A SELECTION OF LONDON’S START-UP HUBS
TECH HUB
Contact: [email protected] / @TechHub
Locations: Old Street, London and Riga (Prague is due to open in May).
Membership costs: £275 (monthly) for resident membership, or £375 (annual). Both include member-only events and up-to-date member network news (and more).
Description: TechHub is “not just an office space.” Instead, “it’s a community hub for the technology scene, giving start-ups and entrepreneurs a place to meet like-minded people and become part of the global ecosystem.”
It is focused on product-oriented tech companies rather than agencies, consultants and media companies (this means you work mostly on your own products, rather than doing bespoke projects for clients).
TechHub London membership is open not just to people from London, but is also aimed at the wider UK, Europe, the Middle East, the US, India, Asia and beyond.
www.techhub.com
CENTRAL WORKING
Contact: [email protected] / @centralworking
Locations: Bloomsbury and Old Street, London (opening in March).
Membership costs: £25 per day, or £100/£200/£400 per month (depending on access)
Description: Central Working has “taken the best bits of the coffee culture and added all the things you really need: printing and plugs, storage and stationery, three bespoke meeting rooms and interactive, inspirational events.” Its aim is to help 10,000 businesses grow, through collaboration, over the next 10 years.
A range of collaboration sessions have been developed for members: “The Board” encourages members to share their business worries and new business ideas with a peer group who are ready to share their own experiences, whereas “Bring it to the Table” focuses on the creative challenges faced by start-ups and new businesses.
www.centralworking.com
CLUB WORKSPACE
Contact: [email protected] / @clubworkspace
Locations: Clereknwell and The Leathermarket, London.
Membership costs: £95 per month.
Description: Club Workspace is “a network of creative co-working venues.” It is based within existing Workspace Group business centres. This integration of co-working venues and established business hubs offers connectivity between early-stage businesses and established organisations.
Club members have access to wifi, complimentary tea, coffee, hot chocolate and water. Soon, members will be able to connect and interact using Club Workspace’s members-only social media platform.
It aims to bring two or more events into the venues each week. Recent events include: legal advice from Buckworth Law; a finance workshop from FreeAgent and a SEIS event featuring content from Tech City UK, Octopus Investment, DreamStake and Taylor Wessing. www.clubworkspace.co.uk
THECUBE
Contact: [email protected] @THECUBELondon
Location: Shoreditch/Spitalfields, London.
Membership costs: £45/£80/£120/£195 per month (depending on access)
Description: THECUBE workspace opened in September 2009, “inspired by the collapse of Lehman Brothers to create a psychical space, that would nourish and house would-be- entrepreneurs”. It “hypothesised that it would catalyse an economic and societal shift.”
The space was designed using neurological and psychological principles. From the height of the ceilings, lighting, colours and textures, to the size of the space all have all been chosen for a specific neurological and psychological outcome.
Virgin Media works in partnership with THECUBE, with the latter’s members testing and developing new products and services across superfast broadband, next generation digital entertainment, mobile and business services.
www.thecubelondon.com