Introducing a new collaboration space in the Twin Cities
Update: I've posted pictures of the new space!
I’m delighted to announce the launch of a new destination for collaboration and innovation. It’s a place where freelancers, startups, and individuals from larger organizations will be able to forge an open, collaborative and entrepreneurial approach to working and meeting.
Coming as soon as January, this space will bring together some concepts you’re probably already familiar with:- A coworking space
- A small-business incubator
- A flexible meeting space, where organizations come to generate and prototype new ideas for product and services.
- A gathering space for local unconferences, tweetups and meetups
- An espresso bar (natch.)
Who’s behind this venture?
- Don Ball, a partner with Polymer Studios and cofounder of UnSummit
- Kyle Coolbroth, an organizational innovation consultant
Why this? Why here? Why now?
We feel there are a few trends that make this idea ripe for the picking:
- The spirit of openness and sharing (see: open source, Web 2.0, social media, etc.) has infected many of us who are independents, entrepreneurs and small business owners. We believe that big organizations will increasingly look to tap into the "open" model of doing business.
- Coworking is taking off in the Twin Cities (with at least 3 locations in the works) as freelancers discover the limitations of working from a home office or the local coffee shop.
- The local startup scene is gaining steam, but needs the kind of nurturing that a small business incubator would provide.
- Bigger businesses (and non-profits, for that matter) are looking to tap into the energy and innovation of the startup community in order to solve big problems and invent new products and services.
How does the meeting space figure into all this?
The meeting space will be more than just an empty room (after all, you can rent meeting space anywhere). Our space will be unique in three ways:
- Infrastructure: We are making extensive use of theatrical set design and props, so that we can quickly and inexpensively reconfigure the space to serve the unique needs of each group. We'll also employ various digital technologies, so that meetings and participant experiences can be easily documented, remixed and shared.
- Meeting methodology: We will be using several different methodologies that emphasize peer-to-peer sharing and disruptive thinking, so that we can help visiting groups quickly clarify opportunities and generate an abundance of valuable ideas. Currently, we’re talking to a handful of experienced facilitators, who will be our meeting superstars.
- Rapid prototyping: We feel it’s important to go beyond idea generation and actually feel a product in hand, click on a Web or mobile interface, or play with a customer experience. To that end, we’re already recruiting sketch artists, graphic designers, CAx designers, actors and other creative individuals who can help bring ideas to life. Ideally, we'd love to have these types of professionals resident at the space. That way, any meetings hosted at the space result in actual business for our coworking members.
Where will this space be located?
We've got a line on a rather large converted warehouse space (upwards of 10,000 sq. ft.) in downtown St. Paul, right on the cusp of Lowertown and right along the proposed light rail line, which means we'd be close to the Farmer's Market, several good restaurants and lots of cheap parking.
We could be ready to open the doors for co-working as early as January. It might take a little more time to recruit small businesses for the incubator space and line up organizations that want to conduct meetings.Big questions remaining...
Naturally, we’ve got a few things to figure out, including the available coworking and incubator spots, plans, costs, etc. We hope to start posting this info in the next week or so.
So, what do you make of this idea? We're trying to practice what we preach and open up this venture to public input. So, your thoughts are truly welcome, as we really want this space to reflect the wants and needs of the community.Please help us choose a name for this new space!
Last, but not least, what would you call this space? We've got some candidates below, but would love your input on which name best describes the concept.
- CoLab
- The Collaborative
- Idea Lounge
- Open Labs
- Out of Office (OoO)
- Seedbed
- Spark Labs
- Other - Don't like any of the names above? Please suggest a better one. If we choose it, we'll make you a charter member and you'll be entitled to a year of coworking or free coffee for life!
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Comments (36)
http://wiki.minnestar.org/countryclub4tech
My vote is for Open Labs or Out of Office.
More people than I have commented about how the Twin Cities web and tech participants are "active" in talking about collaboration. What we need is more actual collaboration...beyond a one day conference or morning meeting. Providing this sort of space sure could lead to that collaboration.
I hope the space is priced so that boot strappers and lean startups can benefit financially while benefiting from a collaborative environment.
Do you have some potential spaces in mind? Can't wait to find out.
Cheers!
~sprout idea lab
~sprout innovation lab
~open innovation lab (oil - has some interesting connotations)
~open idea lab
~sprout open innovation lab (soil - again, interesting)
~sprout labs
~the hatchery
I like Idea Lounge or Innovation Lounge
Can't wait to learn/see more as this develops :)
Does the building have a loading dock and space for a multipurpose proto shop/ mini-manufacturing/ customer demo area (with 208VAC three phase power)?
One bit of feedback re: the pricing however is that the day passes seem a bit steep to me. Hard to get spontaneous about stopping somewhere for a day here or there with a $35 price tag. There are other ways to drive revenue from the occasional visitors.
@Gary, thanks for your question. Perhaps you could stop by on Monday for our open house and check out the facilities yourself? (http://cocomsp.posterous.com/come-to-the-coco-open-house-monday-1214-4-9-p)
@Craig, I believe there are a couple spaces in the works for Minneapolis. I haven't heard anything about the West side (SLP, Hopkins, M-tonka, etc.)
@rickbert I'm all ears regarding ways to make drop-ins more affordable. However, I do believe that coworking offers more value than just working in a coffee shop and that that value should be reflected in the cost. We're also hoping that people will choose to buy memberships, which will help even out revenue. Of course, not everyone is able or wants to hang out full time, hence the discounts for multiple day passes. Nonetheless, if you have ideas for alternative schemes, please pass them along. Who knows...maybe by the end of January, we'll be singing a different tune!
@Deborah Yes. Eastside rules!
I think this is a great idea and wish you guys the best going forward with it. I'm utilizing a coworking space in Chicago. It's a little more library than collaborative space, but that's cool, and it's great to have an option outside my apartment. You might want to take a peek at one of the other places here, http://officeportkc.com/chicago/. I think their real value is in the events they hold, like a monthly hackathon (kinda sorta like MinneDemo).
Oh, and seedbed sounds dirty. My vote is for Out of Office -- offices can suffocate. Incubators can stimulate.
Rooting for you guys!
-matt