Meeting Startups Halfway

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Will Rieger

 

 

The emergence of startup companies is not a new or unheard of trend, especially with interest rates being at all-time lows. Though a rise in these interest rates would end up destroying the startup market because most banks will only offer adjustable rates in order to protect themselves if the interest rates rise. According to Forbes the estimated percentage of startups that fail is around 87% and even then only a handful wind up with successful margins and become well-known companies.

A major problem among startups is creating a professional environment to work in while maintaining the “garage office” feel. Thus a new trend in Corporate Real Estate was created, the desk rental format. These tech villages, such as FlatIron City in Atlanta, Ga, allow for startups to rent desks on a monthly basis with no minimum, reducing the risk for these smaller companies. Larger startups are also interested in these villages and can rent floors in these buildings on a long term basis. These tech villages also hold seminars and incubators free of charge to the tenants to be sure they have all the tools to succeed.

FlatIron City is revolutionary in the growing assortment of tech villages, they are the host for the first Microsoft Innovation Center in the United States. The Microsoft Innovation Center allows for the startups working within the building to have access to all of Microsoft’s latest products for free, which is monumental when coming up with the next best idea.

The tech giant Microsoft also benefits from these startups because Microsoft can stay a step ahead of their competition with cutting edge applications being produced for their products. All the while the startups have a very low overhead and can focus on what they do best; innovate.