“Well, maybe, but in a way businesses don’t really have a choice anymore,” says Krauskopf. “You need so many different skills in your business that you need to open it up now. It’s a funny set up in offices, where you are all the same. Here, you are with people who aren’t like you. It’s […]
“Well, maybe, but in a way businesses don’t really have a choice anymore,” says Krauskopf. “You need so many different skills in your business that you need to open it up now. It’s a funny set up in offices, where you are all the same. Here, you are with people who aren’t like you. It’s also more fun.”
“Australia is more conservative than Europe and the US. Businesses like to keep their cards close to their chests. But we don’t throw out ideas so that they are stolen. We throw out ideas so that they can be shared and collaborated on.”
Krauskopf’s vision may seem idealistic, but there’s no doubt that he’s banking on the growing trend for working in this way. He spent $200,000 starting up Hub Melbourne and is planning to expand the business to Sydney and Brisbane.
Members pay by the hour, or, less commonly, annually. A block of 10 hours a month costs $60, up to $400 for 100 hours and $600 for unlimited access. If you just fancy turning up to the events rather than take a seat, you can pay $20 a month.
Oddly, there is no lease or contract for members. They pay via direct debit with a 30-day notice period. This flexibility suits Krauskopf just fine – he plans to have around 400 members and extend opening hours to 10.30pm by the end of the year.
Co-working motives
Not only does Hub Melbourne rely on a desire for co-working, it’s also based on the idea that irregular hours are now the norm for Australian entrepreneurs. The space simply wouldn’t fit every member at the same time.
Nick Moraitis, co-founder of communications agency Make Believe, has been at Hub Melbourne since September. He comes in two or three times a week to service the Sydney-based business’ clients in Melbourne.
“I tend to focus on my work and chat to people in the kitchen over tea,” he says. “I haven’t been involved in any collaborative projects yet, but I’m open to it.”
“You’re immediately exposed to a network and community of people. You don’t have to spend your first month when starting up looking for the space, plugging in the telephone, waiting for Telstra to install the internet – you can get to work straight away.”
But don’t you want to work in private sometimes? And don’t clients react in bemusement when they have to elbow their way past an RMIT representative to sit next to you for a meeting?
“It’s challenging to have private conversations here,” he admits. “I’ve got to the point where I don’t think people are listening, when they are.”
It would be great if there was a private meeting space here, a soundproof meeting room or something like that.
“But most of the conversations you think are confidential are fine. If someone overhears something they may be able to help you out with something. It’s not a negative thing.”
Networking
Paul Szymkowiak, who works for smart energy meter start-up Smarter Energy Groups, is a committed fan of co-working. He says that by meeting people at Hub Melbourne, he has gained vital links to government and big industry players, such as Tru Energy.
“We’re just starting up so it’s economical from a rent point of view to be here. I’m a big believer in co-working – I’ve also worked at Inspire9 in Richmond, which is another great community,” he says.
“There’s a real creative, cognitive function to a space like this. You come in with a problem you’re grappling with as a start-up and you talk to people about it and five solutions are thrown at you. That extra bandwidth is amazing.”
“It’s also more fluid than an office environment. In an office you assume roles and functions and you don’t cross them, but here there’s none of that structure. Someone who is a graphic designer may answer a management question for you, which would normally never happen.”
As if to highlight the recent emergence of this area, Rick Chen, co-founder of crowd sourced funding provider Pozible and another tenant, adds: “It’s improving (in Australia). When we started looking for co-working spaces a year ago, there weren’t a lot of options.”
“During that time, it has really boomed. I feel really connected here.”
With that, and with the hot cross buns polished off, it’s time to depart the Hub. Someone has stood up to give an impromptu speech that looks like it should be about organising an organic food tour of NSW, but, instead, words such as “business plan” and “cashflow” are coming out of her mouth.
If this is how start-ups in Australia will operate in the future, we could be heading for a friendlier, inspiring and more productive era.
