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The new Collaboratorium offers opportunities for Tulsa entrepreneurs to see their innovative ideas become reality.
It can take just one good idea to build a business. But what if that good idea is to help other new businesses succeed? An entrepreneurial catalyst. A start-up to help other start-ups.
“What if?” became a reality with The Collaboratorium, a resource center that serves Tulsa entrepreneurs who don’t fit traditional business development models — those individuals who have good ideas but need assistance with the “business side of things.”
“Tulsa entrepreneurs are an untapped market and a resource in our community that we are trying to support,” says Sean Griffin, lead developer and chair of The Collaboratorium. “With support, they will become a force. With an increase in entrepreneurial activity in Tulsa, there was a need for this type of project.”
Housed at 111 W. Fifth St. in space donated by Kanbar Properties, the office area includes room for 17 to 23 businesses and shared conference rooms, with options to grow.
The first business to move in and become a part of The Collaboratorium was Web-based company Grocio Inc., winner of the second annual Tulsa Entrepreneurial Spirit Award. Grocio founder Gerald Buckley was awarded the opportunity to participate in The Collaboratorium at no charge for the first year.
The Collaboratorium is, in basic business terms, a shared resource center. Participants must apply and present a business plan to be considered for the program. Those who are accepted receive office space at a discounted price and have access to many valuable resources, including professional coaching; a network of strategic partners; connection to possible investors; and “The Think Tank,” a series of venture-based workshops and courses.
These are precisely the types of resources that can take a good idea and make it into a successful business with long-term potential, Griffin says. Griffin described three types of “raw” entrepreneurs who can benefit from The Collaboratorium: the bootstrap entrepreneur, the accidental entrepreneur and the meat ’n’ potatoes entrepreneur. A bootstrap entrepreneur has an idea but no contacts or means to help a business grow. The accidental sees a niche, fills it and therefore becomes a success. And the meat ’n’ potatoes flourishes simply by providing a key service to the community.
Griffin says traditional business incubators focus on a niche, such as software, biotech or Web services. They have strict rules and timetables, which participating businesses must observe. However, the Collaboratorium is a hybrid incubator with no niche focus and a flexible approach to supporting its businesses.
Griffin, who has successful start-up experience from the West Coast to the East Coast, says Tulsa entrepreneurs, no matter what type they are, intrigue him.
“There’s something different about a Tulsa entrepreneur,” Griffin says. “There’s a freshness — a passion and commitment — that goes beyond just growing a business. The Tulsa entrepreneur also has a commitment to Tulsa and to seeing our city succeed.”
Mayor Kathy Taylor champions this enthusiasm about Tulsa’s potential.
“Entrepreneurs are important to Tulsa because they serve as locomotives for economic development by creating an environment that will embrace risk and bring diverse industries to our local economy,” she says. “In the coming decade, the vast majority of jobs will be created by entrepreneurs, so it is important that opportunities are available.”
This is just the beginning of The Collaboratorium, Griffin says. The organization’s board of directors is taking small steps today but plans to develop the program over time. For now, the goal is for each participant to reach his or her full potential and then branch out.
“The hope is that they’ll be able to grow and fly away from the nest,” Griffin says.
