Google ‘campuses’ give tech startups room to flourish

SAN FRANCISCO: In a nod to its humble beginning in the garage of a Silicon Valley house, Google is building "campuses" around the world intended as fertile ground where entrepreneurs can flourish.
A campus that opened last month in Madrid was the fourth such start-up nurturing facility opened by a Google for Entrepreneurs team at the California-based Internet titan.
The first campus opened in London in 2012, followed by one in Tel Aviv and then a third in Seoul.
"We began as a startup in a garage 17 years ago and really believe in empowering the next generation of startups," Google for Entrepreneurs director Mary Grove told AFP.
"The goal is to foster entrepreneurship all over the world."
Google plans to open startup campuses in Warsaw and Sao Paulo later this year.
Campuses provide spaces for startups to meet, work, and learn. Partners are brought in to provide cafe services for which Silicon Valley tech companies are renowned.Each campus has large event spaces that groups can apply to use free of charge. The London campus averages four big events daily.
Co-working desk spaces can be rented, with certain operations contracted out to partners such as TechHub, which provides work space for tech entrepreneurs, and Seedcamp investment fund.
The campuses have about 20,000 square feet of space and 200 desks.
Membership is free, and some 55,000 people around the world have signed on, according to Grove.
She said the process of users going from being a new arrival to learning from mentors, meeting potential investors, and gaining traction is referred to as "working their way through the building."
"It´s a hive of activity and has a tremendous energy about it," said Frugl founder Suzanne Noble.
"I´ve lost count of the interesting workshops and talks that I´ve attended there and have really helped to grow my business."
Her company is behind an app that helps people on budgets find affordable things to do and she is taking part in a freshly-launched London Campus program devoted to tech company founders over the age of 50.
In contrast to typical startup accelerator programs, being at campus is more about sharing skills and maximizing use of resources made available, according to Noble.