NEW ORLEANS – A business that started in New Orleans in 2009 with the simple idea of bringing together entrepreneurs in the same working space is officially expanding into Newark, New Jersey.
Launch Pad has signed a lease to occupy 14,000 square feet of office space at the newly-renovated historic Hahne & Co building, Newark-based development company L+M Development Partners announced Wednesday.
At the location, Launch Pad will offer sleek and affordable coworking space, private offices and permanent desks. It will also host educational programming for entrepreneurs, community meetups and social events. The space is above a Whole Foods Market.
Launch Pad said it expects its location at the Hahne & Co to open in February 2018.
Applications are now being accepted for “founding members” to be the first to work out of the new location.
“This space, just minutes from New York City, will deliver gigabit-level bandwidth, prices well below Brooklyn and Manhattan and a capable and tech-savvy workforce to support our tenants. We are eager to be a part of the Newark community,” said Chris Schultz, CEO of Launch Pad.
Launch Pad will form a local advisory council and hire a local team leading up to February’s opening.
“Launch Pad is thrilled about the opportunity to take space at the historic and beautifully renovated Hahne & Co building,” Schultz said. “We look forward to fostering innovation and creating an inclusive business and creative ecosystem. Newark has incredible potential and is poised to attract more businesses and entrepreneurs from a wide range of backgrounds.”
The Hahne & Co building location at 625 Broad Street will be Launch Pad’s first expansion from its New Orleans headquarters on Poydras Street. Launch Pad is planning two additional locations in Denver and Nashville
"We expand to cities where people want to be – cities that have an authenticity and are important to this country that people care about surviving and thriving," Schultz said. "Most of these cities are not the major hub markets of New York, LA, or San Francisco. We can't continue to outsource innovation and economic gains to Silicon Valley. But we are going to be building connectivity into those markets so that people can build businesses where they want to live and leverage our network in Silicon Valley to be successful."
Companies that have worked at the New Orleans Launch Pad during the last 8 years have created 5000+ new jobs, raised $160 million in angel and venture capital funding and graduates have leased 600,000 sq. ft. of commercial real estate in New Orleans.
For more information about Launch Pad, visit http://lp.co and http://lp.co/newark.
-By Jenny Peterson, Associate News Editor, Biz New Orleans
