NedSpace: A Home for New Portland Businesses

Friday, September 12, 2014

Betony Meszaros, GoLocalPDX contributor

NedSpace is located in the United Way Building.

You had an idea, you started a company, but now it’s time for you to move out of your parents’ basement.

That’s where NedSpace comes in: a city-center co-working space for startup business, entrepreneurs, designers, marketers, coders, HTML jockeys, remote workers, freelancers, and more.

The brainchild of Mark Grimes, NedSpace is a place for people looking for collaboration, an office space to work in, or both. What makes it different from others is that it has a very open environment - those who use NedSpace have varying experience levels, and unique events are held for the workers to help productivity.

Not all of the residents are startups either - some of them are companies from elsewhere, looking to branch out to Portland and surrounding areas.

That’s the way Grimes wants it. A social entrepreneur, Grimes is behind not just NedSpace, but also Maker Faire Africa, an annual event highlighting African inventions, and nonprofits Stop Genocide Now and Made by Survivors.

For the last 20 years he has been working with start-ups. Of those years, the last five have been spent on the NedSpace.

The space itself recently moved downtown and is now located on Southwest 11th Avenue and Alder Street. It’s a central, downtown location to help those who use it feel right in the middle of the action.

As Grimes describes it, it's a place “to provide workers a space to engage.”

NedSpace had humble beginnings, with only a few signers renting out an old decrepit building. Today, more than 15 companies use the new downtown space.

“This growth hasn’t been from loans or investors, but has been a natural growth over time,” says Grimes.

Even in an economic downturn, NedSpace has thrived.

“It’s perfect for harsh economic times,” says Grimes. “Entrepreneurs don’t need leases - they need offices.”

So when you’re ready to quit working in your pyjamas and start rubbing shoulders with a vibrant community of entrepreneurs, NedSpace is a good place to start.

Related Slideshow: Slideshow: Nedspace Residents

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