

 Ask YC: Thinking of Launching Coworking in Silicon Valley, with a twist  - jasonlbaptiste

Myself (Publictivity) + Roommate (uStream) are thinking of starting a coworking space using extra space in our house (it's a three story townhouse) in Palo Alto.  We're thinking of turning the living area + garage into a coworking space for hackers, entrepreneurs,etc. in the next month. Thoughts?<p>a) it's our place, so different than most coworking.
b) we've never done this before. what are the downfalls.
c) most coworking spaces are open. were thinking of at least making sure we meet people online or in person before they drop by?
d) what would make it interesting to you?<p>ps- if interested in more email me: jason [at] publictivity [dot] com
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JessMah
Awesome idea!

1) I think it'd be most interesting if you let random people drop by whenever
they want. Before letting them in, ask them what their deal is and determine
whether or not they pass your coolness test.

2) Have extra desks, chairs, power cords ready for us to ravage.

3) Stock up on food/booze and/or require your guests to contribute.

Good luck!

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davidw
> Before letting them in, ask them what their deal is and determine whether or
> not they pass your coolness test.

I think I would have trouble saying to someone's face that they're not
welcome.

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markbao
That sounds like an awesome idea and I definitely think a kind of tech
entrepreneur living room would kick ass. Definitely agree with Jessica,
there's nothing less annoying than a lack of power outlets.

I invite you to check out what's been going down at Boston's awesome coworking
space Betahouse. Check out how they structure their areas (look on Flickr,
etc. for pictures.)

Also, a shameless plug: Poolify might be a worthy addition to this. It's wifi
based social networking. <http://poolify.com> (DanGrover and I hacked this
together in a weekend, so it's rough and was only to mess around with the
technology - definitely working on expanding it.)

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steveplace
You might want to start incrementally. Have weekend hacker sessions instead of
dedicating it full time. It would be cool if you could make a SHDH clone that
was available continuously.

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ctingom
Check on your insurance situation first!

