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Pittsburgh Space Program: Co-locating Centers Take Off
Dale McNutt at StartupTown.
Getting a tech company off the ground and into orbit ain’t easy! Finding the right space can make all of the difference.
Just ask any entrepreneur in any corner of the world. It’s complicated enough launching a product, much less managing the minutia of maintaining an office. Resource-strapped entrepreneurs don’t have time to think about long-term leases, connectivity, mail, hot coffee and an ample supply of paperclips.
By co-working/co-locating, start-up entrepreneurs can spend the bulk of their time refining their ideas, proving their concepts, securing funding and building their business. The sky’s the limit.
Pittsburgh is part of a global trend where startup-entrepreneurs bring their companies under one roof to share resources, build community, and most importantly, put the bulk of their attention towards the growth of their companies.
“Co-working spaces are happening all over the U.S. and the world, and came here in a big way,” said Joel Reed, Vice President of Business Development at the Pittsburgh Technology Council, and a co-working space veteran of Pittsburgh’s StartUptown.
According to Deskmag, an online magazine about co-working, 1,800 locations opened worldwide (684 in the U.S.) in the seven years since the term “co-working” was coined. In the Pittsburgh region, eight locations opened in the last five years, with five opening their shared doors in 2012 alone.
Early on, Pittsburgh recognized a need to provide startups with funding, space and business assistance. Economic development organizations, including The Technology Collaborative and The Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse and incubators, such as Launchcyte and Idea Foundry, launched the first generation of resources to help startups. More recently, accelerators/incubators from Innovation Works (AlphaLab) and Carnegie Mellon University (Project Olympus) focus on increasing the rate of innovation and creation of new companies from the earliest stages of an idea.
Incubators or accelerators offer direct assistance to companies, along with initial funding to enable pursuit of follow-on funding. A co-working space, on the other hand, represents the next stop for a start-up entrepreneur to house employees, share ideas with other startups, and get inspired by each other.
“The rise in co-working spaces is a strong indicator of a healthy and growing startup community. Co-working spaces are occurring organically in response to a market need. They provide entrepreneurs flexible leasing space and the ability to collaborate and network with other entrepreneurs during a critical time of development,” said Reed. “Startups used to originate in a garage. Now they start in co-working spaces.”
Audrey Russo, President and CEO of the Pittsburgh Tech Council, says the PTC is committed to supporting its members in this area. “While co-working spaces, accelerators and incubators provide capital and low-cost office space, the Pittsburgh Technology Council provides businesses with access to the business community and a network of customers, partners, advisors and prospective employees.”
Read the entire article right here.
For more bytes of the Pittsburgh region’s tech sector visit techburgher.com
2012-11-08 14:41:56
Source: http://www.techburgher.com/teq/pittsburgh-space-program-co-locating-centers-take-off/
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