It’s not just a place for people to work. It’s a place where collaboration collides with innovation, turning ideas into reality.
“We’re all about having a community here,” said Alicia Hardin, chief operating officer of Flywheel, the co-working innovation space located in the 525@vine building in Wake Forest Innovation Quarter. “We see it as a place where people can feel like they belong and have networks – both informal and formal – that are geared toward start-up businesses.”
Flywheel offers independent professionals, entrepreneurs and innovators flexible short- and long-term memberships that provide 24/7 access to a casual, contemporary environment with open and enclosed work spaces, small and large conference rooms, a multipurpose room, lounge areas, hard-wire and wireless connectivity, custom-designed fixtures, support services and special amenities (including coffee bar and pool table).
With its more than 11,500 square feet of space and a semi-open floor plan, Flywheel can accommodate solo work, team sessions, formal conferences, informal interaction, relaxation and recreation at the same time, all without any activity disturbing another.
“We have ‘degrees’ of spaces, from public to very private, for everything from intense work to socializing,” Hardin said. “Whatever you want to do, we have a place to do it.”
Flywheel also offers advantages that make it the contemporary version of a business incubator, said Brad Bennett, co-owner of the advertising and marketing agency Wildfire, which formed Flywheel with two other local companies, Workplace Strategies Inc. and Storr Office Environments Inc.
“First is our network of resources built on years of working in innovation, which allows us to help Flywheel members get an answer to a question, float an idea or obtain guidance on anything from intellectual property protection to financing,” Bennett said. “Second is innovation-related programming created specifically for the Flywheel community, in the form of informal ‘lunch and learns,’ experts-in-residence holding office hours, speaker forums and talks by local, regional and national thought leaders.”
Interest in Flywheel has been mounting since its June 30 opening.
“From the first day we’ve seen consistent traffic of people interested in the space, taking tours, using our one-day passes, requesting information and so on, and this had led to our first memberships,” Hardin said. “We’re optimistic that this momentum will continue and increase.”
As for Flywheel’s being located in the Innovation Quarter, Hardin called it a “symbiotic relationship” that has “all the right elements.”
“Our ideal member would be a medical device start-up that succeeds and grows and gets big enough to become a major tenant here,” she said. “I’m looking forward to seeing that.”
Complete information about Flywheel is available online at flywheelcoworking.com.
