Incubator:
Oakland entrepreneurs will soon have access to a new HUB.
There’s a growing belief that innovation springs from collaboration — and that collaboration thrives in a shared physical work space. That’s why Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer called all her telecommuting staffers back to the office earlier this year.
But what if you’re an entrepreneur or a contract worker without an office? Increasingly, you can still plug into a community, with all its
potential for idea crosspollination, at a co-working space. A company called HUB Oakland is building one, to open later this year, which will provide work tables, Wi-Fi, conference rooms, private offices for small companies or organizations, event space, a gallery, yoga classes and, of course, that essential fuel of creativity, coffee.
It will also serve some of the functions of a business incubator, helping entrepreneurs connect with investors and providing coaching, all the while encouraging members to help one another.
But unlike other coworking spaces, HUBs — Oakland’s is part of a global network spread across five continents — are not just about business. They are for-profit companies, but they also have a goal of making the world a better place.
You don’t have to have a plan to make a positive impact in order to join HUB Oakland, said cofounder Ashara Ekundayo. Anyone can join. But simply by spending time there, you will probably end up developing such a plan, she said.
“You will be inspired, activated,” Ekundayo said. “The catalyst might be sitting right next to you.”
HUB Oakland
On Wednesday, HUB Oakland plans to wrap up a successful Kickstarter campaign; it exceeded its minimum goal of raising $100,000 toward the planned space; at press time, it had surpassed $114,000. Those funds will be added to money raised through grants and other channels to provide the $1 million needed to convert an old car dealership on Broadway between 23rd and 24th streets to a 16,000square-foot work space.
“This is really a huge yes for us,” said chief executive Konda Mason. Five of HUB Oakland’s eight co-founders were at its temporary space in the old bank in the Lionel J. Wilson building Monday, preparing to host a panel discussion on food justice. They took a moment to revel in the success of the Kickstarter campaign (http:// kck.st/ZH0NC7) — which will accept pledges and offer discount memberships until 8 p.m. Wednesday.
The co-founders, who are leaders in local business and the nonprofit space, were especially excited that the Kickstarter funds came from more than 1,000 separate investors.
“This is a huge part of bringing in our community,” said co-founder Kristin Hull.
Pledge benefits
People who pledged money through Kickstarter were not promised a financial return on their investment; instead they qualified for benefits at each pledge level. For instance, those who kicked in $100 will get 50 hours of co-working time and other benefits at the HUB.
One of the $100 supporters is Tesa Silvestre of Santa Cruz, who described herself as a writer and grassroots philanthropist. She was excited that HUB Oakland was “creating a support structure for visionaries and change makers in Oakland,” that it has a diverse leadership team — and that the plans include space for a meditation room. So Silvestre poured a lot of time into promoting the effort’s Kickstarter campaign.
“I posted regular Facebook updates to my 500plus friends about how the fundraiser was unfolding. I talked with enthusiasm about the HUB to friends and strangers whenever the opportunity organically arose,” said Silvestre. A high point of her personal campaign came when she inspired someone she’d just met to pledge $1,000.
Part of global network
HUB Oakland is part of a global network with 38 independently run spaces worldwide, including one in The Chronicle’s building in San Francisco and another in Berkeley. At least a dozen more are planned worldwide, including one in Palo Alto, said Tim Nichols, managing director of the San Francisco and Berkeley HUBs.
The first HUB opened in London in 2005, with the goal of bringing together entrepreneurs and thinkers of different backgrounds to solve the world’s problems, through either for-profit or nonprofit plans.
HUBs in different cities tend to reflect those cities’ strengths, and Oakland’s HUB will probably skew toward social justice projects, said co-founder Zakiya Harris.
“Oakland “exports social justice to the world,” Harris said.
Oakland HUB also plans to bring in members of its local community, even those with no previous background in business.
One way it will do that is through the company’s nonprofit arm, which accepts tax-deductible donations that will fund classes to help novices get on the road to entrepreneurship, and set aside reduced-price or free event tickets for local residents, Hull said.