Jon Pierce

Founded in April 2007, Betahouse is Boston’s longest running coworking space. We value community first, and our community consists of early stage startups, entrepreneurs, developers, designers and other creative types working in or around technology. But really, anyone who’s awesome and would add something to the space is welcome. We’ve had DIY biologists, food and culture writers, you name it. The core is definitely tech startups and independents though.

Well, we’re finally expanding (hopefully)! The new Betahouse will be twice the size and appropriate for teams of up to 6 people (depending on how they’d use the space, of course). If Betahouse seems like the place for you, tell us through the form below! To make the move though, we need to know there’s enough interest to make the economics work.

Fill out this form if you’re interested in joining.

Vision

The vision for Betahouse is to be a hub of startup and creative activity: a place where new connections are formed, new ideas and companies are born, people work together, and things gets made.

Community, collaboration, creativity and independence are our pillars.

We also want to do our part to support startups, entrepreneurs, students, makers, community leaders, artists, etc. Ideally, we’ll eventually be able to offer free or subsidized space to select individuals and teams. In fact, we already offer free space to winners of Awesome Foundation grants, and we hope to do more things like that in the future, provided the economics work out. We may seek out sponsorship to help make that happen. Get in touch if you’d like to sponsor.

There’s also another big idea in the works that would complement the space really well and be a *HUGE* win for early stage startups and entrepreneurs. It’s too early to say more on that though. Soon, hopefully.

If you’re interested in being a part of Betahouse, whether as an active resident or as part of our extended family of community members (great for occasional use, or for people who want to support Betahouse and ensure that it thrives), let us know by filling out the form below.

Note that the Community Member option is a super low commitment ($50 / month or $500 / year) for occasional access to the space and conference room, participation in the community, access to events and other benefits, with day passes available for additional days.

That said, our community and culture are important to us, so we need to learn a little about you and why you want to be a part of it.

Fill out this form if you’re interested in joining.

Events

We also organize and host events regularly. Well, we used to… and we will again in our new space! (We’ve been a little hamstrung by our current space for a while.)

What sorts of events?

• Meetups
• Talks and panel discussions (e.g. Ryan Sarver of Skyhook, now Twitter, and Seth Fitzsimmons of Yahoo!, now SimpleGeo, talking geolocation; or Shawn Broderick of TechStars and Bijan Sabet of Spark Capital talking new funding models)
• Hackfests (e.g. DevHouse, Open Gov Hack Day, Boston.rb)
• Demo nights
• Pitch sessions
• Office hours
• Group lunches
• Mixers
• Founder dating
• Underground kitchens
• Beer tastings
• Movie nights
• Classes
• Awesome Foundation award ceremonies
• Jellies and Jelly Talks
• Epic parties!

We’ll probably also do some recreational sports teams in the future (e.g. kickball, softball).

Basically, Betahouse is as much a social space as it is a work space, and we hope the community is a large part of what brought you here. Work hard, play hard, right?!

Fill out this form if you’re interested in joining.

The New Space, Plans and Rates

As we touched on above, we plan to move into a new space soon, most likely still in Central Square but perhaps a short walk from the center of the square, and we’d be doubling our capacity. We need to fill that space, and we need to know that we’ll have the numbers soon to make it work!

The new space will be mostly open and loft-like, with a mix of social and quiet space, a couple conference rooms, a kitchenette, possibly a private office or two for those who need one, possibly some parking.

Here’s what the monthly rates will probably be for the new space:

• $425 - Full (24x7) + Dedicated Desk
• $350 - Full (24x7)
• $250 - Lite (3 days / week)
• $175 - Nights and Weekends
• $125 - Basic (5 days / month)
• $50 - Community Member (2 days / month, various benefits, e.g. access to selected events, online community) (or $500 / year - great for occasional use, or as a way to support Betahouse and ensure that it thrives)
• $20 / $25 - Day Pass (residents / non-residents - for additional days, guests, etc.)

We might also have a private office or two for companies that need one, as well as offer a discount for larger teams.

Fill out this form if you’re interested in joining.

Discounts / Rewards for Early and/or Long Term Commitments

Since we plan to move into a new, expanded space and need commitments from people to make it work, we may offer discounts or rewards to people who commit early or pre-pay for longer terms. We haven’t finalized the details on that though.

What’s Included

• Convenient, T accessible location in Central Square, Cambridge (most likely)
• Open, creative space with both social and quiet areas
• Keys to come and go as you please (for residents only)
• Month-to-month commitment
• High speed wired and wireless internet
• Printer / scanner / copier
• Conference room usage
• Whiteboards
• Projector
• Espresso machine, coffee, etc. (and maybe other beverages — certainly beer on occasion!)
• Kitchenette with refrigerator, microwave, etc.
• Growing library of books
• Foosball, Xbox, Rock Band
• Access to lots of events and social activities
• Space to host your own events
• Discounts on other services (e.g. Zipcar)
• Local artists’ work on display
• Perhaps a few dedicated parking spots, as well as on-street parking and a nearby garage
• Perhaps a bike share program
• Access to over 60 other coworking spaces around the world through the Coworking Visa
• Membership in an awesome community!

Interested? Let us Know!

Fill out this form if you’re interested in joining Betahouse. We can’t make it happen without you.

Spread the Word!

Since we’re doubling capacity, we’ll need to double our membership, and we’ll need to get commitments soon to make it happen. Please help us spread the word! Know anyone — or any companies — who might be interested? Let them know!

Want to Help, Partner, Donate or Sponsor?

Want to help or partner in some way, or perhaps donate to or sponsor the space or the startups we host? We need your support to make Betahouse thrive and be an even better resource for the community.

Contact Jon Pierce at jon@betahouse.org, follow us on Twitter at @betahouse and @jonpierce, or subscribe to our new Betahouse mailing list for updates, events, job postings, availability, etc.

Thanks!

Fill out this form if you’re interested in joining.