toor of the space. I’ve embedded the video below. Looks pretty interesting – everything in one building and you move on up as the company moves on up.

Nate Westhimer, RoseTech Ventures entrepreneur in residence has some additional details on SparkSpace.

Last year I wrote several articles about coworking and, in one of them, I suggested that a VC-sponsored coworking spot would work very nicely. Many of the coworking gurus didn’t like the idea. I guess we will be able to see how it works in action now.

Find more stories about: Coworking, David Rose, Insights, NYC

Noel, the guy who is learning how to become a taxicab driver, sent out an email about a coworking space in Brooklyn. I thought ya’all might be interested so I am copying his email below.

——————————————————————————————–

I’m writing to let you about a daily collaborative office space in Williamsburg @ The Change You Want to See Gallery < http://www.thechangeyouwanttosee.org/coworking >. We are addressing the needs of our changing work force – i.e. the emerging culture of freelancers, work-at-homers, work-at-cafe-folks, flex timers, writers, independents, programmers, designers, filmmakers, activists, etc… This "coworking" office and event-space encourages the cross-pollination of cultural producers. It’s a great place to meet like-minded folks and to get things done.

Currently, we are looking for new monthly coworkers. For $200 a month, we reserve you a chair, hand you a key and present you the opportunity to produce events @ The Change You Want to See Gallery. We also offer a barter for those who are in-between jobs.

Included in your monthly membership:

• a community of like minded folks 
• a flux of interesting people 
• networking and expertise 
• free wifi 
• fridge and microwave 
• coffee/tea 
• quiet focused work environment with a dose of social libations 
• after-work drinks free after-work events relating to art/technology/activism/theory at the gallery 

Additionally, we host the citywide "Work at Jelly" session and an open house/happy hour on the last Friday of every month.

Our doors are always open for daily drop-ins and "test drives" – so, don’t ever feel like a stranger!

For more information…
- http://wiki.coworking.info/Coworking%20Brooklyn
- email info_at_thechangeyouwanttosee.org

Also, when you are planning your next Meetup, consider this to be a potential venue.

Hope to see you soon!
Noel

Find more stories about: Brooklyn, Coworking

I’ve written about NYC coworking several times before. Over the past year, there have been a few attempts to get something going, mostly in a variety of coffee shops. Today the team spearheading the movement for an official space has some updates and there are some action items if you are interested in joining the NYC coworking movement. I chatted with a very excited Tony Bacigalupo who is one of the leaders of the movement along with Sanford Dickert and a variety of others. Sanford has stepped up and is willing to put his name and credit on the line for the space.

Here are the updates:

• There is an official name for the movement: New Work City – check out the site, it’s very cool
• There appears to be a sponsorship model of sorts. When I proposed corporate sponsorship months ago, some of the U.S. coworking leaders said that it would be a mistake. I still think it makes sense if done right.
• While New Work City will likely be tech-heavy, it’s not strictly a space for tech- it’s for independents. That said, a secondary goal of New Work City and our community efforts in the city is to help strengthen and unite the NY Tech community. I’d love to sit next to someone not in tech.
• Pricing appears to range from $50-500 a month. The $250 plan seems right for me.

If you are interested, please go fill in either the membership or sponsorship interest form. They need to show that there is heavy interest for forward progress to be made. I can’t stress this enough, it’s time for us to get involved, even if it’s just with some mouse clicks for now.

As I consider moving into a tiny shoebox of any apartment, I need this space. I am sure there are hundreds of others that need this space as well. I am excited to see how this progresses and hopefully get more involved in the planning phases.

Find more stories about: Coworking, nextNY, NYC