Challenge
In 2012, the innovation landscape in Melbourne was a vastly different one to what it is today. There were only a handful of serious startups and even fewer coworking spaces. However, there was an undeniable entrepreneurial energy in the air, and we wanted to be a part of that. Being entrepreneurs ourselves, we identified the need to create an innovation lab. A place for not only startups to work, but also for corporates who wanted to learn and engage with the startup way. Our vision was to create an innovation hub in Melbourne which would become a mainstay with the tech startup community and corporate innovators alike, where both groups come learn each other, share insights, and become each others' customers.
Solution
We designed and built a 500m2 Coworking Sspace and Innovation Lab in the heart of Melbourne CBD. By far the hardest aspect of creating a vibrant innovation lab is attracting the right kind of members into the space. Startups can sense when a "community' isn't genuine and corporates want to work with the startups. Through running hundreds of events, meetups, workshops, keynotes and partnerships, we slowly but surely became a valuable long term partner to the startup ecosystem in Melbourne. By trial and error and running hundreds of experiments, we have worked out how to best engage with both the startup and corporate communities.
Outcome
Collective Campus has been home to more than 50 startups that have collectively raised over $13m USD in 2016/17, 30,000 people have come through our space to work, attend events, connect and learn.
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