Coworking is a solution for people who start their own business but do not want to work at home or rent an office. It involves working at a rented work stand, side by side with other people who run their own micro-businesses. The rental fee (by default low) includes, apart from a desk and a chair, Internet connection, access to printers, scanners or copiers, reception desk and a kitchenette. Additional benefits involve internal courses and networking meetings, as well as business advisory, legal support, assistance with obtaining funding, business promotion services or help in contacts with scientists. Certain coworking locations offer access to rooms for teamwork, meeting or conference purposes calculated into the base price. 

 

According to representatives of firms that offer coworking facilities, they act as accelerators of entrepreneurship, actively shaping the business culture.  “Growing businesses that occupy neighbouring desks build the climate of mutual inspiration and knowledge sharing”, says Magdalena Krawczak, PR and marketing specialist at Technopark Pomerania.

 

“Absence of communication barriers is the key strength of coworking. Firms that share space operate similarly to a consortium, united by sharing of clients and projects", admits Maciej Monkiewicz, Manager at Business Link Szczecin. 

Offering work stands and additional services in attractive interior and at a reasonable price is not a good business, as proven by the story of Cowork Szczecin at Niedziałkowskiego Street and Coworking Szczecin at Wilków Morskich Street, which went out of business due to low attendance. Strefa 89 at Jagiellońska Street was popular only as long as it offered free-of-charge services thanks to EU subsidies.

 

At present, coworking offers can be found at institutions fully or partially funded with public money, such as Technopark Pomerania owned by local authorities of Szczecin, Business Link and Akademickie Inkubatory Przedsiębiorczości (University Business Incubators) paid from EU grants, Regional Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre run by West Pomeranian University of Technology or Szczecin University of Technology, as well as Stargardzka Agencja Rozwoju Lokalnego (Stargard Local Development Agency). Coworking offers hardly ever become key business of any institutions. 

 

Where to find a coworking space in Szczecin and its proximity? 

 

Technopark Pomerania

 

The coworking space at Technopark has operated since June 2015 and included 30 work stands, on average occupied by 15 users. 

 

The prices vary depending on the user type: students pay PLN 299 per month, while a four-person team PLN 699. You can rent a desk for a day or for a number of days, at the price of PLN 29 per day (PLN 199 for ten days). 

 

At Technopark, users are offered access to a 3D printer and plotter. Along with desks, Technopark offers offices with incubation programmes for start-ups and expansion programmes for mature businesses. 

 

Ste-Loc operating in the location industry is referred to as an example of a firm that has done well in coworking, and Cyfrowi Wynalazcy, technology workshops for children provided by Netcamp Foundation, as the fastest-growing project. 

 

Rafał Mosirer, the founder of Ste-Loc points out that people become more productive using the coworking solution than working at home: “In coworking, you share the office with other people to whom you can talks, and share experience if they are from the same industry as you.” 

 

Business Link Szczecin

 

More desks are available for start-ups from various industries at Business Link Szczecin, a business incubator located in the Lastadia office building at Zbożowa Street. They prefer innovation firms, but in practice, they admit a variety of businesses: from a marketing firm all the way through a real property rent operator or an employment agent. 

 

Today, 20 of 29 desks available in the open space have been rented, and, according to facility owners, last year the number of users grew more than twice. Business Link considers the individual desk option (i.e. a desk assigned to a firm) and 7/24 access the key strengths of its offer.  

 

Additional 12 work stands are permanently available in Easy Cowork offer involving renting desk for days. Such desks are not assigned to companies, you can use them (as well as printers, a kitchenette and a chill-out room) only until 5:00 p.m. No additional services are available, such as included in the monthly bundles (virtual registration addresses, rooms for meetings or external events). 

 

The monthly rent per person is PLN 500 (the minimum agreement term is three months) and the rent per day is PLN 25. Buying a ticket is a cheaper option. Firms that consider the coworking standard no longer suitable may rent office space. 

 

Such firms as Tidio (live chat services), Think English (online English courses), Pixel Legend (IT services, mobile applications) or Tencat (social media agency) made their first steps using the coworking model. The last four have been still operating at Business Link. 

 

Jan Filipowiak, the founder of Pixel Legend points out that coworking means more than just a desk and a coffee machine: “The exceptional location, very good working conditions, support and opportunity to participate in courses and to share knowledge have resulted in rapid growth of my business. Thanks to Business Link we went to London to participate in

Ready to Go global acceleration programme.”

 

Regionalne Centrum Innowacji i Transferu Technologii (Regional Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre)

 

Innovative nature of a start-up is of key importance when qualifying users of ZUT Regional Innovation and Technology Development Centre at Jagiellońska Street. Young businesspeople are offered not desks but offices of 23 to 30 square metres of space. The coworking open space is used for pre-incubation purposes (the stage preceding incorporation of a sole-owner business). These work stands are offered free of charge, also based on a contest.

 

At present, the office space is being used by 11 firms and this is the maximum the Centre can house (the next contest shall begin in the middle of the year). Four people use the coworking space and there are still some desks to be taken. 

 

M Systems (architectonic design and engineering services) and Logman (road transport) are examples of companies doing well in the incubator. Three companies, though, that have left the incubator so far, have suspended their operations. 

 

Szczecin University Business Incubator

 

This incubator offers office space at Żubrów Street and a coworking room in Service Inter-Lab building free of charge to students of the University of Szczecin. As of today, 15 of 17 work stands available are being used. The incubated businesses are offered the possibility to register their operations at the Incubator’s address, access the coworking room in Service Inter-Lab building and rent office space at Żubrów Street for the monthly fee of PLN 20 per square metre. Further, they can use the services of a partner accounting firm on preferential terms. 

 

During the ten years of its operation, the incubator has helped 70 businesses. Now it has 15 users. Examples of successful businesses that made their first steps in the Szczecin University Business Incubator include wszczecinie. pl, 24fps (movies producer) and Pro Choice (sales of spare parts and accessories for cars and car chemicals).

 

University Business Incubators

 

Fresh businesses and business projects not registered as businesses (not necessarily run by students) representing all industries are accepted by University Business Incubators (UBI) at the University of Szczecin (Cukrowa Street) and at Pomeranian Medical University (54 Żołnierska Street). Each year, 20 to 30 businesses use the ten desks available in these incubators. The monthly fee is PLN 150. A bundle including the business running service costs PLN 300.

 

Further, a coworking space is being prepared in the newly established Creative Industry Centre at the Art Academy of Szczecin. Probably the nationwide network of UBI will become its operator. 

 

Stargard Agency of Local Development

 

Stargard businesses (regardless of years in business) may rent individual desks in the office building at Pierwszej Brygady Street. The space is available seven days a week, around the clock.

 

Stargard Agency of Local Development opened the coworking space with (then) a single user in the beginning of 2014. Now, the user rotation is significant. At present, there are three users with three other work stands vacant. The monthly fee for start-ups in PLN 40 for the first six months. Then, the rate increases to PLN 162 per month. The price includes business registration option. 

 

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