On any given night at a stylishly decked out office space, located just a hop, skip and a jump off Brick Lane in east London, a group of startups may be mixing their own cocktails, turning on the slow cooker to create a feast of pulled-pork sandwiches or grabbing a beanbag to listen to an inspiring talk by a fellow small business.
Co-working space the Hatch was dreamt up to be much more than your standard office; it’s a place to cultivate ideas, share advice, and support and socialise with other startups.
The Hatch opened its doors early last year and is the brainchild of Matt Verity, co-founder of TrueView, an online dating app that aims to create conversations and “showcase personalities”, rather than being centred on flicking through pictures of people, à la Tinder and Happn.
“We’re a lean startup with three founders and a few freelancers,” says Verity. “We were looking to find a co-working space for six people, but it was very expensive. We then looked at renting an office, but that was also very expensive. We’d had some investment, so we used a chunk of that to replicate what we had at Wayra [Telefonica’s technology accelerator programme], to take on a bigger space than we needed and invite other startups to work alongside us.”
They took out a long lease on the property and sublet the space to other startups. The businesses sign a contract, provide ID and pay a deposit. Not only has this been a cost-effective move, but Verity and his co-founders Andrew Ibbotson and Damian Mitchell knew that there could be plenty of other benefits to reap from pooling together a group of startups in a creative and sociable setting – for example, discovering new ideas and sharing advice.
“The Hatch has allowed us to cross-pollinate with other companies,” says Verity. He points to a partnership with the Hatch resident EqualEyes, an Android developer that’s working on its mobile app. TrueView is able to lean on its fellow residents for feedback on its product testing. “It can be expensive to carry out user testing so it’s great having a network of people to share your product with and get feedback.”
The Hatch, home to 14 startups, is also a hotbed of ideas and innovation. Each month it hosts a content lab, where startups from inside and outside the building come together to give talks and discuss any issues. “The Hatch is more than just a desk,” says Verity. “It’s a space where people can come and be in an environment with a bit of a buzz, get ideas from other companies and feel part of a team.”
While TrueView remains the focus for Verity and co, the Hatch has gained a life of its own. “Everyday we get a phone call from someone looking to join but we don’t have any more space,” says Verity. “So we’re looking to broaden it by opening another space in a nearby area.”
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