Hartford Business Journal

94 Doing Business in Connecticut | 2014 Technology Industry sPOtLIGHt › By Christina H. Davis N early every tech startup has the "garage story." It's the tale of how the company got its start in the garage or basement of one of its founders. But the importance of the garage story may be shiing if the latest trend in startup real estate takes hold. at's because en- trepreneurs are increasingly turning to so-called co-working spaces to get their busi- nesses off the ground. Nowhere is that more true than in Connecticut, which now boasts six co-working spaces located in urban cen- ters like New Haven and Hartford, as well as suburban locales like Manchester. "With co-working, entrepreneurs can now come out of their basements or garages and work together," said Bruce Carlson, act- ing director of the Connecticut Technology Council. Networks of networks The co-working spaces in Connecti- cut may vary in terms of geography and sometimes in terms of mission, but they do share some basic principles. They often provide "hot desks," or open desks for a business person to use. The hot desks are usually available on a per day fee. For example, for $20, an entrepreneur can secure a desk at the Stamford Innova- tion Center co-working space — known as Stamford Workspace — from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can have access to the facil- ity's conference room. Co-working spaces typically offer memberships, through which an entrepreneur can take advantage of more perks, including extended time in a conference room, and 24/7 access to the building. The idea is that a business that's just getting started doesn't have money to rent real estate. A co-working space can provide invalu- able resources as well as a more professional atmo- sphere to host meetings with potential funders or customers. And thanks to cloud technology and other technical advances, entrepreneurs have the flexibility to work from anywhere provided they have an Internet connection. Most of the state's co-working spaces owe a bit of gratitude to the founders of e Grove in New Haven, which helped pave the way for the concept of co-working in Con- necticut. Slate Ballard and Ken Janke started coming up with the idea for e Grove beginning in 2008 and secured a small, 1,200-square-foot space in 2010. Within six months, they were bursting at the seams and have since moved twice more to find larger digs. Today, e Grove is located in an 8,000-square-foot space and has 135 members. Ballard, who helps manage e Grove while running his own company, Animal Volcano Design, said there's a large number of members in the technology/digital design space. Beyond that there's a lot of diver- sity, with startups ranging from nonprofits working with high school students and on environmental policy, to writers, editors and industrial designers. "ere are so many people here that themselves have a deep well of knowledge and then also have networks of their own," he said. "It's a network of networks. Your ability to problem solve will speed up expo- nentially because you can tap into so many different people here." While e Grove is an established co- working space, Danbury Hackerspace is just getting off the ground. e man behind that space is Mike Kaltschnee, who has worked with the City of Danbury to secure 3,500 square feet of space in a building connected to the Danbury Public Library. While the Hackerspace is awaiting its official certificate of occupancy it's been holding events or "entrepreneur meetups," as many of the co-working spaces do. At a recent one, Kaltschnee said "more than $50,000 of business was transacted." e Danbury co-working space is not just hoping to attract hackers. Kaltschnee said he also hopes artists and crasmen will The rise of co-working in the state bodes well for the tech sector and the economy in general Karen Horgan, CeO of Val Health, meets with consultant Justin Whitehead at the co-working space at the Stamford innovation Center. ' We want a community of artists and entrepreneurs and crasmen. ' — Mike Kaltschnee, founder of Danbury Hackerspace Shared Spaces PHOTO/COUrTeSY

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