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Center for startups coming

by: LAURIE WINSLOW World Staff Writer
Saturday, November 15, 2008
11/15/2008 3:06:00 AM

A downtown resource center for entrepreneurs will open sometime next year.

The Collaboratorium, to be located on the 10th floor of 111 W. Fifth St. Building, will provide entrepreneurs with office space at a discounted price, shared conference rooms, coaching opportunities, connections to entrepreneurial networks and access to other resources.

Kanbar Properties, which owns the building, has donated the approximately 8,000-square-foot office space, as first reported on tulsaworld.com.

"Today, business leaders aren't living in the shadows of those former entrepreneurs, but they are really a mirror and a reflection of those entrepreneurs. And I am confident that they are what is going to take our economy and the city of Tulsa to even greater heights," Mayor Kathy Taylor said at a press conference Friday.

Small business is the backbone of the city's economy, she added, and the Collaboratorium will support the development of bold, innovative ideas that don't necessarily fit in the traditional box.

Maurice Kanbar, whose company donated the space, also was enthusiastic about its use.

"I can't tell you how delighted I am to be part of this, and I think nothing describes America more clearly than the fact that we have more entrepreneurs in this country than anyplace else in the world," he said. "If we can help young entrepreneurs get started, they have my total and complete support."

The winner of the 2008 Mayor's Entrepreneurial Spirit Award, to be announced Nov. 18, will receive Collaboratorium office space at no charge during the center's first year of operation. Other Tulsa entrepreneurs also can apply to participate in the resource center.

Anywhere from 17 to 28 businesses potentially could use the space, depending on their needs and how the space is configured, said Sean Griffin, who helped start and develop the resource center. He also is chairman of the Spirit Award.

Funding for the center is still being worked out, but the estimated annual budget could approach $250,000, Griffin said. Eventually, the resource center will hire an executive director to manage the day-to-day operations.

The discounted rent paid by entrepreneurs will go back into the Collaboratorium and is part of the center's funding mechanism, Griffin said. At some point, the center also could have the option to use more space in the building.

"We're actively out securing funding and, again, this is a start-up of its own," he said.

"This is not what you would consider an incubator," Griffin added.

"It's more of a resource center that allows a greater flexibility for entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, so that it's not necessarily tied to specific milestones being met."

About 20 people who were tapped for the Spirit Award's coaching process have agreed to participate as business coaches at the resource center.

"As different companies join the Collaboratorium, we'll reach out to different resources that those companies need," Taylor said. "One thing you can always count on in Tulsa is that if there's a need, and you reach out, that time or that talent will come and help. There is a real passion in this city about entrepreneurialism and small business growth."

Collaboratorium

What: A non-traditional entrepreneurial resource center that will provide office space at a discounted price, shared conference rooms, coaching opportunities and more.

Where: 10th floor, 111W. Fifth St.

When: Opens in 2009

Information: tulsaworld.com/collab

Laurie Winslow 581-8466
laurie.winslow@tulsaworld.com

Associate Images:

Sean Griffin, developer of the downtown Collaboratorium resource center for entrepreneurs, speaks Friday while property owner Maurice Kanbar and Mayor Kathy Taylor look on.

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