TechHub Launches as a Real-world Space for the Tech Stars of Tomorrow
A new venture to create a microcosm of Silicon Valley in London launches this week. TechHub is a 5,000 square foot space in the Old Street area of London designed to become a real-world venue for the kinds of technology companies that could become the next Twitter, Facebook or Google.
Entrepreneur Elizabeth Varley is launching the space, which will enable globe-trotting tech entrepreneurs and geeks, venture capitalists and the companies that surround them to work, meet and network. The TechHub project was originally dreamt up by tech journalist Mike Butcher, who has agreed to become a board advisor on strategy.
TechHub will be a filtered community putting start ups and entrepreneurs first. Members are being selected predominantly on the basis of their actively creating a product-based technology start up either online or on mobile.
TechHub will be launching its space in early April. The Old Street area of London is already well known as a high tech cluster and has been termed 'Silicon Roundabout'.
Limited Founder Memberships available
In the lead-up to the launch, a small number of special Founder Memberships have opened now for a limited time. Soon TechHub will open up standard memberships and permanent desk spaces.
Elizabeth Varley is particularly well suited to creating TechHub, having recently worked with small business advice site Smarta.com, was director of digital content agency Online Content UK, and has run communities and events for the tech sector since 2001.
Why does London need this? Can't companies just get their own office space?
Co-founder and CEO Elizabeth Varley said "London now boasts offices belonging to all the top-tier pan-European VCs, several new seed funds, has a very active angel investor market and hosts many major tech events. It also acts as a meeting point between Europe and the States. But, typically, new tech companies don't start in an office - they start in spare bedrooms and coffee shops. Startup teams come together to huddle over their plans in cafés, not in corporate boardrooms."
"Lately the alternative has been the expensive private clubs in London. The same goes for visiting entrepreneurs from continental Europe and the USA. But this new type of technology company is rarely flush with cash from the outset and can easily work "virtually", so investing in office space is an unnecessary overhead," she added.
"So Techub is aimed directly at this wave of new companies and individuals who want affordable working space when they need it and access to the vital network of peers in the real world, not just the virtual one. It's also ideally suited to people coming in from outside London who need a base, and who won't be penalised financially when they're not there."
TechHub will feature:
- A large, 5,000 square foot, flexible space geared towards working and networking
- A flexible desk and seating enabling individuals to work, or teams to huddle together
- Space for 130 people at any one time
- An online booking system
- Evening events for the TechHub community
As well as this co-working space, TechHub will also offer another area with more permanent deskspace which individuals and companies can call their own on a more solid basis. This will consist of:
- Permanent desks
- Flexible terms
Simple Membership Scheme
TechHub will be uniquely positioned to act as a launch pad for early stage tech entrepreneurs because it will offer a simple membership scheme to enable individuals from start-ups and larger companies - finally - to congregate on one place, meet like-minded people, and work.
By being run as a commercial entity TechHub is also designed to address to previous failures of older style co-working facilities which have often withered on the vine when public sector, charitable or industry
support subsides.
The launch of TechHub has generated a wave of support from the technology industry such as:
Robert Scoble, Top 100 blogger
Loic Le Meur, founder of Seesmic & LeWeb
Nic Brisbourne, Venture Capitalist with DFJ Espirit
Frederic Court, partner in Advent Ventures
Shaa Wasmund, founder of Smarta.com
Sandy McKinnon from PenTech Ventures
David Maher Roberts, CEO of The Filter
TechCrunch.com
Contact details
Elizabeth Varley
Mobile: +44 (0)7949 030 531
Elizabeth@techhub.com
http://twitter.com/evarley
TechHub
www.techhub.com
http://twitter.com/techhub
