He unfortunately forgot New Work City (http://nwc.co) which just expanded into a big beautiful space on Broadway in New York City and opened up yesterday. Having started work there, I can say it's a phenomenal bunch of mostly tech related people.
Tony Bacigalupo, who founded the space, is an amazing an integral part of the New York startup scene. He also wrote a book about coworking: http://amzn.to/25y8UQ
As for coding, there are a lot of people there who do it and there are areas set aside for breakout rooms, conference rooms, and places to make phone calls where you won't interrupt anyone else's flow.
I'm a part-time member which gets me 12 weekdays a month. Since I average at least a week of travel a month, that basically works out to 4 days a week while I'm in town.
If you're interested and in New York, or are just looking for a place to work with other people when you're in town, drop in. We're a very friendly bunch. :-)
Edit: Fred added New Work City in. Thanks! Stop on by when you get a chance.
Interesting. My experience is that private offices are great for programming, and project-specific bullpens without people yammering on the telephone are OK, too.
What's it like to code in one of these coworking spaces? Can you concentrate for extended periods? Obviously, being surrounded by lots of other startups is psychologically useful. But what are the tradeoffs?
Coding is not my primary role in my job (although it is what I spend a good portion of my spare time doing), so maybe I'm strange.
My best "my god it is full of stars" moments have all been while sitting in noisy areas with headphones on. For some reason, all of the extra commotion going on around me really helps me concentrate.
I'm a big fan of coworking spaces. As a single founder, it's difficult to bounce ideas off people if there's nobody physically in the same room (or square mile) as you. I try to visit the offices of a company ran by a couple friends from college once a month.
After a few days of sharing ideas, helping out on each other's problems, and talking about the future of our respective ventures I head back to my home office with renewed energy and focus.
Coworking spaces are great. It's also good to remember that if you don't live near one - or can't get to one for whatever reason - you can always start your own space in your home.
A relative of mine in Omaha, Nebraska has "Coworking Wednesdays" in his house every week, and they always draw a good group of people.
This is true. I just moved from Boston to Columbus, Ohio. Stopped by Sandbox the other day (which has an amazing building). It was really different than what I'm used to for coworking (betahouse in Cambridge). The most shocking thing was that it was much more 'small business' focused than 'startup/tech' focused. At betahouse 75% of people are developers of some type. At Sandbox, they seemed to have less than 10% of the people there as developers.
Potentially not my thing, but very cool and I was happy to see them pulling in the larger small business community into the coworking idea.
I've been using a co-working space in Toronto called Camaraderie (http://camaraderie.ca/) - Just as you mentioned, the variety of people coming in is of a wide range. We have some tech startups renting desks/rooms, but also a woman who runs a Beer marketing company, life coaches, event organizers, and more.
Although I love talking code/tech, it's interesting to see the variety coming through.
I've been thinking about what makes a good coworking space. After 3.5 years in the best coworking space ever betahouse (imho), I've moved to Columbus, Ohio and I'm checking out the spaces here. I haven't found one that is as tech-heavy as betahouse, which is something I highly enjoy.
I feel one mistake that is easy to make with coworking is to make the space 'too nice' with too much privacy. If everyone's got an office with a door, something is wrong. Remove the door at least, and think about bashing down a few walls. Part of the sheer joy of coworking is being right there with people. When you step away for anything more than a quick phone call, or a business meeting in the conference room, then you're not coworking efficiently.
Sure, coworking can be a distraction, but having access to brilliant and skilled people around you to bounce ideas off, look at your code, or make your day better is priceless and far outweighs time lost due to distraction.
The reason that many of us gravitate toward coworking to begin with is that we're lonely. Working from home, alone, often not leaving the house for the entire day, isn't good for you. We might have coworkers, but they are only as close as skype. With coworking, you can establish deep bonds that go beyond your current job/gig.
For less formal coworking, become a "regular" at a cafe on a particular day of the week, and invite everyone to join you. I hang out at Sugarlump in SF every Wednesday.
Some coworking spaces even have private offices. Wait, what's the point of a private office at a coworking space? Well, I love it...you can be social when you want (leave your door open, or hang out in the common areas), and take important calls when you need too. Best of Both worlds. I'm in Portland, OR at NedSpace
Coworking spaces are great, but good coworking spaces are hard to find. I toured and worked from every coworking space I could find in Portland before settling at the one I presently work out of. I'm happy with it, but not thrilled; I've talked to other Portlanders about doing something better.
Point being: do your research. Many coworking spaces do "day passes", or if you know someone who works from or runs a space, ask if you can work there for a day for free. Everyone has different sensitivities to noise levels, the ergonomics of the work furniture provided, and so forth. Not every space is going to work for everyone.
It is a big cost saver, though. Even in a cheap city like Portland, getting decent office space and everything that has to go with it would be a helluva lot more than I pay to work from a coworking space.
What made you settle on your current space? It may be hard to generalize as a lot has to do with personal preference, but what do you feel coworking spaces in Portland are missing?
