HubAustin: South Austin's First Coworking Space

HubAustin: South Austin's First Coworking Space

“When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to rebuild the professional bands which have connected them with one another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the multiplying and empowering station to which the Laws of Metcalfe and of Conway entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the reconnection.”

Our Story

At Starutp Weekend Austin #2 in February 2011, Kyle Simpson pitched a South Austin coworking space and sparked interest from Toyin Akinmusuru. Austin already had five coworking spaces spread throughout the city from downtown into far north, so a potential market was there, but it wasn’t clear there was a gap. Around SXSW in March, Kyle & Toyin reached out to the community to gauge interest. In a matter of days, they were flooded by the response and picked up a few other contributors including Keith Casey (me).

We struggled with vision and space and funding and company names and domains. We constantly sought feedback from others in Austin and validation of the financials from the broader national coworking space. We even set a drop dead date when we’d call it quits. The team melted dwindled through the summer but just before Austin Startup Week in September, we found the space, signed the lease, and started the mad dash to get everything in place for our October 3rd launch.

How can you get involved?

Depending on when you read this, you may be interested in our Open House on September 29th. If you’re in South Austin and need a space, you need to join us on our Launch Day on October 3rd. We have room for ~35 people, space fully prepared for 15, and lots of open seats. To get in touch in person or otherwise, here’s our info:

4930 S Congress, Ste 307
Austin, TX 78745
(512) 900-1HUB (1482)
cowork @ hubaustin.com

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We would love help spreading the word to Austin locals and visitors. To keep an eye on our activities and antics, you need to sign up for our mailing list and stay tuned to our Twitter account (@HubAustin) to retweet the latest and greatest details.

And if you’re really motivated to help, you can contribute financially via Pledgie.

How is Twilio involved in all of this?

First, Twilio is a universal, all-temporal sponsor of Startup Weekend where we got our start. Next, we’re distinguishing HubAustin from other coworking spaces by using OpenVBX as our phone system. Do you need the polish of a personal extension that rings through to your cell? We can do that. Finally, whenever I’ve mentioned the effort and pending launch to anyone at Twilio, the reaction has ranged from “that’s great!” to “wow, that’s cool!” with an occasional “I’m so excited for you guys!” thrown in for good measure. As a result, Danielle Morrill & John Sheehan jumped on the opportunity to help sponsor our Open House on September 29th and allow me to share the news here.