Grand opening set for January
By Nicole Hayden
Times Herald (Port Huron)
PORT HURON, Mich. (AP) — A new co-working space in Port Huron will match entrepreneurs with people who have technical expertise.
“We want to create an innovative business atmosphere where we match young entrepreneurs with people who have skills that can make that business possible, like web designers, marketers and finance experts,” John Robbins, TechPort chairman, told the Times Herald of Port Huron.
TechPort was to have opened in April. Building renovations pushed back that opening.
“The soft opening target date will be in the next couple weeks in order to iron out the bugs, and then the grand opening will be in early January 2014,” said Rene Stephan, TechPort board secretary.
People can sign up to start the process.
“We want to help improve business relations in the county,” Robbins said. “We have already had a few members sign up, as well as a local business that has reached out letting us know what kind of technical skills they are in need of.”
The TechPort website — techporthuron.org — is an online hub where members can post their skill set profile and can search for people or companies that need those skills, including financing, marketing, web building, app building and software building.
Once signed up, members can use the building as their work space. There will be two permanent desks, a collaborative office space with desk pods and conference rooms.
“We want this space to be the place that people love to use to do the work that they love to do,” Stephan said.
Mentoring programs also will be offered to teach people skills such as how to pitch business ideas to investors.
“We plan on hosting soup starters, which is a night where we invite the community to come in and listen to five or six business ideas,” Stephan said. “Everyone pays $5 and eats soup while they listen to the pitches. At the end of the night participants vote on the best idea, and that idea gets the money earned from that night.”
“We have many ideas like that, we are excited to get going and offer the community ways to not only collaborate but learn as well,” she said.
TechPort is an effort related to the Blue Meets Green strategic plan and the Practical Innovation Committee. Both came from the St. Clair County Economic Development Alliance.
TechPort funding is from the community. The effort is led by volunteers.
“This is a low-cost operation overall that we hope will make a big impact on the economic development of the community,” said Robbins.
