In case we haven’t talked to you in person recently (at Austin Startup Drinks perhaps?), it turns out we lost the space at 501 Studios within 24 hours.We were really excited about the space and losing it was a huge learning experience.Ultimately, though, it just fired us up to keep on truckin’ and find the perfect spot.(As an aside, it turns out the 501 space used to house the local tech company Nossa TV; it probably still smelled like “startup” in there!)
At the advice of Julie Gomoll of LaunchPad Coworking (which will be opening up soon in Austin as well), we solicited the advice of a tenant representative.She even gave us the name of the one she used to find the spot for the forthcoming LaunchPad.Julie’s been nothing but supportive since we came together at SXSW and I think it’s safe to say we’re both cheering each other on to get coworking to Austin as fast as possible.It’s great to think that Austin will go from zero to two coworking spaces over the summer.
In case you were unaware, just like we were, a tenant rep serves as the middleman and negotiator between the landlord and the client (in this case, us) and to date, the contact Julie provided has been nothing short of amazing.He really gets the concept of coworking and totally embraces it (he’s even shown up to Jelly!).Since he knows exactly the kind of spot we’re looking for, we don’t really have to wade through too many spaces that don’t fit what we’re trying to do.He’s shown us a few spaces and just last week, we put in an offer for a pretty wicked space (seen above).We turned down taking over this artist’s studio space—for the size, not for fear that it was haunted, for the record.
Currently, we’re waiting to hear back from the owner in a few days.This one has some great potential and we love the feel that a stand-alone house would provide.While we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, it’s definitely not anywhere near the end of the race.
To view the past spaces we’ve seen (at least the ones we’ve documented), make sure to check out Dusty’s Flickr photosets.Beyond the coworking space shots, he’s also got some pretty sweet vintage family photo scans and pictures of his dog in there too.
Make sure you’re following us on Twitter or you have the RSS feed in your reader of choice because as soon as we sign that lease, it will for sure go on there!
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