Gaining attention recently in the business world,
particularly for start-up companies and entrepreneurs, are shared professional buildings
called co-working spaces. For a monthly fee, anyone from a free-lancing copy
writer to start-up developers can access one of these spaces and take advantage
of its Wi-Fi, desk space, office equipment, complimentary beverages, trendy
interior, and networking opportunities. For professionals who need more room or
peace than their homes or parents’ basements afford them, these spaces have
become a convenient alternative to leasing an office. Services offered at
co-working spaces vary as greatly as the spaces themselves, but one thing is
certain: their popularity is skyrocketing, especially among developers.
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Tech-centric, suburban Fuquay Coworking lets workers avoid long
city commutes. |
| Nido Durham is the
only co-working space to offer daycare in the southeast United States. |
Programmers who used to camp out at coffee shops all day are
tired of the noise and isolation. Joining a co-working space offers them not
only interaction with other developers, colleagues with experience and ideas to
share, but access to and knowledge about the services entrepreneurs from many
industries offer. Therefore, fellow space-renters also serve as potential collaborators
or clients.
In fact, corporations are starting to buy into the
co-working spaces for this reason. Companies from Microsoft and PepsiCo to the Silicon
Valley Bank are seeing the potential in having a few of their employees share
working space with some of the most promising start-ups. Google Developers announced
this month that Google intends to open a space in San Francisco
specifically “to train, educate, and collaborate with local and international
developers and start-ups.” As with many co-working spaces and incubators, it will
offer mentoring, code labs, design sprints, and other classes and events, as
well as host Google’s equity-free Launchpad Accelerator program.
Oh, wait. Incubators and accelerators? Well, while many co-working
spaces do offer events and workshops, incubators are more school-like,
specifically degned to provide services such as mentorship, training, and
networking events to start-ups for semester-like intervals. They often crop up
around universities and market themselves to students, but vary greatly, like
co-working spaces. Accelerators offer similar benefits, as well as small
amounts of seed capital in exchange (usually) for equity stake in companies,
but require an application process.
As most of our readers know, Syncfusion proudly supports individuals
and small groups of developers with our Community License
and participation in organizations such as Girl Develop It. As co-working spaces
are particularly useful to developers, it’s great to see other pillars of
support going up world-wide.
Have you ever used a co-working space? Let us know about
your experience in the comments below, or on Facebook and Twitter.