A space to nurture startups gains traction in Santa Fe
Co-working space to encourage, nurture startups gains traction in Santa Fe
Apublic co-working space in Santa Fe might help foster a spirit of innovation and help independent business owners and their employees tap into local talent and resources to boost the city’s emerging ecosystem of young startups.
That’s one conclusion of a report on coworking spaces across the United States presented by Mark Johnson and Adam Shaening Pokrasso to a city economic development panel last week. The initiative is being called Project Agora, from the Greek word that means an open public space for markets and gathering.
But Johnson of Descartes Labs and Pokrasso, co-founder of 12FPS, a video production and social marketing company, said a space that is open to anyone and has a hub of activities like mentoring, seminars and networking is only part of the challenge for the city as it tries to attract and nurture businesses.
The other issues that must remain front and center are better communication from broadband to cellular providers, improved transportation and better public education so that employees who come to Santa Fe will stay to raise a family.
“It’s about an ecosystem, not a space,” said Johnson, the chief executive of Descartes, a startup that is focused on the computer learning of satellite data. “What’s around the space is more important than what’s in the space.”
Still, the idea of a co-working space is gaining traction in the city, especially with so many empty commercial spaces in the Santa Fe Railyard and potentially the city-owned Santa Fe University of Art and Design on St. Michael’s Drive.
A co-working space is a publicly accessible work area that is supported by members, who can join with an annual fee or by the day or month. Other revenue can come from offering programs and services. Most spaces have some public support with reduced or subsidized rent or with economic development grants that support lectures or presentations.
In Santa Fe, there are elements of what such a space might look like — Iconik Coffee on Lena Street, the shared offices at Second Street Studios and the Santa Fe Business Incubator. But none of those has all of the elements of the co-working spaces operating around the United States today.
Johnson said it’s not just “butts in seats;” a co-working environment should serve as a community hub for startups, with resources and amenities.
The report lists some of the resources at other co-working spaces in New York; San Francisco; Washington, D.C.; Berkeley and Palo Alto, Calif.; Austin, Texas; Albuquerque; and Los Alamos, which has a successful coworking space called project Y cowork:
Access for members 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Phone booths for private conversations. High-speed internet and printing resources. Limited private offices. Shipping and receiving. Event space. Online scheduling for conference areas. Snacks, coffee or a sandwich bar. The report also urges that any space in Santa Fe would need a dedicated staff, including an executive director and an organizer who can plan events and attract local groups so those using the space can mingle and interact.
One suggestion is that the space can bring in an entrepreneur in residence from a larger city for six months at a time, someone with experience growing new businesses.
“The lack of a talent pool in Santa Fe is one of the biggest challenges in growing a startup here,” according to the co-working report.
Johnson said his gut feeling is that Santa Fe might be able to sustain a co-working space of about 4,000 square feet.
The two also surveyed 97 individuals from groups that would most likely be interested in a co-working space, including one-person business owners or those in enterprise clusters such as marketing, advertising, web development and writing.
Some 40 percent expressed some interest in co-working, with half saying a subscription of $150 a month might be reasonable. Of those surveyed, the majority said a location at the Santa Fe Railyard would be preferred. Other areas that received strong support were Eldorado, downtown and St. Michael’s Drive.