The Innovation Depot, Birmingham's business incubator, is offering a way for more companies to occupy the space.
It now offers an option to join the community, access common areas and attend community events for $50 per month, charged every six months.
"There are some people who don't necessarily need office space or co-working (space) but like to just come to the depot for two, three hours, one or two days a week and just kind of work from there and meet with some people," said Ritchie Kruunenberg, Innovation Depot's director of marketing and operations.
The membership offers entrepreneurs the ability to connect with other innovators and entrepreneurs in the ecosystem without having office space in the depot, and it is a move that Kruunenberg said is intended to bring more culture and density into the building.
The Innovation Team at Protective Life is one team taking advantage of the new option, along with Endeavor.
“In just a few weeks I’ve had multiple unplanned conversations with founders, partners and community leaders," said Malcolm McDonald, Birmingham general manager for Endeavor. "The depot membership brings you in close proximity to hundreds of builders, leaders and entrepreneurs. This community is hugely energizing and creates a catalyst for serendipitous connections.”
Innovation Depot, once known for having a waiting list, is also making moves to graduate some companies out and bring in new ones.
“For so long, we were at 100% occupancy and we weren’t able to allow any new great companies in the building because our capacity was full,” Gillis said, in an interview with the BBJ in February. “And so we’ve already graduated some companies out of the depot in the past few months over to the Nextec building or to their own their own brick-and-mortar buildings. We’re looking to continue to do that as people progress to leave room for other people to come in.”
The depot's partnership with the Nextec building, located at 1524 Third Ave. N., will provide graduates of the depot with a place to go next. Gillis said the Nextec building’s proximity to the depot will allow graduate companies to remain a part of the ecosystem.
