I’ve been in Canberra a week now and have been talking with as many people as I can in regards to innovation, startups and tech. One idea that has kept being mentioned is a co-working space similar to Fishburners in Sydney or Inspire9 in Melbourne. A place that brings together like minded people to start businesses and share ideas.
Here is the feedback I’ve gathered so far on such a location. Let me know if you have more.
Who would work there?
“On scale, there are probably plenty of people to make it viable. It’s something that could easily be overcome by mixing in tech, comms, UX, design, etc. as a group.”
“There are plenty of people who run design, consultancy businesses etc from home and would probably like the same kind ‘mental-caffeine’ that I mentioned above; a bit of cross-pollenisation with others every now and then.”
“I think you could certainly build up to 40 in a space, but not just tech.”
“If you don’t limit it to tech start-ups, then you’ve got a much better shot”.
Insight: The space needs to be inclusive and attract a mixture of different skills.
Where should it be?
“Location not so important across Canberra, though closer to CBD/Parliamentary Triangle would be an advantage.”
“Mitchell and Fyshwich tend to be cheaper, but security can be an issue – and access to food definitely is!”
“I prefer to be near cafes/bars/restaurants. Kingston or Manuka would be great.”
“I’d be willing to consider anything that’s relatively close (e.g. within 15 minutes) to the city.”
“Nearby decent coffee shop (for food and drinks)”.
“Unless it’s a really awesome space, then it really needs to be central”.
“I would agree that Fyshwick is pretty unlikely – public transport sucks, unless you live in the Inner North it’s not that convenient, and there are only a few places that do good coffee J”.
“I think Braddon, Kingston or Manuka are the easiest options. There’s a little bit of the right kind of thing in Deakin, too. Much further out and you lose connection to the city and Parliamentary Triangle.
Insight: Location must be inner north or inner south.
Rory Ford 
Great stuff Rory!
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Hey!
Fyshwick is only two suburbs away from Manuka and next door to Kingston.
Why else are so many government departments moving out here and setting up shop.
The bus goes right past our street (Canberra Avenue) (number 80) – and there’s a new bus shelter and unlike a lot of other areas, plenty of (free) carparking!
Re food/cafe: with Flute, Dream Cuisine and Pelligrino’s (and many more upmarket cafes locally) – when was the last time the commentators actually visited Fyshwick?
As for security, we feel safe.
If you have an open mind,why not visit Geelong Street Coworking Space or at least check out our Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/GeelongStreet) for pictures, visitor comments, and more!
There’s no character-filled building like it anywhere in Canberra!
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