Sydney’s fintech industry is set for another boost with the launch of a new co-working space with desks for up to 125 entrepreneurs itching to disrupt the banking and financial sector.
The Tyro Fintech Hub, which is based in the Sydney CBD, will also host hackathons, conferences and meet-ups in order to grow New South Wales’ startup ecosystem.
Desks will set entrepreneurs back $625 per month for full-time access, or $420 for 10 days a month and $250 for five days.
The fintech hub also includes an event space, board rooms, communal kitchen, change rooms and rooftop terrace – as well as secure storage for 80 bicycles.
The coworking space is supported by independent eftpos provider Tyro, which surpassed $3.5 billion in credit and debit transactions in 2012.
Andrew Corbett-Jones, head of the Tyro Fintech Hub, told StartupSmart the next two years of fintech Australia are “going to be phenomenal”.
“It’s good for startups to be in co-working spaces and where similar minded people are gathering because there are all those lessons they need to learn – but I think fintech adds another layer of complexity,” he says.
“It’s not just a case of ‘I’ve got a fintech startup, great, let’s start it’. There are a lot of things you need to learn. It’s our belief that by getting as many fintech companies together as possible and by holding meet-ups and events we can get this critical mass of fintech knowledge disseminated.”
Corbett-Jones says there are many barriers to entry that are particular to startups in the fintech space – such as regulation and cost – and he hopes the new co-working space will make it easier for founders to overcome these hurdles.
“We think by clustering as many fintech companies as possible we can start to cross-pollinate,” he says.
“Across the world we are seeing a tendency for people to have verticals for particular co-working spaces.”
The space is specifically designed so people can “buckle down and get some work done,” according to Corbett-Jones.
“A lot of fintech entrepreneurs will be 30-something or 40-something they’ll have come out of a bank and their customers might be banks or they might be SMEs,” he says.
“They need a space where they can do serious work – dealing with people’s money is a serious business. They can bring in blue chip clients, bring in investors. But at the same time, though, it’s not stuffy.”
Sydney is seeing a flurry of activity in the fintech space, with fintech hub Stone and Chalk launching earlier this month on Clarence Street.
The not-for-profit will fit up to 150 entrepreneurs and was launched by Premier Mike Baird, whose government was returned to office on the weekend.
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