This is fantastic! I think this is a really revolutionary way for people to raise funds for space expansions and start-ups. I know it would be easier to sell this idea to those of my group that would like to see me succeed with my space, but don't really have a need for the space.
You guys are really an inspiration to all of us, and I can only hope that you will get back everything you put in. On Jul 2, 8:37 pm, Tony Bacigalupo <tonybacigal...@gmail.com> wrote: > Alex, thanks for bringing this up... I figured someone would beat me to > spilling the beans about our new space on here :) > > NYC is indeed a very difficult place to build a coworking space while > keeping it truly community-run. Point of fact, many of the proto-coworking > spots that have appeared in NYC in the past few years have been directly or > indirectly tied to external interests. > > My goal with NWC was to keep us truly independent and self-sustaining. > > The deal in our new space was the closest we were ever going to get to a > perfect storm of all the right factors: location, price, size, environment, > timing, and, most importantly, a landlord who was on board with what we're > doing. > > The special deal you're referring to was Darrell's idea, and it was a really > smart one (he's a really really smart dude). It works out really well for > both of us-- he saves a bunch of money for his startup in the form of free > memberships, while we get the benefit of both a critical infusion of early > cash as well as a group of great guys to help fill up our big new space. > > By the time their free occupancy starts to really hurt our bottom line, > we'll be generating enough cash flow to start paying off the loan-- and by > then, Darrell and his team would have gotten enough benefit to justify the > risk of the loan. > > Darrell also, of course, wants to support us, and he knows that the > economics of starting up a coworking space in NYC is damn near impossible if > you don't have some help. > > So his help was the critical piece I needed to feel comfortable signing the > lease. > > That being said, we still have a very, very long way to go. To pay for what > will be a very significant amount of construction and outfitting, we are > going to have to pull out all the stops. > > My aim is to go for the most community-reinforcing routes first. We'll be > taking a lot of membership prepayment (two of my members have already paid > for six and twelve months respectively, before I even started asking), that > being the best money since it is sourced by the community itself and > represents commitments on the part of the members. > > Next up is loans from individuals who are willing to take a little risk to > help make it all possible. They will be simple loans with low interest rates > and long repayment terms; in other words, these are going to be loans from > people who don't care so much about making a cash ROI as they do with > helping us succeed. > > Beyond that, I anticipate that we will still have a significant gap to > close-- we're looking into sponsorships, partnered programming, auctioning > off members' services, taking money for dares, and more. > > I'm not going to lie, I've had my share of panic attacks about all this. But > we hit a point at which it was clear that we were as close as we were ever > going to get, and I decided that we were close enough that I could rely on > rallying the community together to figure out how to get across the finish > line. > > So far, I've already been pleasantly surprised by the dedication and support > of some of my close friends in the community. If we catch a few more breaks, > we'll be there. > > And then we're going to have something that never could have existed in NYC > otherwise-- a true community center based on coworking. The impact we're > going to have with this new space is going to be well worth the hard work > and risk that are going into it. > > We are the future, people. > > Much more to come! Would love some help on creative fundraising ideas. > > On Fri, Jul 2, 2010 at 10:15 AM, Alex Hillman > <dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com>wrote: > > > > > For those who haven't heard, New Work City (our coworking friends in > > Manhattan) have announced a big move: > > >http://nwc2.tumblr.com/post/758849850/nwcnewhome > > > Manhattan has some of the most challenging real estate economics in our > > country and Tony has done a good job of keeping a bootstrap mindset and > > always coming up with creative ways to overcome the challenge while keeping > > their growth and approach organic. > > > Their latest move includes not only the usual high costs associated with > > space in NYC, but renovation costs as well. I was impressed by one approach > > they took to financing their move and buildout: > > >http://blog.darrellsilver.com/post/761096975/new-york-city-demands-mo... > > > In short, and Tony can feel free to correct me here, one of the long time > > members/supporters they have invested cash in return for ownership of a few > > memberships...memberships that subsidize his company's costs of having a > > workspace in Manhattan. When New Work City can afford to (it sounds like > > there is a goal of one year), they will buy those memberships back from > > Darrell. > > > I don't know the details of this deal beyond what I've read on Darrell's > > blog, and Tony has a lot on his plate with opening a new location in 2 > > months, but I was particularly impressed with the creative approach to > > financing and thought that instead of just ask him for more info on my own > > time, he could share with all of us at once. :) > > > When IndyHall performed its similar growth/move last year, we also raised > > money from within our membership in the form of a loan. This isn't > > completely dissimilar, but the tone of the exchange is more organized and > > mutually beneficial, I almost wish we'd thought of it ourselves! > > > The main reinforcing concept that I see here are mutual benefit of having > > members bought in on a much deeper level than renting desks. > > > -Alex > > > /ah > > indyhall.org > > coworking in philadelphia > > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > > "Coworking" group. > > To post to this group, send email to cowork...@googlegroups.com. > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com<coworking%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups > > .com> > > . > > For more options, visit this group at > >http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To post to this group, send email to cowork...@googlegroups.com. 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