For the past several years, co-working spaces have been popping up across Vermont, from Bennington to Burlington; Vergennes to St. Johnsbury.
While each location is different, they all share some common goals. Foremost among them is helping new businesses get started.
At the Lightening Jar co-working space in Bennington, Bob Pinsonneault is working on the building blocks of his new business, literally and figuratively.
His startup company, Vermont Wooden Blocks, makes building block kits for children. They work in a similar way to Lincoln Logs, but they're larger wooden squares and rectangles that can even be used to make child-sized furniture.
Pinsonneault takes advantage of the mentorship and coaching offered at the Lightening Jar, and learns from the other people who use the space. He's an engineer by trade, and by his own admission has a lot to learn about business and marketing.
“It’s the community here. If I have questions on anything. I’m still learning some of the social media stuff. They help me with stuff like that,” he says.
Pinsonneault is a good example of the key purpose of the Lightening Jar.
“We’re looking to create the next generation of small businesses that will hopefully grow and become the large employers 10, 15, 20 years down the line.” Says Director Dimitri Garder.
Garder says the Lightening Jar is the kind of place he could have used when his business, Global-Z, started years ago in a garage.
“Things like heat,” he says with a laugh. “And stable electricity. Having a place where our clients could meet with us.”
"We're looking to create the next generation of small businesses that will hopefully grow and become the large employers 10, 15, 20 years down the line." — Dimitri Garder, director of the Lightening Jar
Running a business from home has drawbacks.
Scott Trafton's startup, Pool Shark H2O, markets software used to keep track of chemical levels in commercial swimming pools.
“Being a startup, money’s a little tight, so being able to have access to meeting rooms and conference rooms is a major bonus,” says Trafton.
The space is also used for workshops and talks aimed at helping startups.
The Lightening Jar has a large co-working area and conference rooms at the Bennington offices of the credit union VSECU.
Local corporate and institutional sponsors help fund the space. The people who use it pay a monthly membership fee depending on their needs.
Co-working spaces serve two sets of people: One group is the entrepreneurs. The other is people who work for established businesses. They’re either self-employed or telecommuting.
While co-working spaces have much in common, they have their differences.
In Chittenden County, Excelerate Essex features colorful artwork and quirky furnishings. It was opened a year ago by Kristin Humbarga and Emir Heco.
Before that each had been focused on creating their own co-working space. Heco was reaching out to business people, Humbarga was going for the wellness and arts communities.
When they combined the two, they found that they complement each other.
“That addition of wellness and arts allows people to drop their guard down a little bit and communicate,” says Heco. “If it’s just technology and business, everybody just comes here and works and goes home, which is not the idea of a co-working space. The idea of a co-working space is for some collaboration to happen, for an exchange of ideas to happen.”
Excelerate Essex has a first floor gallery and gathering area. Conference rooms and offices are on the second floor.
Up yet another flight of stairs there’s a room shared by massage and yoga therapists and used for other wellness activities.
Humbarga says, someone working on the floor below might get a massage at some point in their work day.
“It allows people to go into a creative, restorative mind that propels the work that much more,” she says. “There’s a lot of evidence for taking breaks and recovery. That’s what a lunch break is for, right? But now people sit at their desks and eat.”
Humbarga and Heco assumed it would take about three years for Excelerate Essex to reach 30 members and become sustainable. After the first year they already have 27 members. Fees start at $75 per month.
"It allows people to go into a creative, restorative mind that propels the work that much more ... There's a lot of evidence for taking breaks and recovery. That's what a lunch break is for, right? But now people sit at their desks and eat." — Kristin Humbarga, co-owner of Excelerate Essex
Like other co-working spaces, Excelerate Essex hosts business related events, but also has presentations by artists and a weekly writers salon that Humbarga says contribute to a sense of community in Essex.
The emphasis on wellness and art gets at something important in co-working spaces.
It’s the idea of providing not just a physical space, but a head space – an environment that promotes collaboration and creative thinking.
Playfulness is a big feature at the Vermont Center For Emerging Technologies co-working space in the FairPoint Communications Technology Hub in downtown Burlington. It’s one of three VCET co-working locations in Vermont.
At VCET@BTV ping pong tables, Legos and other games are part of the vibe of the 11,000 square foot space.
“We wanted to create that kind of environment here where it feels fun and fresh and exciting and it’s much better than being in your basement,” says Samantha Roach-Gerber, who is manager of community engagement and operations.
She says a majority of members are startups and entrepreneurs.
“But we have a ton of remote workers as well that work for companies like Google, Twitter, CareerBuilder, HubSpot.”
Roach-Gerber says there’s a strong demand for the space and services VCET@BTV provides.
An application process helps her select who would be a good match for the space and the people using it.
“Our criteria are based on what they can bring to the community. You can tell pretty much right away people that are eager to share their knowledge or offer services that they have expertise in,” she says.
Gretchen Kruesi is with Horse Network, a website that caters to equestrians and horse lovers. Her team works in a corner of the communal space. She says they can always tap in to the wealth of knowledge a few steps away.
“There are so many people here who have different expertise that you can bounce ideas off of them,” says Kruesi.
She says the convenience of not having to lease space and manage an office is also an appealing part of co-working.
"If you live someplace that has a stop sign, a two-story building and a coffee joint, you can look at co-working." — David Bradbury, VCET president
The business Tony Brogna is working on will offer life insurance that he says is “redefined for the next generation of consumer who cares about protecting their families and the planet.”
His team will likely grow and move into its own space but in the meantime he says there are clear benefits to sharing a workspace.
“It’s tough to look at the same six people all day, every day. You need external stimuli that can spark fresh ideas, to have those gut-checks. I like to chat with folks and see if what I’m thinking makes sense to others,” says Brogna.
VCET’s co-working spaces have professional staff. VCET also invests in projects.
David Bradbury, VCET’s president says a couple of seismic shifts are changing the business world.
First, in many cases companies and their employees no longer need to be in the same place.
Second, there’s a belief that new homegrown businesses, not longstanding legacy companies, will fuel economic growth in Vermont. He says co-working is tailored to both those changes.
“This is in my view the most cost-effective, high reward, low-risk way to advance economic development, sustainability and vibrancy in these communities throughout Vermont,” says Bradbury.
He says especially for the many small communities in Vermont co-working is a way to create a critical mass of business activity.
“If you live someplace that has a stop sign, a two-story building and a coffee joint, you can look at co-working.”
