Meeting Notes for Columbus Coworking Meetup, November 14 2007

Meeting Details

Crimson Cup Coffee

12 In Attendance

Bryce Glass, Yahoo! - Meeting Organizer

James Bentley, Entrepeneur - Meeting Organizer

Rob Stevenson, local ruby activist ;-)

Chad Pry, independant programmer

Alex Hutton, Risk Management Insight

Jason Long, Blackant Media

Michelle Crandall, City of Dublin

Ryan Morgan, John Dawson Associates

Jon Hogue, independant programmer

Craig Blazakis, Monarch Technologies

Tyler Kremberg, independant programmer

Dave Zachrich, Zachrich Software   

General Format

We had a very loose, conversational format for the first meeting. Basically, we all sat in a circle and started w/extended introductions, including: our present working circumstances (employed? independant? work-at-home, or café?); what benefits we'd each like to get from sharing a coworking space; and expectations about pricing/amenities, etc.

Themes Noted

From these round-robin introductions, some themes emerged. in no particular order, the following:

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Coworking space as a 'safety net' for freelancers—allow people to move back and forth between corporate world and independant w/minimal risk

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Access to space for evening events: many in the meeting would utilize this

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Geeks-only? No.. would be nice (and healthier?) to have a mix of folks from a variety of industries.

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Networking value: making connections w/a community of folks that you'd otherwise not get exposure to

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Physical space as a nexus for related endeavors, online and off-. (Keep a group blog? Host a BarCamp?)

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Value to STARTUPS

exposure to/learn from professionals in the space

minimal outlay for facilities in early stages

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earlier-stage than TechColumbus

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Value to Columbus

Community resource (for events, BarCamp etc.)

Missing piece of the local tech ecosystem

***

But not an incubator

Nests nicely w/the city's 'Attract and Retain' initiative

Some grant money available?

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Alex wants a big monitor.

The Space

Bryce recommended, as a conversational framework, some discussion around Citizen Space's FourPillars: Collaboration, Openness, Community, Sustainability. This was an okay launching-off point for a discussion of our own values. We got more mileage out of just starting to talk about the type of space we'd enjoy (plus some of the amenities we'd like to have.)

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Kitchenette — sink, fridge, microwave

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Printer

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Fast internet connection

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And reliable, open (not proxied)

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Site security

Key-card access?

Lockers?

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After-hours Access

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Only desired by a few, but would be a deal-breaker if not available

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Meeting room/common area

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Private phone room(s)

Location

And, of course, desired location was another hot topic. No real concensus on location, but some of the following areas were discussed:

Downtown

Probably the leading candidate, if only because of the potential for city sponsorship/endorsement of the concept. Dave did note that—having worked downtown in the past—it wouldn't be his first choice (parking expensive, access can be a PITA.) All agreed that parking would be a necessity (in-and-out parking, even.) Some areas discussed downtown include: Main Street/Market Exchange/Red Brick District; Gay Street (tho' parking is tight there); Arena District ($$$, but spaces going underutilized?)

!

Clintonville

Another possibility. Good access, probably more central than Downtown.

Outlying areas

Dublin, Westerville, Upper Arlington were all mentioned. Michelle mentioned her interest in starting a space in Dublin—all agreed that Columbus is geographically dispersed enough: if 1 coworking space is viable, then 2 or more probably would be as well.

Next Steps

We're meeting again soon. Possibly as early as December, though mid January is more likely. Bryce and James intend to follow up on some leads with the city and a couple of local realtors. We may be doing site-scouting as soon as early December. If so, we'll post notice to the Google Group for anyone that'd like to come along. Chad Pry suggested starting a web site. In the interim, we have a new Columbus Coworking Google Group for messaging and coordinating events.