One of the hardest things, when you start working for yourself, is defining a workspace. Do you set up an office, or is that too expensive? Do you work out of your house? Will that drive you crazy? What do you do about client meetings? Jennie saw this problem and created a solution.
Green Spaces is a communal workspace where, for as little as $250 a month, you can get access to a space to work in and be in the company of about 30 other like-minded entrepreneurs. Sure beats working alone in your bedroom!
Can you describe what Green Spaces is all about?
We’re really trying to help green companies get off the ground without a lot of overhead. When you’re here, you’re in this community. It’s scary starting a company, but we’re all here going through the same thing. It makes it easier.
A desk in the space is $475 a month. Access to the more informal lounge space is $250 a month. It’s got chairs, couches, and you can come in and sit wherever you want, and plug your laptop in. WIth both the desks and the lounge, you get 24/7 access, interns, a conference room to hold meetings, and can throw events here. Plus have lunch together Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. We call it our Socialist Lunch Program!
And it always smells like granola, which makes the whole space a little nicer. There’s a big movement in Brooklyn with food startups, and a huge need for commercial kitchen space. For now, we have a granola company and a cupcake company working in our kitchen. And Crop to Cup keeps us all supplied with coffee.
How did you become interested in green businesses?
I used to work in finance, but I’ve always been interested in the environment. Then a couple of years ago I started Green Leaders with my friend Marissa Feinberg – an organization that brought together people who were either change agents, or part of a larger organization and trying to make it more sustainable. It was an intimate forum that brought people together. We did cocktail hours, brought in speakers, and did a short screening of a documentary at the Soho house.
A lot of the people involved were small, green start-ups that didn’t have access to workspace.
Finding affordable space is one of the hardest things for startups.
Exactly. I was consulting for these startups and having meetings at coffee shops! You have so may needs as a startup company, and one of the hardest things is that you have to figure everything out all by yourself. I thought it would be really awesome if we could all just work together, share ideas, and hopefully become stronger by being together.
Once you set up here, how did you find enough startups to fill the place?
When I first open the doors I didn’t realize how hard it was going to be. I had one client. Every day I would set my alarm, come to work, walk in, see my one client, and make coffee. Then I’d just sit here not knowing what to do. So I started doing basic stuff, like I printed postcards and passed them around.
Coming from a career finance, I would think, “Is this really what I should be spending my day doing?” But it was. And posting on Craigslist was critical. I also had open houses and invited people here.
You’ve obviously come along way since then!
We have 30 companies now. A lot of them are one to two person start-ups, both for- and non-profit. This is a mixed used space. The companies that are based here do a very wide range of things. For example, Scott Ballum runs a company called Sheepless Co., does graphics for local firms here in Brooklyn, and is starting an online magazine covering sustainable business. John Hodges has a carbon trading company, and he works with large land managers around the country to develop carbon projects. Anna Lappe is a pretty well-known author whose latest book is on climate change.
This is way too much for just one person to run – how did you go about bringing other people in?
It wasn’t even a two person job in the beginning. Then, a few months into it other people became involved. Roberto Rhett started as an intern, liked it, and became really instrumental in the development. He’s taken over running the Brooklyn space, so I can have the freedom to go to Denver and look at space there. Then Brad Holmes came on and launched our green business competition, which we’ll also be taking to other cities. He also launched our internship program and workshops.
How else are you looking to expand Green Spaces?
I want to connect with green start-ups in other places. New York feels a bit like a small community now. One of our interns moved out to Denver, and said a lot is happening. I’m going out there for the month of July, and if it seems like there really is an opportunity, then I’m planning on staying longer and setting up a second Green Spaces. Denver feels like a new emerging marketplace.
Would there be an opportunity for residents to go between the cities?
We’d like to do that. If companies here want to expand, and do business in Denver, they can just go and work from there. If you’re part of Green Spaces NY, you’re part of Green Spaces Denver. We want to start to create smaller communities that are connected. It’s a huge idea, and I’m excited to see what happens.
Stay tuned next week as we post interviews with some of the startups based at Green Spaces!