Have I shared with you my plan for 2013?
I want to establish a business incubator/accelerator/co-working space here in Tauranga.
Tauranga’s first co-working space starts this week in the Priority One building, hooray! I’ll be doing my best to help them succeed.
But that is only the beginning. Imagine there was one business incubator, one accelerator and 3 co-working spaces here in Tauranga. That’s my vision.
But one step at a time. The first step for me on this journey is research.
Research into what has worked well and what hasn’t.
I don’t want to re-invent the wheel. I want to learn from the mistakes of the past. I want to learn from the best.
First up is Grind in New York.
8 quick facts about Grind co-working space in New York:
- Open plan floor + hot desks + lockers + bookable meeting rooms
- Free, high quality coffee
- “Frictionless” membership and entry into the building
- A “wall of awesome” that celebrates and showcases successes that Grind members have had
- Existing members invite new members
- Furniture chosen for its sustainability and low-environmental impact
- Coming soon: “the agora. In the future we’ll be rolling out tools that encourage Grindists to tap into the skills of other Grindists.”
- Cost: US$500/month membership (of US$35/day)
Lessons for me:
- A very cool name. A combination of “the daily grind” in an ironic sense + a reference to coffee that black liquid that wakes us up and we meet over
- It’s simple/spartan and uncluttered: A big open plan floor with desks, office chairs and couches. But…
- It doesn’t feel like a temporary place with a short lease. It feels permanent. I thought I could start with a cheap 12 month lease somewhere but now I’m thinking that might be a mistake
More co-working spaces for me to check out
- RocketSpace in San Francisco, USA
- The Hive in Denver, USA
- Soda Inc in Hamilton, New Zealand (read how my Oct 2012 visit went)
- Bizdojo in K Rd, Auckland, New Zealand (read how my Jan 2013 visit went)
- Generator in Britomart, Auckland, New Zealand (read how my Jan 2013 visit went)
- The Kitchen in Ponsonby, Auckland, New Zealand (read how my Jan 2013 visit went)
- Loft 503 in Britomart, Auckland, New Zealand (read how my Jan 2013 visit went)
Want to Help?
- I’ve started a list of people who share my vision and want to help. Want to join this list? Say so in the comments below