A hive of activity

Independent entrepreneurs 'co-work' in shared office

John C. Ensslin

Monday, March 24, 2008

Ken Papaleo / The Rocky

Mike Fatica of Fatica Consulting LLC works at his desk at the Hive Cooperative in Denver. The Hive rents office space to entrepreneurs, most of whom work for small, relatively new companies that thrive on information technology, Web design and database marketing.

Amy Speer / The Rocky Illustration

A hive of activity

The Hive is the brainchild of Andrew Luter, a self-described "serial entrepreneur" and managing partner of BaseCamp Capital LLC.

Ken Papaleo / The Rocky

Mike Fatica of Fatica Consulting LLC works at his desk at the Hive Cooperative in Denver. The Hive rents office space to entrepreneurs, most of whom work for small, relatively new companies that thrive on information technology, Web design and database marketing.

In the science-fiction movie I, Robot the scientist who creates a line of robots with artificial intelligence muses on an odd aspect of their behavior.

"Why is it that when robots are stored in an empty space, they will group together rather than stand alone?" he asks. "How do we explain this behavior? Random segments of code?"

There's nothing robotic about the people working at the Hive Cooperative in Denver. They are bright young entrepreneurs mostly working for small, relatively new companies that thrive on information technology, Web design and database marketing.

Most started by working out of their homes with little more than a laptop computer and a business card. Mostly they worked alone.

But like the title character in the movie, they display one very basic human trait: the need to congregate, even when working on solitary ventures.

The Hive is an example of a trend among startup IT businesses called "co-working" - an office space where independent businesspeople work alongside each other while pursing their separate endeavors.

The concept is similar to co-housing, where a group of neighbors share common property and sometimes have a meal together while living in separate homes.

In co-working spaces such as the Hive, individuals pay a relatively low rent for 2 4/7 access to a desk and a locker and some shared amenities like a conference room and coffee break area.

In a building where traditional office space runs up to $30 per square foot, space at the Hive varies from $349 a month for an "anchor desk" or permanent work site in the office to $199 a month for a "hot desk" where the location varies from day to day to $129 a month for people who only need a desk on evenings and weekends.

Tenants get their own lockers as well as a place to use as a mailing address.

The Hive is the brainchild of Andrew Luter, a self-described "serial entrepreneur" and managing partner of BaseCamp Capital LLC, which has a conventional office on the third floor of the A.H. Root building, 2401 15th St., the same building where the Hive is situated.

Luter once attempted a similar co-working venture in Boston called "The Tribe," where several people with various dot-com ventures planned to share office space. But the project never got past the planning stages.

In 2002 Luter returned to Denver, where he had grown up. BaseCamp Capital had invested in the Root building. He noticed that the building had a 3,500-square- foot-basement that was going unused. That's when he got the idea for the Hive.

"This is something I've been thinking about for a long time," he said.

He opened the Hive in April 2007 and now has 22 tenants, all of whom pay rent online via PayPal.

"By and large, these are people who like having a desk. It's a luxury. They've been working out of Starbucks."

Several of the Hive tenants are working at businesses they started at home. Mike Fatica, for example, ran his information-technology business, Fatica Consulting LLC, out of his Capitol Hill apartment for about a year before moving to the Hive.

"Getting outside was such a welcome change," he said of his commute. "You're really isolated when you're home. Communicating with everybody by e-mail constantly is just not much fun.

"It wasn't until I started working away from my house that I realized the benefit."

He notes that clients seemed more impressed visiting Fatica in his office as opposed to his apartment.

Cory Snipes, 36, said he and his wife worked out of their Highlands neighborhood apartment until June when they each decided to get their own office space.

"It's been tremendous," Snipes said. "It's been easier for me to focus on work here."

Snipes also has collaborated on projects with his fellow tenants. That allows him to tap into their expertise while still keeping their businesses separate.

"I'd rather focus on certain areas of a project so that I can do really well," he said. "I think the overall project ends up being better."

Gina LaMar recently moved into the Hive, where she works as the local representative of Emma, a Nashville, Tenn.-based company that designs and sends e-mails and newsletters for clients.

LaMar said she liked the "Ikea-style" furnishings in the office. They're spartan but colorful. Working in a basement means there's not much of a view, she said. But the neighborhood has several restaurants and coffee shops within walking distance. It's much better than working out of her home.

"There's just so much more purpose in the physical act of going to work," she said.

As landlord and "ultimate arbiter of things," Luter said that, so far, he hasn't been called upon to mediate any disputes between tenants. In the Frequently Asked Questions section of a Web site that describes the Hive hivecoop.pbwiki.com/ he includes the following question:

"What happens when somebody eats my spaghetti?"

His tongue-in-cheek answer sums up the prevailing attitude:

"Not that we are looking to create a Lord of the Flies environment here, but part of The Hive concept involves some self-policing and ad-hoc rule making."

Other than an ad on craigslist. com, most of the people working in the Hive found it by word of mouth. Luter said he deliberately hasn't done more than that.

"There's a certain kind of person who gets it," he said.

"I probably could have made more money by going quicker, but the wrong mix of people could really ruin the whole concept, so I'd rather have fewer high quality people that I know can get along."

ensslinj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5291

The Hive

Co-work space

2401 15th St.

On the Web: hivecoop.pbwiki.com

Busy bees: 22 current tenants

Monthly rent:

* $349 for anchor desk or permanent work site

* $199 for hot desk, location varies day to day

* $129 for desk on evenings and weekends