(This is the vision in narrative form for the free workspace I’ve been trumpeting. For a discussion of the need, see “The Boston Entrepreneurial Ecosytem’s Problem and a Solution“, “‘Notes from My BarCamp Talk: ‘Building the Boston Startup Community’“)
In two months, you’re going to come to this workspace, look around, and see 35+ zero stage entrepreneurs slogging away at their startups. They won’t have any funding. They probably won’t have much of any income. But they’ll have their vision and passion.
They’ll also have their peers, their community—day in and day out as they work through what is a very tough period for a startup, getting off ground zero.
A month prior to this they were probably working alone, or with one other partner, in their dorm room, apartment, the corner of a coffee shop, or the deathly quiet of a library. It can work for some. However this can be a huge drain if you’re working on an ambitious new venture; if you’re alone or isolated, you may wilt just a small bit. But this small bit could be everything on a tough and treacherous journey.
However, when you put these same people in a vibrant community of shared experience, they bloom. And this is an awesomely vibrant community of badass, zero-stage entrepreneurs that are executing. They’re here, in Boston, and they’re doing it—hell or high water. And in the end, they’ll win.
You’ll look over to one corner, and on the wall, you’ll see a sign that says “Mindspace”. It will have whiteboards from floor to ceiling, and you’ll find people pacing, brainstorming, and writing profusely in various colors of dry erase markers.
Just down on the other side of the room, there is a ping pong table with four people playing a game of doubles. In the corner, is a plastic basket with a frisbee for throwing in the parking lot, a basketball for the court outside, and other miscellaneous fun box items. If it’s important, you have fun doing it directly and indirectly.
(Double-click Videos to Play, or, if the embedded video doesn’t work, Follow the Accompanying Link)
(Basketball Court and Parking Lot)
Around the corner, past the small kitchen outfitted with a few necessities, you’ll see a sign hanging overhead that reads “the Jungle,” where you’ll find a vast array of plants (probably all fake) and desks. This is where some of the entrepreneurial animals live.
Walk through the Jungle, down a small corridor, and you’ll pass a small room on your right. Above the door, it says “Garden.” Inside, you’ll find some tea, a window, some mats to sit on, a small couch, and two bamboo plants.
Continue down the small corridor, and you’ll come to a door that says “Ocean.” As you walk through the normal-sized door, you’ll come to a large room, with the main wall painted in “Isle of Capris” blue. In it you’ll find people working with the diligence of an esteemed academic but fueled by the spark of the entrepreneurial spirit. On the wall you’ll see bookshelves filled with books including Jeff Bussgang’s Mastering the VC Game, Founder’s at Work, Pour Your Heart Into it, Business Law for the Entrepreneur, and a plethora of books from O’Reilly as well as others.
Image via Wikipedia
As you walk through the rest of this place, you’ll come across “IronWorks” where you’ll find a bench press, some free weights, a poster of Iron Man, and the strong-willed working. And then there’s the “Technodrome” (anyone remember Ninja Turtles?) where you’ll see soldering irons and hackers programming Arduino boards and messing with FPGAs. Oh, and then there’s “the Hall of Sages”, where you’ll find a long corridor with 7 doors. Behind each of these doors, you’ll find someone (or a number of people) a little wiser than you. They’ve moved on from the zero stage community. And while they can’t ever really go back, they know the value of the energy the zero stage community exudes.
(Hall of the Sages, and other)
This isn’t even half the story describing this vision, but I’ve left out a very important part so far: The Entrance. When you walk into this place, you’ll see a hallway lined with posters like these:
And as you keep walking, you’ll then come to “The Wall of Believers.” On it you will see a large sign with names and icons. It’ll include the “Innovation Titans”, companies that said “we are innovation, we support it, and we’ll help drive it.” It’ll also include “The Community Luminaries.” These are people and companies that have said, “we’re here, we’ve been there, and we want to see you win.” Here’s what this sign might look like (this is a visual, not the real wall, hopefully there will be many more on the real version. Let’s get it started.):
Surrounding this sign will be pictures of people shaking hands and slapping each other on the back.
As you turn and keep walking, you’ll come to another wall, this is “the Wall of Champions.” It will have its own sign with the names and icons of the people and companies that first championed this incredible place and represented the first community of people that helped build a home here. These are people that needed it, loved it, and helped make it real. These are the people that said, “we’re here, we’re doing this, and we’re going BIG.” It might look something like this (this is just a visual, get yourself on the real version, see below):
Surrounding this sign, you’ll see pictures of people high-fiving and maybe even hugging after a big success.
When you go to leave, you’ll be sad to go, but you’ll be excited to come back. You’ll then jump in your car or walk a few minutes to the Porter Square T Stop.
~
This may all sound a bit like a mushy, utopian storybook (and people have told me this vision is utopian), so you’re probably asking, “How ‘realistic’ is this?”
Well, ultimately you’ll tell me, but it’s within arm’s reach right now. The numbers work out monetarily. The perfect space (which this is) makes this possible. With some swift action, it’ll be ours.
I’m going to leave this post up for a week at the top of my blog (much to the chagrin of my regular readers). Within the next week, I hope you’ll have helped spread the word and reached out by leaving a comment or sending me an email (KVogelsang11@gmail.com) (whichever is best for you and for the momentum) saying one or more of these things:
1) “Get me on the Wall of Believers. I’m going to help make this happen. And I’ll even throw down a few dollars to help get you started.”
2) “Get me on the Wall of Champions. I need this community to exist, and I want to be a part of it somehow.” Tell me if you actually want a desk in the space (only prerequisite is being passionate about something, you also don’t have to work here to be a ‘Champion.’) Tell me how you can help or contribute (examples: “I’ll administer the network!”, “I can help move some desks in once you’ve got them!”,”I’ve got some bookshelves!”, “I love painting!”, “I’ve got an awesome book to donate!”, “I’ll come be awesome and provide moral support!” ). If you’re not sure what to do, just say so. I won’t have any trouble finding a way to let you help.
3) I’d like to pay a little money to work in the space, or I know a startup/someone looking for some space. As I’ve alluded to, “the Hall of Sages” is a nicer section connected directly to the rest of the workspace. It’s perfect for a more developed startup or for anyone that wants to be surrounded by the energy and an awesome community. (Could dedicate up to 3,000 sq. ft. for this purpose. Let’s talk.)
I’m excited to see who the leaders will be.
I’m going to take a “proper” job and loan what money I can in order to get this off the ground. This is part of it. And between the Believers and the Champions, we’ll make the cards fall in the right place. But we need to move swiftly.
When you use your name to name something, some people think it’s a display of textbook narcissism. It isn’t. They think this because they’ve never done anything outrageous before. When you put your name on something, you won’t let it fail, and you’ll eventually find a way to win.
-Kevin
4.25.2010
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