Last week’s column about KickStart Columbus, an effort for which Columbus City Council and several community development organizations sponsored a contest and awarded free downtown office space for a year, garnered some inspired responses on Facebook and Twitter.

Amid pledges of support for the idea came this website comment by W. Gene Powell, president of Spoke Design, a company specializing in Web and emerging media development, management and branding: “What the folks behind KickStart Columbus have done is a great shot in the arm for our state capital. I applaud their efforts and appreciate you bringing this story to your readers. However, to imply that nothing like this is already taking place in Toledo suggests an ignorance that distracts from similar efforts that are at work here today. My partners and I founded Seed Coworking at 25 South St. Clair Street in May 2012. In fact, you covered us in an April 2012 issue of your paper. “Over the past year, we’ve offered inexpensive, monthly subscription memberships to our open-office space, and community support to dozens of area creatives, innovators and entrepreneurs. Some of these people have formed new businesses under our roof. We’ve also awarded free memberships to entrepreneurial contest winners, such as the winning team from last September’s Start Up Weekend Toledo event.

“Soon, we’ll be launching a startup mentorship program called WindUp Toledo. But Seed Coworking is only one example of numerous organizations that are fueling Toledo’s entrepreneurial ecosystem: The Toledo Community Foundation; StartUp Toledo; the new Toledo ECDI office; the Toledo Warehouse District Association; events such as the uHeart Digital Media Conference (May 10 at the University of Toledo), which will award incubation space and other prizes to local startups and new media outlets such as Silicon Rust Belt, which showcases the best ideas and brightest people from our region — all of these disparate yet networked initiatives are fostering the growth of new businesses in not only Toledo’s incredibly resilient and increasingly active Downtown, but the entire Toledo Region.

“While Toledo experiences a rebirth in economic and community development, our ever-present enemies are ignorance and complacency. Please forgive me if I’ve misread your piece, but it seems to hint at the former. … By combining energies and harnessing resources, we can be the envy of cities like Columbus — and influence them to write glowing reviews of us.”

I am looking more at a one-time event that could draw attention to the efforts of people like Powell and our friend Dustin Hostetler, who with Kelly McGilvery started a group in 2004 called Kickstart Toledo that ended up being one of the motivations behind Artomatic 419! and some other events. Hostetler introduced me to Powell, and we will meet to see how his efforts and the Columbus idea might find common synergy. We are also talking to Anneliese Grytafey, manager of Economic and Community Development Institute, who is onboard with the idea.

This space is designed to kick-start ideas, and with the help of Columbus and local innovators like Powell, Hostetler and Grytafey, that intent is closer to reality. Thomas F. Pounds is president and publisher of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Contact him at tpounds@toledofreepress.com.

Tags: Anneliese Grytafey, Dustin Hostetler, KickStart Columbus, Publisher's Statement, Seed Coworking, Toledo Community Foundation, Tom Pounds, uHeart Digital Media Conference, W. Gene Powell

This entry was posted on Friday, April 26th, 2013 at 10:30 am and is filed under Opinion, Publisher's Statement.
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Seed Coworking co-founders Don Miller (left), W. Gene Powell and Jamie Wright. Photo by Andrew Weber

The co-founders of the Seed Coworking Community believe that society is changing from a W-2 community to a 1099 population — and their new endeavor reflects that.

Seed plans to give independent contractors, out-of-town workers and those who work from home a community-style office space. There were 10.3 million independent contractors in the U.S. in 2010, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Seed co-founders Don Miller, W. Gene Powell and Jamie Wright had observed co-working spaces in larger cities like San Francisco and New York before deciding to bring the concept home to the Glass City.

“It’s not just a desk and a chair to rent. This is more collaborative and about knowing people,” Wright said, adding that clients can draw on each other for knowledge and support in the open-space office setting.

“We rely on each other. We depend on each other to get things done,” Miller echoed. The group plans to have at least one co-founder on-site to greet clients at most times in addition to planning community events like movie nights.

All three co-founders are small business owners who work in Web development or design. “We met online, but not a dating site,” Powell joked. He said that the first official co-working space started in 2005 in San Francisco. Now there are about 700 co-working spaces worldwide.

Seed’s name references the area’s farming roots, Powell said. “Seed pays homage to the egalitarian roots in Northwest Ohio. We’re embracing our history,” he said.

The trio looked for a Downtown Toledo space for about two years before settling on its 2,100-square-foot facility on St. Clair Street. Originally a wheelbarrow factory built in 1887, the space will soon hold a kitchen, lounge, conference room, desks for working, lockers and high-speed Wi-Fi. There will also be a room where clients can make private phone calls.

Being in Downtown was important to the group, Powell said, adding that the St. Clair St. Village is an up-and-coming place for businesses.

To fund what Powell called the “byproduct of a bigger economy,” the co-founders started a Kickstarter account to furnish the new business. Kickstarter is an online fundraising tool where users must get backers to pledge a set amount of money for them to receive any at all. In Seed’s case, 100 backers pledged $15,334, exceeding the goal of $12,000.

“Toledo and even people as farflung as Seattle were very supportive,” Wright said. “The key with co-working is building the community before building the space.”

Kyle Golembiewski plans to be one of Seed’s first tenants. As a Web marketer, he is exactly the type of client Seed hopes for.

“The idea is very innovative, especially for this area,” Golembiewski said of the project.

Seed offers three levels of membership. For a $25 monthly membership, users get one day a month at the space with a roaming desk. For $85 a month, clients get two days a week with a roaming desk and for $175 a month, customers receive 24/7 access, a locker and a permanent desk. Day passes are $10 for members and $20 for nonmembers. Seed has some parking currently and is working on getting more spaces for users.

Seed Coworking Community is slated to open in May at 25 S. St. Clair St. For more information, visit http://seedcoworking.com/ or call (419) 407-6199.

Tags: Don Miller, Jamie Wright, Seed Coworking Community, W. Gene Powell

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 1st, 2012 at 11:31 am and is filed under Community, Development.
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