Business innovation and incubation have emerged as key themes in the pro.manchester research into innovation and enterprise in the City. Greater Manchester is blessed with great Science Parks and the Sharp project is a great example of incubation and innovation in the Digital and Creative sector. But it is not just the “techs” to which attention should be paid.
Bio tech, green tech, clean tech tend to receive quite a lot of attention as does DMC (Digital, Media and creative). Yet of the 11,000 businesses created in Greater Manchester over a fourteen year period, 11,500 were created not in the tech sectors but in business and related services.
Starting any business can be a lonely process of organisational isolation and business services is no exception. In the USA the concept of coworking is gaining ground. Multiple projects or businesses share the same work space and some of the same facilities, such as broadband, wifi, server space, IT support etc. The system works not just for high tech but it can also work for startups in finance, legal, business development, marketing, corporate finance and business services.
Start ups can be lonely. The main benefits of a coworking setup are camaraderie, cost, contacts and connectivity. Information pooling is a significant benefit. One example is New Work City in New York. New Work City is a community open to anyone willing to participate and contribute. This includes startups, hackers, freelancers, students, lawyers, telecommuters, designers, writers, artists and “all-around brilliant awesome people”. Goals, To give people who can work anywhere a place to work and be happy, to help people starting new businesses find the resources, people, and education they need to get started and to make NYC a more accessible place to start and run a business.
Dog Patch Labs is another example. Dogpatch Labs was created by Polaris Venture Partners to connect entrepreneurs and help founders conceive and launch startups. Dogpatch Labs has three locations: Cambridge, MA, New York and San Francisco. Dog Patch labs offer desk space, bandwidth, coffee and cookies to aspiring entrepreneurs. The locations are wide-open, fun spaces that are shared with local startups. “They are sorta like frat houses for geeks”. But DPLs are much more than a physical space, “we are a community of like minded entrepreneurs who share a spirit of open source entrepreneurship,” the idea that, particularly at the very earliest of stages, all benefit by fostering connection points between and amongst entrepreneurs and startups. “Whether it is sharing space, sharing ideas, sharing referrals, networking, or just hanging out, we all thrive on the flow of ideas, people and relationships”.
In good company is another great idea which is centred for female entrepreneurs.“Because working for yourself doesn’t mean you need to work by yourself.”
In good company’s work space allows individuals to take advantage of a new way of working, a way that relies on shared resources, connections, and experiences. It is about “having what you need when you need it, leveraging the power of the collective, and reducing unnecessary waste and expense”.
IGC office space solutions include, private offices, dedicated desks, a shared co-working space, virtual office set up, and a variety of meeting and conference room options. Founded by Amy Abrahams and Adelaide Lancaster, IGC was created to be both a community for women business owners ripe with learning opportunities and a physical co-working space where women could come to work, meet and learn. Since opening 3 years ago, IGC has supported hundreds of women entrepreneurs and connected with women business owners throughout the country.
Our pro.manchester research suggests there is an opportunity to develop more co working facilities in the City region. We have a pool of "all-around brilliant awesome people" who could use a “frat house for geeks” to develop "open source entrepreneurship" especially for post grads.
Manchester has already made some progress in this area on the Science Parks and at the Hive but if you think more coworking facilities would be a good idea in the City region, or know of some great co working facilities, let us have your views. It’s all part of the pro.manchester research in to Innovation and Enterprise. JKA
Comments