This blog post is coming to you live from Austin, where my need for coffee is seriously battling my good intentions of hitting the hotel gym before we start our busy day. Who shall emerge the victor?!
Christelle, TJ and I are arrived in Austin last night and are looking forward to our first day of events and activities. First, we’re pleased to be a part of AppSumo’s Lean Start-Up bundle for SXSW, which includes a huge array of useful software for folks looking to build a business on a shoestring. We’re all about keeping costs low for small business owners, so we think this deal is an amazing one and gives you access to some really cool apps. The bundle is launching today here at SXSW so be sure to check it out.
Any start-up who purhcases the SXSW bundle can enter their “Lean Start-Up Challenge“. The grand prize is a ton of cool software, mentoring and $100,000 cash – wow that will buy you a lot of Red Bulls and Diet Cokes!
This afternoon, we’re heading over to the Co-Working Unconference where we’ll be meeting with co-workers from all over the world, giving out BatchBlue t-shirts and stickers, spreading the word about our own Providence co-working space BatchHaüs and just hanging out with the cool folks who run their businesses from shared spaces, coffee shops, etc. These are our kind of people!
And for the second year, we’re once again throwing a “Big Party for Small Business”. This year, American Express OPEN has come on as an official sponsor of the Small Business Web. They’re promising some great special guests appearances in addition to the great food, drinks, bowling and karaoke. If you are at SXSW and would like an invitation, please let us know!
As makers of a web-based app, we’re all about folks working from where ever they happen to be in order to get the job done. In fact, I’m writing this from my house where I’m currently snowed in with almost a foot of snow outside and one slightly stir-crazy pre-schooler making paper snowmen at the kitchen table. You’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do!
Sometimes, though, it’s nice to have a place to go to do your work where there are not piles of laundry stacked around you and no one is licking their fur really loudly while you are trying to write (LOOKING AT YOU, KITTY). Which is why we’re such fans of the co-working movement. Co-working is the best of both worlds: your schedule is flexible and yours to make, you can talk to folks or not, and you can choose a place that’s conducive to the type of work you need to get done. And all this without the expense and hassle of actually keeping a full-time office.
Many great co-working spaces and apps have cropped up over the last couple of years. I recently gave a presentation with my friend Amy Ellis of MailChimp at the gorgeous Link co-working space in Austin, TX, where we met founder Liz Elam. They have an interesting model where you become a member (like you would for a gym) but rather than working out, you get a lovely, airy, fully-stocked and functional office at your disposal with kitchen snacks and instant, smart co-workers. Genius!
Here’s a quick interview with Liz (sorry for the shaky camera work and the skinny picture: I was actually getting sick that day)
We’ve spent the early part of this month painting, painting and a little more painting of the two new floors of heavenly blueness that is now BatchHaus, the new home of the @batchblue crew. We’re still in the same eclectic Providence neighborhood that we’ve called our “communal space for the virtual team” for the past few years. But with five new hires in the past four months, we had outgrown the part-time meeting space and needed a proper office.
We found the perfect new home for our growing BatchFamily in the top two floors of a large brick Tudor home turned cloud-computing idea factory. Luckily, it just happens to be across the street from the local Starbucks, around the corner from The Edge cafe and near one of our favorite restaurants Red Stripe. Plenty of caffeine and good food to keep us motivated!
Co-working Thursdays at the BatchHaüs
To keep the same informal, tech-talking, coffee-sharing vibe that our virtual team has grown accustomed to, we’re opening up the new BatchHaüs common room as a co-working space for any local designers, entrepreneurs or other engaging geeks who care to join us once a week for some co-working action. We launched our first co-working day last Thursday and were thrilled to have local cultural leaders and fashion icons TJ Sondermann (@tsondermann), Anisa Raoof (@kidoinfo), Allan Tear (@aptuscollab), Jen Robbins (@jenville) and Jan Dane (from @tizra) join us for the inaugural event. Yummy Seven Stars pastries were enjoyed by all thanks to Jan!
Though we will always be a virtual company at heart, we’re excited to be putting down a few more roots and growing into our new home-away-from-the-home-office. Pam Slim wrote a great article explaining that her move into an off-site office was a dream come true. We could not agree more!
pleased to be a part of AppSumo’s Lean Start-Up bundle for SXSW, which includes a huge array of useful software for folks looking to build a business on a shoestring. We’re all about keeping costs low for small business owners, so we think this deal is an amazing one and gives you access to some really cool apps. The bundle is launching today here at SXSW so be sure to check it out.
And for the second year, we’re once again throwing a “Big Party for Small Business”. This year, American Express OPEN has come on as an official sponsor of the Small Business Web. They’re promising some great special guests appearances in addition to the great food, drinks, bowling and karaoke. If you are at SXSW and would like an invitation, please let us know!
