My morbid curiosity with Coworking Space Closings

I’m sure I’m not the only person interested in Coworking who has Google Alerts set up for the words “coworking” and, sigh, “co-working“.

Tips for Building Community After Opening a Coworking Space

Have you ever gone grocery shopping while hungry?

The Virtues of Indy Hall

After last week’s town hall about Indy Hall’s expansion, I was speaking with some friends about how we approach things, especially in times of growth. We’re pretty deliberate about the way we choose to interact and the things that we make priorities, and while these decisions ...

Not a Joke: Indy Hall v3.0 – The Future of Indy Hall

This is a cross-post from the Indy Hall blog.

Tweeting The Current State of Coworking

A 140-character-at-a-time adventure that could’ve been any Saturday night, but just so happened to be last night.

The Sweet Spot Between Business Partners

This post rang true of a comment that I’ve made many times about what to look for in a great business partner, and one of the reasons why I think it’s impossible to find a great business partner with the “speed dating” approach.

CTFD and JFDI

I’ve never considered myself a risk taker. I don’t like risks. I don’t like feeling out of control.

How I Learned to Make Money

Update: this discussion on Reddit proved more worthwhile than expected, especially considering it’s abrupt introduction.

92 Percent

As Indy Hall crests 150 members, I wondered – what is growth in terms of a coworking space, a workplace, or even a community in Philadelphia? Is it enough to measure concurrent member count, or should we be looking at something else?

Welcome to N3rd Street

In early summer of 2007, Indy Hall wasn’t a place, but it was a nomadic tribe. We were moving from bar to cafe to restaurant to living room – anywhere with wifi – in the pursuit of a better working experience than working alone in our apartments.

The Long Term Relationships

“the long term relationships that lasted was with a network of people – much larger than those in your current company”This quote comes from a history lesson by Steve Blank about how Silicon Valley came to be what it is.

Starting Up

Joe Petrucci has taken a snapshot of the state of tech startups in Philly as this week’s feature on Flying Kite. He titles it an “underdog” story, an apt reference to a part of the Philly attitude that we know so well from our history.

A Hall Pass for Bureaucracy – Code for America Philadelphia

I haven’t really had a chance to talk much about Code for America since the team was in Philly. I won’t go into what the program is or how it works, because frankly I don’t think I can do a better job than their about page. But I really enjoyed having the CFA fellows in town e...

Funding in Philadelphia – The Empty Can Rattles the Loudest

Yesterday I shared my opinion that professional & personal relationships – not jobs – are the key to student retention in Philadelphia.

What we can do about students leaving Philadelphia after graduation

Retention is a big problem everywhere, and here in Philadelphia it’s no exception.

What matters the most

Ask someone what they’ll remember about their job when they leave. What do you think the most common answer is?

How to Automate your Coworking Space, and Why

I’ve noticed an increase in interest in systems like “swipe card entry” for coworking spaces, both from the perspective of security and automated billing. In a recent thread on the coworking google group, I mused:

…first we get to know each other, and then we might do business together.

The Importance of Lines

Indy Hall is growing, every day and in more interesting ways. We think a lot about how to grow something like Indy Hall. “More members” seems like the obvious answer, but we think it’s not quite that straightforward. We’re focused on growing deep, not growing tall.

Not Your Typical Coworking Facility

Nerd Fort isn’t your typical coworking facility. We don’t rent out desks daily or hourly to whoever wanders in. We lease space on amonthly basis to good people, and focus on building a vibrant, active, helpful community. Of nerds.The fact that this group in  self-identifies ...