It’s not a big secret, GreenIvory would like to extend its operations in the US and extend what we already have in Durham, NC. This is why I am in Boston, MA. this week. I am pretty sure that there are a few Bostonians who want to double the efficiency of their web sites, nope?

Nevertheless, after my meeting, I went to visit two co-working places.

At GreenIvory, we do a lot of telecommuting and we think that co-working spots are a huge benefit in the way we work. We already have some experience with such spaces, thanks the vision of a good friend in Strasbourg.

It made sense to see whether this model could be adapted to GreenIvory on its US operations.

I started by visiting CIC (Cambridge Innovation Center) and the WorkBar.

Drop boxes (not really mail boxes) at the CIC co-working spot.

CIC started 10 years ago and it is ideally located on the 14th floor, dominating MIT, the Charles River… Very inspiring. They have different model, starting by co-working spaces, which can turn into nice and flexible offices when the start-up matures. Lovely. A very nice lady showed us the place and drove us around. Prices start at $250/month.

Sergio Ferreira at the WorkBar.

WorkBar is a little more fun. It’s almost downtown Boston, within walking distance from the Federal Building and in front of the bus station. It’s kind of a mix between Regus and a start-up. Evona showed us the place and it was very pleasant, I just wanted to sit, pull-out my Mac and start working. WorkBar has several places where you can isolate yourself if you want. Prices start at $20/day.

A few conclusions from this Bostonian tour…

The MIT (Massachussets Institute of Technology) Police: yep, you are really covered there...

For us, the consumer, GreenIvory… If I had to start GreenIvory again in Boston, I’ll go to CIC. Wow… this place is incredible in terms of location. Now, as I need some space from time to time, WorkBar is more flexible for people like us… Of course, both are not incompatible as I hope our business to grow here. Definitively such places will help us.

For the other project of doing such an open-co-working space in Strasbourg, I am really surprised by the lack of benchmark from the projects I have seen on my “native” side of the pound. Co-working spaces are small, CIC is about 50 to 60 sq meter (but CIC has a lot more room for non co-working space), can hold 40 people max, WorkBar is bigger, roughly 120 sq meter…

Both CIC and WorkBar are private companies. I don’t see how / why they would be subsidized by the local gov’t. Hey, we are in the US, baby!

I urge my friends in Strasbourg to rethink their model. Boston and the metro area combine 4.5m people, this is about 2.5 times the size of Alsace…