Are you a Chicago startup looking for office space? And possibly interested in sharing a space with another startup (or 5)? Let's share space. Reach out to me at : [email protected]
A few weeks ago, Rocket Lease was abruptly booted from our beautiful office space in River North. Since then we've talked to a few people about subletting space and gone as far as a verbal agreement, but nothing has gone the whole way.
So, very true to startup style, we have found ourselves really embracing the bootstrappers startup ethos by shuffling between temporary homes (Whole Foods North Avenue has a ton of space in their upper dining area; the Public hotel is luxurious, very friendly and has a big table for guest workers; Hiding out in local university buildings).
Getting a small amount of space is really hard. Brokers don't want to deal with you because the contracts aren't big, there's not a transparent market for space, and frankly, startups like Rocket Lease can't commit to 12 month minimum leases!
1871 is a great idea, but at $400/person/month, its not viable (and the dedicated space is full anyways), Catapult is full.
Long story short, I'm starting to lean towards "if you want something to get done, you have to do it yourself."
It is much easier to find space for 5 startups than for 5 people. We are NOT interested in trying to become an an 1871 or a Catapult, but we need space to work.
Are there other startups in the same boat that might be interested in finding a space together so we can have a place to call home?
I'm currently looking at an option in Little Village/Pilsen and one in River North. I am open to any suggestions. Rocket Lease just needs a place to park our monitors and desktop computers.
If you are interested, have been looking, or think you will be in the next month, please reach out: [email protected]
