Betahouse is expanding (coworking + events for entrepreneurs, technologists and creatives)
Jon Pierce
Betahouse, it's a coworking space/community for entrepreneurs,
technologists and creatives located in Central Square, Cambridge.
Anyway, apologies for the blast, but our lease is up at the end of
August and we're planning on expanding... assuming there's sufficient
interest. Read on to learn more about us, what we're planning, and how
you can help if you're interested.
You might also want to check out these links:
http://bit.ly/betahouse-expansion (my blog post)
http://bit.ly/9nPtf5 (article in Xconomy yesterday)
Note that we're adding a few new membership options, including
"Community", "Basic" and "Nights and Weekends". The "Community" and
"Basic" options are good for people who want to be a part of the
community but don't need as much space, or who just want to support
Betahouse and ensure that it thrives.
If you're interested in potentially joining Betahouse, whether as a
community member/supporter or as a resident, please fill out this
form:
http://bit.ly/betahouse-form
If you want to stay up to date on Betahouse news, events, initiatives,
job postings, availability, or any subset of those, subscribe to our
low-traffic mailing list and follow us on Twitter and Facebook:
http://eepurl.com/E2Vt (mailing list)
http://twitter.com/betahouse
http://www.facebook.com/pages/BetaHouse/99896344826
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2107873
Now, on to the goods...
BETAHOUSE
==========
Founded in April 2007, Betahouse is Boston’s longest running coworking
space. We value community first, and our community consists of early
stage startups, entrepreneurs, developers, designers, makers and other
creative types working in or around technology. But really, anyone
who’s awesome and would add something to the community is welcome.
We’ve had DIY biologists, food and culture writers, you name it.
VISION
======
The vision for Betahouse is to be a hub of startup and creative
activity: a place where new connections are formed, new ideas,
projects and companies are hatched, people work together, and things
get made. We also want to do our part to support startups,
entrepreneurs, students, makers, community leaders, artists, etc.
Ideally, we'll eventually be able to offer free or subsidized space to
select individuals and teams (we already do for Awesome Foundation
grant winners), and we'll be seeking out sponsorship to help make that
happen.
EVENTS
=======
Events are also an important part of what we do. We've had to cut back
recently due to our current space, but we've hosted meetups, talks and
panel discussions, hackfests, demo nights, pitch sessions, office
hours, group lunches, mixers, underground kitchens, beer tastings,
movie nights, classes, jellies and jelly talks, foosball tournaments
and epic parties. We'll probably also do some recreational sports
teams (e.g. kickball, softball). Assuming we're able to expand into a
new space, expect all this and more.
Basically, Betahouse is as much a social space as it is a work space,
and we hope the community is a large part of what interests you about
it. Work hard, play hard!
LOCATION
=========
Betahouse is currently located in a residential loft in the heart of
Central Square, fast emerging as a startup/creative cluster. We hope
to keep Betahouse in Central Square, and we're currently looking at a
few potential locations. At the very least, we plan to keep it on the
Red Line between Davis Square and South Station. There might be a 5-10
minute walk from the T stop.
The new space will be loft-like in style (e.g. brick and beam or
industrial), have a mostly open floor plan, and feature all the basic
amenities you need. Given the community-oriented nature of the space,
it's most suitable for smaller teams (up to 5 or 6), depending on how
you plan to use it. If you have a larger team and are curious whether
it would work for you, drop us a line and we'll figure it out.
WHAT'S INCLUDED?
================
A convenient T-accessible location, an open, creative space with
various work areas, a month-to-month commitment, keys to come and go
as you please (for residents), a couple conference rooms, a
kitchenette, possibly a private office or two, probably some parking,
plenty of whiteboards, a projector or two, a printer/scanner/copier,
high speed wired and wireless internet, an espresso machine, a growing
library of books, foosball, Xbox and Rock Band for chilling out,
access to lots of events and social activities, a platform to host
your own events, discounts on other services (e.g. Zipcar), local
artists' work on display, perhaps a bike share program, access to 60+
other coworking spaces around the world as part of the Coworking Visa,
and last but not least, membership in an awesome creative community.
PRICING
=======
The pricing is still being worked out. But here's a sneak peek:
$425 - Full (24x7) + Dedicated Desk
$350 - Full (24x7)
$250 - Lite (3 days / week)
$175 - Nights and Weekends
$125 - Basic (5 days / month)
$50 - Community Member (2 days / month, various benefits, e.g. access
to selected events, online community) (or $500 / year - great for
occasional use, or as a way to support Betahouse and ensure that it
thrives)
$20 / $25 - Day Pass (residents / non-residents - for additional days,
guests, etc.)
WHAT NEXT?
===========
To learn more about Betahouse and the possible expansion, see this blog post:
http://bit.ly/betahouse-expansion
To express interest in joining, fill out this form:
http://bit.ly/betahouse-form
HOW YOU CAN HELP
=================
* In order to expand, we need to grow our community. Know someone who
might be interested? Spread the word! Email, Twitter, Facebook,
LinkedIn, word of mouth, etc.
* Want to sponsor individuals or startups, or the space itself (to
help defray costs)? Let us know!
* Have potential partnerships in mind?
* Have an event you'd like to host at the new space? Or want to host
office hours or offer mentorship to the startups in the space?
* Know a great space we should check out? We have some strong
candidates, but we'd love to see more.
* Know any other groups/communities to which we should reach out?
* Want to help out with the move, day-to-day operations, or growing
and managing the community? Get in touch!
STAY UP TO DATE
================
Keep an eye on our website and calendar:
http://betahouse.org/
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn:
http://twitter.com/betahouse
http://www.facebook.com/pages/BetaHouse/99896344826
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2107873
Subscribe to our low-traffic mailing list:
http://eepurl.com/E2Vt
--
Jon Pierce | @jonpierce | j...@jonpierce.com | 617.501.2001
http://blog.jonpierce.com | http://betahouse.org | http://awesomefoundation.org