Ingrid and Martine are two students from the NTNU School of Entrepreneurship. In a series of travelogues, they have introduced us to the world of entrepreneurship in Boston as they are finishing their master thesis at the Babson College. This is their last travelogue.
By Ingrid Skrede and Martine Gripp Bay
Are you the type of person that just loves to travel and see new places? If so, we have a lot in common. Travelling can be so awesome, but also a little bit stressful, especially if you have a lot of work that must be finished before you leave for your vacation. Also, the thought of coming home to double the amount of workload, can turn a relaxing journey into sweaty palms and a high pulse. An easy fix could be to bring your computer on your vacation, but there is always an uncertainty that the local café has no WiFi access, available power outlets, is too crowded or too loud. So, what do you do then?
This blogpost will try to find a solution to this by introducing some alternatives to the local coffee shop. Whether you find yourself visiting Boston for a few days or even for a few months, the city has great alternatives to help you lift some of the workload off your shoulders.
If you are a freelancer, traveler, remote worker or similar, you are probably looking for a more casual space with access to a desk and fresh brewed coffee. If you are an established start-up, with a bigger team and a plan to stay longer in Boston, you might be looking for a space that also provide guidance and mentoring. We call the first type of space a co-working space, and the second type of space an accelerator or an incubator. This blogpost will focus on the first type of space, however if you are thinking: “I would love to hear more about the different accelerators and incubators in Boston”, shoot us an email, and your wish might come true.
Co-working spaces are offered all over Massachusetts, but the areas we will focus on are Downtown Boston, Cambridge and Somerville. The Charles River separates Boston from Cambridge and Somerville, with Boston on the south side and Cambridge and Somerville on the north side. There are several locations which are worth checking out, and you can find an overview of these on the Engage Map (click the top left menu icon to choose co-working spaces):
Downtown Boston
Some co-working spaces target start-ups in specific industries. LearnLaunch Campus is for instance a good space for edtech startups, Impact Hub Boston and Social Innovation Forum Coworking are for social entrepreneurship and non-profit startups, The Food Loft targets food-tech startups and G-Tek Labs focuses on hardware startups. In addition to this, Boston have some general co-working spaces such as Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC), WeWork, The Yard: Back Bay, Workbar, Coalition Boston, Oficio Idea space, Spaces, Hall and District Hall.
Cambridge
In Cambridge you can find spaces such as Geek offices, Cambridge Coworking Center, NGIN Workplace, Plug, Industry Lab, Alley, Cove, Koa Labs and InTeahouse. You can also find WeWork and Workbar in this area.
Somerville
Somerville offers some great spots as well, and one of our personal favourites is Brooklyn Boulders Somerville. This is an indoor rock climbing gym with a fitness studio, yoga and group classes, and a co-working space, all in one membership. If this is not your style, you can always check out the place next door, called the Artisan’s Asylum, which offers a machine shop in addition to a work space. Further, you have Greentown Labs for greentech startups and more general spaces such as Workbar and Canopy.
The information in this blogpost have been collected from this page (Boston Startups Guide, 2018). If you want to know more about these spaces, we recommend taking a look at this page.
We hope this blogpost was helpful for those who consider Boston as their next travel destination. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at ingrskre@stud.ntnu.no or martingb@stud.ntnu.no.
Sources:
Boston Startup Guide (2018). Co-working Space in Boston – 2018 Roundup.
Hentet fra https://bostonstartupsguide.com/guide/boston-coworking-spaces-roundup/.