Venture Café
{{Infobox company
| name = Venture Café
| logo =
| type = Nonprofit
| founded = {{start date and age|2009}}
| founders = Tim Rowe, Carrie Stalder
| hq_location = Boston
| hq_location_city = Massachusetts
| hq_location_country = U.S.
| areas_served = 11 cities
| key_people = Tim Rowe
| industry = Technology, Startups
| products = {{unbulleted list|Workspace for startups|Small businesses|Freelancers and entrepreneurs}}
| brands = {{unbulleted list|Venture Café|Venture Café Global|Innovation Hall|District Hall}}
| subsid =
| services = Shared workspaces and related services for entrepreneurs
| owners =
| num_locations =
| num_locations_year =
| num_employees =
}}
Venture Café is a nonprofit organization that hosts community events and programs that support early-stage entrepreneurs.{{Cite web |title=Innovation Studio {{!}} Roxbury, MA {{!}} Cause IQ |url=https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/venture-cafe-foundation,455191933/ |access-date=2023-06-03 |website=www.causeiq.com}}
As of May 2020, there are 11 independently managed Venture Cafés, located in Boston, St. Louis, Missouri; Miami; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Providence, Rhode Island; Tokyo, Japan; Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Warsaw, Poland; Bilbao, Spain; and Sydney, Australia.{{Cite web|title=Global Network|url=https://venturecafeglobal.org/about-the-network/|website=venturecafeglobal.org|access-date=2020-05-27}} As of 2019, there were plans to open Venture Cafés in some 40 more cities.{{cite web| url=https://venturecafeglobal.org/about-the-network/187-2/ | access-date=19 February 2019 | title=Our netowrk is growing}}
The flagship event of Venture Café is the Thursday Gathering, a weekly meeting for new and experienced entrepreneurs to exchange ideas and support. The event usually includes several free educational sessions to teach entrepreneurs to how to start and run a business. Participants can also hold informal discussions of creative and speculative ideas and look for collaborators, co-founders, mentors, or investors.
History
The Venture Café was conceived as a restaurant in the Cambridge Innovation Center in Boston, Massachusetts.{{cite web |title=How a failed restaurant became Cambridge’s hottest Thursday spot|work=Boston Globe |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2018/06/21/this-could-hottest-place-town-thursday-night-and-beer-free/so61lJpjP7HcZLXTCEGvcK/story.html|first=Scott|last=Kirsner|date= 21 June 2018|access-date=24 August 2018}} The idea failed to attract investment, so the founders changed it to a gathering space for the entrepreneurial community, based on the book Venture Café by Teresa Esser.{{cite web |title=Venture Café’s mission is connecting innovators to make things happen.|work=Venture Cafe Official Website |url=http://venturecafeglobal.org/about/|date= 24 August 2018 |access-date=24 August 2018}} Venture Café Kendall launched in 2009.{{Citation needed|date=January 2019}}
In 2014, Venture Café expanded to the Cortex Innovation Community in St. Louis, Missouri, to bring together the emerging startup community.{{cite web |title=Cambridge Innovation Center opens at Cortex|work=St. Louis Post Dispatch |url=https://www.stltoday.com/business/columns/building-blocks/cambridge-innovation-center-opens-at-cortex/article_202c0df4-dbbb-567e-aec8-32ee0a9eff35.html|first=Tim|last=Bryant|date= Sep 29, 2014 |access-date=24 August 2018}} The success of the St. Louis location prompted the launch of Venture Cafés in other cities and ultimately the creation of Venture Café Global Institute, a public benefit corporation based in St. Louis and Boston.{{cite web |title=T-REX and Venture Cafe STL are changing St. Louis’ startup landscape|work=Silicon Prairie News |url=http://siliconprairienews.com/2018/03/t-rex-venture-cafe-changing-st-louis-startup-landscape/|first=Christine|last=McGuigan|date=2 March 2018 |access-date=24 August 2018}}
In 2018, as part of St. Louis Cortex District's new 4220 Duncan building anchored by Microsoft, Venture Cafe launched Innovation Hall in St. Louis based upon Boston's District Hall.{{cite web |title=Cortex Unveils New 4220 Duncan Building|work=NextSTL |url=https://nextstl.com/2018/05/cortex-unveils-new-4220-duncan-building/|first=Jason |last=Deem |date=10 May 2018 |access-date=24 August 2018}}
In 2018, St. Louis launched EdHub{{cite web|title='Innovation center,' restaurant to open at Cortex|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news/2018/04/11/innovation-center-restaurant-to-open-at-cortex.html|last=Kukuljan|first=Steph|date=11 April 2018|work=St. Louis Business Journal|access-date=24 August 2018}} to support and bring together innovators to increase youth access to education.{{cite web|title=Venture Cafe St. Louis To Open Innovation Hall At Cortex|url=http://eqstl.com/venture-cafe-st-louis-open-innovation-hall-cortex/|date=12 April 2018}} EdHub STL is inspired by the Forward Through Ferguson report, which calls for an innovation education hub to address the region's most entrenched educational issues.{{cite web |title=Create an Innovative Education Hub|work=Forward Through Ferguson |url=https://forwardthroughferguson.org/calls-to-action/innovative-education-hub/|date= 24 August 2018 |access-date=24 August 2018}}
Venture Café Foundation in Boston runs the Roxbury Innovation Center. Like EdHub, it brings together innovators in education including students, parents, administration, and teachers to help solve inequities in education and introduce youth to entrepreneurship and STEAM activities.{{Citation needed|date=January 2019}}
In September 2021, Venture Café St. Louis cancelled its events and made no public statements.{{cite web |title=Venture Cafe St. Louis Goes Quiet|work=4thest8|url=https://4thest8.com/vencafstl-quiet/|date= 10 September 2021 |access-date=17 September 2021|author=Paul Riat}}
On September 13, 2021, Venture Café St. Louis board chair Whitney Masching released a statement stating, "Seven years later, it is time to close this chapter. Effective immediately, the VCSTL programming you know is on pause — but this isn’t the end."{{cite web |title=UPDATE: VENCAFSTL BOARD RESPONDS; NEW SITE GOES UP (BUT NO CONTENT)|work=4thest8|url=https://4thest8.com/venture-cafe-confirmation/|date=13 September 2021 |access-date=17 September 2021|author=Paul Riat}}
See also
External links
- [http://venturecafeglobal.org/ CIC Venture Café Global Institute - Official Website]
- [http://vencaf.org/ Venture Café Foundation Official Website]
- [http://vencaf.org/venture-cafe-st-louis/ Venture Café St. Louis Official Website]
- [http://venturecafesydney.org/ Venture Café Sydney Official Website]
- [http://venturecafewarsaw.org/ Venture Café Warsaw Official Website]
- [https://topbestin.wordpress.com/2019/10/23/venture-cafe-the-success-story-of-a-coworking-space/ Venture Café The Success Story of a coworking space.]