Sweet. Good luck, keep us posted! -- /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia
On Mar 14, 2013, at 3:37 PM, Bobby Liu <[email protected]> wrote: > not to plug it but I have recently started a blog on tech, amongst other > blogs I've started, http://startupsasia.wordpress.com/. I will certainly be > documenting the adventure of starting my coworking space. I'm actually from > Singapore but have been living in Hanoi for sometime. Thanks for the interest > of my endeavor, let's do stay in touch, I need ot learn more from 'veterans' > like yourself. > > On Friday, March 15, 2013 2:30:05 AM UTC+7, Alex Hillman wrote: >> Alex..for one, Hanoi, or Vietnam, for that matter, is still a city/country >> trying to overcome its past and in the process of achieving economic growth >> as an emerging economy. > > This is very true, and an important factor. On a personal level, I'd love to > hear more about how you see coworking having an opportunity to contribute to > overcoming that past. That's a story - and a purpose - that I think more > people (including your prospective members) will be able to understand and > get behind than "sharing workspace + community = cool!" > > It's a very different context, my own story came from a similar place. I felt > that we were a city living in its own past instead of it's future. I found > others that felt that way, and that became the core of our community. I've > got a super-truncated version of that story from a couple of summers ago, > here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsVZz8dZ_h8 > > However, and to build upon that story... > >> The idea of co-working is still very new in Vietnam with less than 5 in the >> country. I'll probably be #5. > > I'll remind you (as I've reminded others) that when I executed my "spend $0, > start the community first" bootstrapping model, there were only a few > coworking spaces in the united states (at least that were using the term) and > ZERO in Philadelphia. > > I totally see where you're coming from, but did you notice what you're > comparing yourself to? Places. Business centers, virtual offices, internet > cafes and bars. > > "As it is, I'm having a hard time telling people why I love working out of a > cafe even tho I have an office." That's because, until there's community, > there's not much difference other than your intent (which is really hard to > express without practice). > > To be clear, I'm not saying you went about this the wrong way, Bobby. There's > plenty of people who've successfully catalyzed community after opening the > physical space. Many will agree that it was harder than they expected. > > But the "people haven't heard of coworking" reason - as my veteran > counterparts will attest - has been a problem since the beginning and it's > only gotten better, not worse, regardless of where in the world you're > located. > > I'm hoping that your story of "Why coworking is important for Hanoi" is > something that's a prominent part of your message. That's a powerful seed for > building community, regardless of what stage of the physical space you're in. > > -Alex > > > -- > /ah > indyhall.org > coworking in philadelphia > > > > On Mar 14, 2013, at 3:17 PM, Bobby Liu <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Alex..for one, Hanoi, or Vietnam, for that matter, is still a city/country >> trying to overcome its past and in the process of achieving economic growth >> as an emerging economy. The idea of co-working is still very new in Vietnam >> with less than 5 in the country. I'll probably be #5. To your $0 idea in >> building community, it works when you're able to gather or are exposed to a >> wider like-minded individuals who understand the concept. At the moment, I >> have to equate co-working space to Business Centers or Virtual Office...at >> one point, it was compared to an internet cafe/bar. As it is, I'm having a >> hard time telling people why I love working out of a cafe even tho I have an >> office. >> >> There's still this perception of what corporate world is...the image in the >> minds of the young...sort of akin to the 80s graduates? But I'm optimistic, >> given the high percentage of Vietnamese under 35 (about 50%). With the easy >> access of internet here (much much better than China. My 3G plan is $2 per >> month on pre-paid card), I'm sure the idea of co-working, once introduced, >> will spread virally. >> >> On Friday, March 15, 2013 2:05:10 AM UTC+7, Alex Hillman wrote: >> Bobby - I'm sure that there are lots of cultural differences around the >> world where the things that we do don't work. >> >> I'm curious why that's the case for Hanoi, in your perspective? >> >> -Alex >> >> -- >> /ah >> indyhall.org >> coworking in philadelphia >> >> >> >> On Mar 14, 2013, at 3:03 PM, Bobby Liu <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> Thanks Alex...btw, have read your post also...very cool on ZERO $ >>> idea...unfortunately, doesn't quite work in Hanoi... >>> >>> On Friday, March 15, 2013 2:01:05 AM UTC+7, Alex Hillman wrote: >>> Hey Bobby! >>> >>> Check out the Coworking Visa page on the wiki: >>> http://wiki.coworking.com/w/page/16583744/CoworkingVisa >>> >>> Congratulations, and welcome to the community :) >>> >>> -- >>> /ah >>> indyhall.org >>> coworking in philadelphia >>> >>> >>> >>> On Mar 14, 2013, at 2:55 PM, Bobby Liu <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> Hi all, yes, you're reading correctly. Co-working space in Hanoi, Vietnam. >>>> Currently, there's only one other space, and only recently opened (open >>>> house next week!). I've been reading this forum and it's a wealth of info >>>> to my learning on how to set up a co-working space. >>>> >>>> I'd like to know tho, are co-working spaces practice reciprocal use with >>>> each other? If so, I'd like to see how I can set up such arrangement. I >>>> don't foresee too many hours used but is always nice to know that if and >>>> when required, it is made available. Thanks all. >>>> >>>> -- >>>> Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com >>>> --- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>>> "Coworking" group. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >>>> email to [email protected]. >>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>>> >>>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com >>> --- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>> "Coworking" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >>> email to [email protected]. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>> >>> >> >> >> -- >> Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "Coworking" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >> >> > > > -- > Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Coworking" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. 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