Reading the article gave me an office-sharing idea that I think would be quite helpful for small companies. Instead of just providing office space, the hosting company would also provide HR, legal services, and other tangential work for the resident companies. This would allow small companies to benefit from large-company-like resources while remaining focused on the core business.
I worked for a while at a Coworking space. It was great. I felt like I got a lot accomplished, but then both of the coworking spaces here in Utah shut down. Now I'm a member of a Hackerspace and it's a lot more fun, but I don't get as much done on my business.
Atlanta's got several great spaces that I've personally seen. We have 4 people working out of Ignition Alley daily, and have used both 151 Locust and Strongbox West as well.
If you're in Atlanta please stop by and check one out!
Are there businesses who have streamlined all of the operations, billing, furnishing, marketing, and setup of the co-working space for space owners, in exchange for a percentage of the co-working rents?
[+] [-] jeremymims|15 years ago|reply
Tony Bacigalupo, who founded the space, is an amazing an integral part of the New York startup scene. He also wrote a book about coworking: http://amzn.to/25y8UQ
As for coding, there are a lot of people there who do it and there are areas set aside for breakout rooms, conference rooms, and places to make phone calls where you won't interrupt anyone else's flow.
I'm a part-time member which gets me 12 weekdays a month. Since I average at least a week of travel a month, that basically works out to 4 days a week while I'm in town.
If you're interested and in New York, or are just looking for a place to work with other people when you're in town, drop in. We're a very friendly bunch. :-)
Edit: Fred added New Work City in. Thanks! Stop on by when you get a chance.
[+] [-] fredwilson|15 years ago|reply
big miss, i feel badly about that
[+] [-] look_lookatme|15 years ago|reply
http://www.nwcny.com/membership.php
They specify by week, not month. If it's by month I might sign up for this.
[+] [-] ekidd|15 years ago|reply
What's it like to code in one of these coworking spaces? Can you concentrate for extended periods? Obviously, being surrounded by lots of other startups is psychologically useful. But what are the tradeoffs?
[+] [-] blhack|15 years ago|reply
My best "my god it is full of stars" moments have all been while sitting in noisy areas with headphones on. For some reason, all of the extra commotion going on around me really helps me concentrate.
[+] [-] bigsassy|15 years ago|reply
After a few days of sharing ideas, helping out on each other's problems, and talking about the future of our respective ventures I head back to my home office with renewed energy and focus.
Of course, YMMV.
[+] [-] bigsassy|15 years ago|reply
http://coworking.pbworks.com/Directory
[+] [-] sumeetjain|15 years ago|reply
A relative of mine in Omaha, Nebraska has "Coworking Wednesdays" in his house every week, and they always draw a good group of people.
[+] [-] jot|15 years ago|reply
About 60% of us are directly working in tech the rest are in all sorts of other diverse industries.
[+] [-] AlexBlom|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tibbon|15 years ago|reply
Potentially not my thing, but very cool and I was happy to see them pulling in the larger small business community into the coworking idea.
[+] [-] truebosko|15 years ago|reply
Although I love talking code/tech, it's interesting to see the variety coming through.
[+] [-] tibbon|15 years ago|reply
I feel one mistake that is easy to make with coworking is to make the space 'too nice' with too much privacy. If everyone's got an office with a door, something is wrong. Remove the door at least, and think about bashing down a few walls. Part of the sheer joy of coworking is being right there with people. When you step away for anything more than a quick phone call, or a business meeting in the conference room, then you're not coworking efficiently.
Sure, coworking can be a distraction, but having access to brilliant and skilled people around you to bounce ideas off, look at your code, or make your day better is priceless and far outweighs time lost due to distraction.
The reason that many of us gravitate toward coworking to begin with is that we're lonely. Working from home, alone, often not leaving the house for the entire day, isn't good for you. We might have coworkers, but they are only as close as skype. With coworking, you can establish deep bonds that go beyond your current job/gig.
[+] [-] BrandonM|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] aristus|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] scottkrager|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] al3x|15 years ago|reply
Point being: do your research. Many coworking spaces do "day passes", or if you know someone who works from or runs a space, ask if you can work there for a day for free. Everyone has different sensitivities to noise levels, the ergonomics of the work furniture provided, and so forth. Not every space is going to work for everyone.
It is a big cost saver, though. Even in a cheap city like Portland, getting decent office space and everything that has to go with it would be a helluva lot more than I pay to work from a coworking space.
[+] [-] beh|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] BrandonM|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pontifier|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] apinstein|15 years ago|reply
If you're in Atlanta please stop by and check one out!
We have "co-workings wins" all the time.
[+] [-] tron_carter|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] HeyLaughingBoy|15 years ago|reply
Make a lot more money that way!
[+] [-] einarvollset|15 years ago|reply
It's in Santa Cruz, but that's a good thing..
[+] [-] jasonspalace|15 years ago|reply
http://www.workalicious.org/2009/08/interactive-google-map-o...
[+] [-] savrajsingh|15 years ago|reply