Startup Space open and ready for businesses

Dunedin's Startup Space has been officially launched.

Located on the corner of Leithbank St and Forth St, it offers desk space for Dunedin entrepreneurs for up to a year, experts to consult, and support.

Entrepreneurial seminars and events will be hosted and the aim is for it to grow into a single-space focus for Dunedin and Otago entrepreneurial innovation.

A joint University of Otago, Otago Polytechnic and Dunedin City Council project, it arose from Dunedin's economic development strategy and has been financed by the Grow Dunedin partnership leading the strategy.

Otago Polytechnic research and enterprise director Alistair Regan said it would fill the gap between the ideas developed through seeding initiatives such as the Audacious challenge, and the forming of a commercial entity.

Escea managing director Nigel Bamford, who is chairman of its advisory board, said it would get Dunedin entrepreneurs ''out of their spare room and into business more quickly''.

''The space is for all ages, all backgrounds and all types of business. I'd personally love to see expats returning to Dunedin and make use of it.''

He saw many benefits to sharing space for businesses starting out, and believed the collegial and practical support would shorten the cycle of business growth for Dunedin.

Not only would it produce great businesses and a few ''high fliers'', it would also give the opportunity for ideas to ''fail fast and cheap'' as well as succeed.

''Those ideas that don't end up being commercialised will send smarter people out into the world with one more foot up the experience ladder, and contribute to more successful business innovations.''

 

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