Betahouse Closes Its Doors But Lives On Online

By now you have likely heard about programs like MassChallenge or maybe even DogPatch Labs, which are designed to build community among entrepreneurs and provide access to vital business resources. While the two aforementioned programs are running strong, another key player in the arena, Cambridge’s Betahouse, “Boston’s longest running coworking space” and a community for “creative types working in or around technology,” has closed its physical location in Central Square.

“The Betahouse community will live on virtually, and in some cases physically,” said Betahouse’s founder, Jon Pierce. “Basically I’m putting on the back burner, for now, getting a new space.” (Image courtesy: http://betahouse.org/)

If you have been following Pierce’s blog, this turn of events may have caught you by surprise. Pierce's last entry, posted just over two months ago, announced the anticipated move of Betahouse to a facility “twice the size” of the old one. Peirce has since told reporters that the lease on this new property fell through, leaving the group with no physical location as of August 31st when the lease on the group's original loft space ran out.

This original loft location only held fifteen desks and was zoned residential. This sparked several conflicts with neighbors when the group used to hold large, and relatively noisy, events at the loft. Eventually, because of complaints, Betahouse was forced to end all on-site events, which took away some of the group’s “forward momentum,” according to Brian Del Vecchio, former Executive Chef and Community Organizer at Betahouse.

Despite the closure of its physical location, Betahouse intends to expand its online presence. Already the group has a large, and growing, email list and a substantial following on common social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter.

“It’s easier for freelancers and consultants and people bringing in real money to rationalize that expense (of running office space),” Pierce said. “If you’re trying to create a community of startups and people doing something creative, it’s hard to keep the community focused on that in the face of mounting economic pressures,” Pierce explained, implying Betahouse may actually perform better without the worry of paying for a brick-and-mortar location.

“It was never about the space purely. Space is sort of a commodity,” Pierce said. “It was more about the community, and I think community can survive.”

Innately, it seems like a bad sign when an organization closes a location, but it may actually prove to be a wise decision for Betahouse. Piece expressed that the group’s previous space was too small and not appropriate for events. Now, with the money Betahouse will save from not having to pay a lease, it will have funds to put towards hosting events at more appropriate venues. I would not be surprised if Betahouse enjoys more success now that it has eliminated a substantial portion of its overhead.

[Sources: http://bit.ly/9dzvV4, http://bit.ly/bn3p2X, http://betahouse.org/]

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