It’s no secret that I started Silicon Florist to highlight some of the “under the RADAR” stories that might not garner coverage from traditional local publications.
So, when the mainstream pubs around town cover the stories I’d like to cover—and cover them before I do—it makes me ridiculously happy.
Today’s case in point: coworking spaces in Portland:
Several vintage Portland buildings have been renovated recently, blurring the line between co-working and traditional offices. Small creative entrepreneurs have office doors, but they share common areas and, sometimes, business.
Among the folks mentioned are some of our favorite coworking spaces in town.
Like who?
Well, CubeSpace, for one:
CubeSpace hosts evening events, including tech clubs and Beer & Blog gatherings. Schweber and Kominsky sometimes sweep through at 9:15 — quarter-past quitting time — and urge the crowd to move to a bar.
Souk for another:
When Julie Duryea opened Souk 2 1/2 years ago, cafes were the only choice for most freelancing Portlanders. She couldn’t find many co-working spaces beyond New York and London.
Now, her Old Town operation hosts an eclectic crowd: a footwear and apparel consultant, a strategic planner, a retail designer. Plus, Souk has company in the Portland market.
And up-and-coming Nedspace:
They recruit tenants through online networking, word of mouth and a startup event they hosted last month. Early residents are developing iPhone applications, an online rental payment service, board games, interactive music content and more. Some have started companies; others are first-timers.
If you haven’t checked out these coworking spaces, you should. Not only are they do they provide an amazing resource to our startup community, they serve as the warm little hub around which many of us gather.
And their continued willingness to support our events—often pro bono—is without a doubt a key to the burgeoning startup community with which we find ourselves enamoured.
For more, see The Oregonian article “Co-working: a room not of their own” by Laura Oppenheimer.
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