For many startups in Gainesville, the office is Starbucks. The smell of espresso, the sound of the machines and baristas taking orders, low-key music, and varied conversations are part of the workflow.
The Headphones come on and it’s game time.
Starbucks is a place to work for entrepreneurs that isn’t home. A tall americano is cheaper than rent at any incubator in town.
But, it’s far from perfect. Don’t think about making sales calls with that kind of background noise.
Would you try to sell a client on your service face to face in a coffee shop?
It’s not ideal.
For others, the startup office is home, at the entrepreneur’s own apartment, but the distractions and general unease of living in your workspace quickly become too much.
What about a quiet(er) space which is as accessible as a starbucks, but offers some of the basic office amenities?
For a few dollars or so (depending on costs) per hour, a drop-in space for entrepreneurs that’s better than a starbucks could do a lot for the Gainesville startup community. Something like could add a degree of focus and legitimacy that startups can use, while accommodating “bootstrapped” budgets.
I think Gainesville is ready for a “Drop-in” office.
We certainly deserve better than Starbucks.
Image courtesy of: foursquare.com
