If you haven’t had a chance to check out what Launch Terre Haute (Launch) is doing, I encourage you to do so. Launch is Terre Haute’s only cowork space, but it's so much more than just a place where people “cowork.” It is a community of like-minded individuals who share ideas, encourage, and support fellow members and collaborate. The community is made up of entrepreneurs, freelancers and remote workers - who tend to be change makers, thought leaders and disruptors. The collective energy and overall vibe at Launch is something that you can’t force; it just organically happens. It happens when you create a space for people to come together and connect on their own terms. They experience serendipitous collisions that result in working together, making important connections and networking that results in progress.
Not only are the people amazing, but the programming is equally valuable. We offer programming that is designed to help individuals grow and connect with people of like interest by hosting a number of different meetups around various topics like Tech and Cryptocurrency. We also have pitch nights and host a chapter of The Startup Ladies that is targeted to facilitating deal flow for female entrepreneurs building and scaling companies. In addition, we host a variety of member activities like carry-ins for holidays, meetups and Brew Day Tuesdays (the last Tuesday of each month), in partnership with the Terre Haute Brewing Company. We also do Coffee and Conversation discussions with members and sponsors to make sure our business community knows what our members have going on. In March 2018, Launch received a grant from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation to expand our programming to include: coding programs, an innovations series, community competitions and working with high school students to explore entrepreneurship.
Launch Terre Haute is 1 of 50+ cowork spaces around the state connected by a cowork passport. The passport allows members to request day passes to work out of a location that is not your home at no charge. This allows you to be able to work in a cool space, meet new people and avoid sitting in isolation when traveling around the state. Communities are folding cowork spaces and the various initiatives they have going on into their economic development activities. They do this because they understand that in addition to attracting new businesses to their community, there is great value in growing their own, organic businesses so they are rooted in the community. Often, the sowing and seeding of these new companies start in local cowork spaces where there is a strong entrepreneurial eco-system to help them find their start and plug into a network of resources.
To learn more about Launch Terre Haute, and to see what’s going on, visit www.launchterrehaute.com or reach us at 812-244-2762 to schedule a time to come in. However, spontaneous visits are always welcome. We love to show off our space and share our story. We’re located downtown Terre Haute, 619 Cherry Street (6th and Cherry St), we look forward to seeing you soon!
Shelley Klingerman is Executive Director of Launch Terre Haute.