Last night I had the opportunity to attend the announcement of the new WeWork Labs pad on 175 Varick in WeWork’s newest building. This is noteworthy because Matt Shampine (my friend and partner at Simande/Onepager) is one of the two great guys that originally organized and have run WWL since April. The other kind sir is Jesse Middleton, who runs Guyhaus and has become a friend too.
When we all worked at WeWork, one of my favorite memories was going up to the Labs and watching members teaching other members things like iOS programming and Photoshop tips. It’s been a phenomenal environment for people starting their young companies. Instead of sitting in their apartments and coffee shops, they have been able to come and work with like minded and highly skilled people.
This move is a big step for the Labs, which is somewhere between a co-working space and a startup incubator. With 50 desks in their current space, the new 17,000 square foot floor is going to give them a lot of room to grow. It’s also going to give them much more prominence and the ability to host larger events like the hackathons that are common to venues like General Assembly.
If you’re a designer, developer, or any other sort of tech entrepreneur looking for affordable workspace in a highly collaborative environment, be sure to reach out to Matt or myself and let us know if you’re interested.
