Betahouse

Submitted by jonpierce on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 7:56pm
in
General Information
URL: 
http://betahouse.org
Twitter: 
Betahouse
Location: 
Cambridge, MA
Cost: 
Plans range from $50/mo for community membership to $425/mo for dedicated desks. Day passes also available.
Description: 

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, hackers, 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.
 
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.
 
Events
 
We also organize and host events regularly:

  • Meetups
  • Talks and panel discussions
  • Hackfests
  • 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?!
 
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.
 
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 (or $500 / yr) - Community Member (2 days / month, various benefits, e.g. access to selected events, online community; 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.)

 
What’s Included

  • Convenient, T accessible location in Central Square, Cambridge
  • 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
  • Projectors
  • 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

 
Stay in the Loop

 
Learn More or Request to Join
 
http://betahouse.org