Queensland tech entrepreneur Stephen Baxter is preparing to launch his latest project, a co-working space known as River City Labs, as he attempts to fill a gap for Brisbane tech start-ups.<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Based in Brisbane\u2019s Fortitude Valley, River City Labs is a converted warehouse covering 550 square metres, which hopes to house 70 entrepreneurs in the next 20 months.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a co-working and shared working space. It\u2019s about creating an ecosystem in Brisbane for early stage businesses\u2026 The reason I did it is because it doesn\u2019t exist,\u201d Baxter says.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Baxter says while the state does play host to a business incubator known as ilab, supported by the Queensland Government, it has left a \u201cfoul taste\u201d in the mouths of many Queensland companies.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMost people tend to believe it didn\u2019t hit the mark\u2026 There is nothing tailored towards the early stage mobile and internet space, with a healthy program,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n While River City Labs will not provide funding to any of the start-ups it accommodates, they will gain access to a host of mentors in addition to office facilities.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an open plan space. They key is the delivery of low-cost services such as internet, boardrooms, desktops, chairs, etc.,\u201d Baxter says.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe also provide a shared experience with other businesses on a similar path so you\u2019re not alone, effectively.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re running regular fortnightly programs, developed by our supporters, as well as weekly events otherwise known as pizza and beers on a Friday.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n According to Baxter, there is a \u201creal gap\u201d between long-term incubators such as ilab, and short-term incubators such as Startmate, which \u201chave a short concentration period at the front\u201d.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cFor most of the investments I have, they would never get up [in such a short timeframe] \u2013 it\u2019s potentially too small of a window,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe might say to someone, \u2018You\u2019ve been going at this for 12 months and you still have no customers. Do you think this is working?\u2019 But there\u2019s no fixed timeframe.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Baxter says the role of River City Labs is to \u201ccreate an environment through a social program\u201d, leaving it up to the start-ups to develop their ideas and secure funding.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe try and stay out of that transaction. River City Labs is a forum \u2013 it\u2019s a marketplace,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Baxter himself has set aside up to $10 million for private investments over the next five years.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In the last 10 months, he made six investments including start-up cloud provider OrionVM and mobile coffee procurement app developers TXT4Coffee.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He has also taken a non-executive directorship in ASX-listed data centre and fibre operator Vocus.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI generally like [to invest in] the mobile technology and internet space. That being said, I am investing in an eclectic mix\u2026 including an indoor skydiving venture,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Baxter says the key to securing investment is simple: have a business plan.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t operate without a plan. Have a plan, know your plan and then be prepared for it to change if need be,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Queensland tech entrepreneur Stephen Baxter is preparing to launch his latest project, a co-working space known as River City Labs,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":62725,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,28,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47342"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47342\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}