In San Francisco, there’s a nice big space right on the water where startups can go to enjoy a place to work, Dog Patch Labs. Polaris Venture Partners refers to it as their “frat house for geeks,” as it’s a place for entrepreneurs to come and work/hang out while enjoying free space, connectivity, coffee and food. Now Polaris is taking that idea east, closer to their homebase, with Dog Patch Labs Cambridge.
The new lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts will be located at 222 3rd Street in Kendall Square. And it won’t be meant solely for technology startups, Polaris is welcoming startups from all sectors. The idea is the same as the San Francisco wing that was opened in 2008, to help out really early stage startups, that may not be quite ready to look for investments to help out their projects just yet.
And just as with Dog Patch SF, the entrepreneurs using the Cambridge space will be under no obligation to Polaris if and when they decide they’re big enough to move on from the lab and perhaps take some funding. Of course, Polaris has people at the labs helps these companies along, and that gives them some good insights into what they’re working on, letting them know early on if there’s a good investment opportunity there. In San Francisco, the recently hired Ryan Spoon is working closely with startups at the Dog Patch Labs.
One recent success story to launch from Dog Patch SF is Thing Labs, the makers of Brizzly, the hot, new web-based Twitter client. After starting out in the Dog Patch Labs, they got some seed backing from Polaris to strike out on their own.
Whatever happened to working in your house or apartment?
Why drink alone?
exactly.
So….its a park, basically?
a park? it’s indoors if that’s what you mean.
My bad, was scanning the article…
Ok then…so its basically a large-scale Starbucks? I guess I’m not getting it…
Dogpatch in SF is really an awesome spot. Worked there in the Rails Rumble and some other occasions. The environment is motivating, and the people there are supportive.
yeah, I was there the other day, really nice space.
Cool. I am in Boston. Will visit them
Tulsa has a similar “space” called the Collaboratorium. It’s where Ping.fm and some other non-tech startups are getting their sea legs. I’ve been in there for a year now and LOVE the concept.
Glad to see the entrepreneurs getting some early support in this way.
To address the “what happened to starting up in your apartment” comment above… The ability to mix and mingle with other startups in situ has been a huge plus. Whether it’s random encounters with investors, learning how others are dealing with common “issues”, etc. Not so easily gained from the futon in the living room.
I actually never heard about this before; it’s awesome, and just one of the many ways VCs can start to show more open support to entrepreneurs.
Is there anything like this in NYC?
The EtherPad team has been working in Dog Patch Labs SF for the past 3 months, and we love it. Great community of hackers and entrepreneurs, and the Polaris guys are awesome.
How to signup?
You can email us about san francisco or cambridge at dogpatchlabs@gmail.com. Thanks!!
Hey wait a sec, you guys allow girls in there too, don’t ya? What is this reference to a “frat house??”
This is great. A healthy step forward for the Boston hacker/ entrepreneurial community!
Is there anything similar to this in London ? Anybody has a tip for a nice and cheap office space for an early and small tech startup ?
I just pitched @VCMike at their office here in Cambridge thinking he was a fellow hacker.
i find myself tempted to crash at a couch or something for a couple of months
I’m with Cindy, people of all genders are encouraged to apply. I don’t know that I would characterize Dogpatch Labs as a “frat house”. It certainly didn’t feel that way when I was incubating there. It was a place to call home, invite people to meetings, coordinate with early team members and an all around good launch pad when we were just taking off. There is something to be said for not just hanging out at a coffee shop and being near other smart people with drive and knowledge. Dogpatch is recommended for any entrepreneur looking to get things rolling.