Coworking spaces creating collaborative programs to bring startups together

When Roux Visser launched his IT startup The Migration Company a few months ago, he sought out to find a coworking space that offered great flexibility, without sharing the space with several other IT companies.

“One of the benefits of coworking is the opportunity to find customers in the same building,” Visser said. “And as it happens, one of my largest customers was a referral from one of the businesses we share an office with, which was obviously a great bonus.”

After working out of Victory Offices, Visser’s company quickly expanded from working alone, to having 32 employees. Now, he’s considering starting a new blockchain company that could possibly tack on 100 more employees.

Dan Baxter, chief executive of Victory Offices, says that these types of successes in their flexible office have inspired the company to begin an incubator program. He says they hope to help the community by aiding startups that come through their space.

Victory Offices was named the second-fastest growing Australian company by the Australian Financial Review.

“If people have the guts to start their own businesses, then it’s important they get the right support and systems in place – and we don’t like to see them fail because maybe they don’t have a mentor or the right exposure or expertise. So we’ve put $150,000 into starting our own incubator program,” Baxter said.

Melbourne-based startups have the opportunity to apply for the program until January 18, 2019. Startups in the program will have free access to the coworking space for three months, networking opportunities, invitations to functions, as well as coaching and mentoring.

Developer Mirvac has also created Hoist, a space with the intent of bringing startups together and allowing businesses to flourish. Hoist hopes to bring startups and corporations together in a coworking environment to develop their growth.

Evergen, a company that creates electronic boxes that uses AI to optimize energy, says that Hoist’s culture has allowed them to be open and encourage sharing ideas with the businesses around them.

Community managers at Hoist help bring people together to see if their companies can work cohesively.

Startups are having a moment in Australia, with Victory Offices reporting a 171% growth over the past three years.

“More than half of the 250-plus startups who use our spaces say they’ve discussed business with fellow coworking tenants, and it’s important that people with good ideas get the chance to succeed,” according to Baxter.