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By Vanessa Calas

Introducing the New Palm Beach Tech Speakers Bureau

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Introducing the New Palm Beach Tech Speakers Bureau

We’re excited to announce the launching of our new Speakers Bureau program for the Palm Beach community!

We at Palm Beach Tech decided to launch the Speakers Bureau to better educate our community about the booming tech industry, and it’s exponential growth.

This program links different professionals from a variety of industries to speak to classrooms, businesses, clubs, and community organizations. Our goal is to provide speakers to teach, share, and spark a conversation.

About the Speakers Bureau

Speakers Bureau is our new initiative in conjunction with our partners Junior Achievement and the School District of Palm Beach County.

Through the Speakers Bureau, Palm Beach Tech finds and pairs speakers in tech and business with organizations, classrooms, and groups.

We’re especially proud to have have entrepreneurs, coders and tech wizards available able to speak about how to utilize and implement tech in business.

For classrooms,  they inspire and excite students, sharing with them the infinite number of jobs you can have — and create.

Why a Speakers Bureau?

The Speakers Bureau gathers our community around a single uniting factor: learning.

You can submit a request for a speaker online. You can request speakers for your group from different industries or with knowledge in different topics. From there, our staff goes through to identify the best speaker for your event.

You can be a teacher, civic leader, or anyone with an audience; we welcome all to send in requests. Each speaker aims to provide quality knowledge, valuable insights, and even a bit of fun!

Moving our community forward

The Speakers Bureau will allow Palm Beach Tech to bring our industry’s talent to our community. Our organization is a part of Palm Beach County, and we want to help further connect the community around us.

Whether speaking in classrooms to empower the youth or with community organizations who want to grow their understanding, we welcome all to learn about technology.

Are you interested in having a speaker talk to your group? Click here to learn more and request your speaker.

By Vanessa Calas

There’s a new shindig in town: Palm Beach Tech Talks

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There’s a new shindig in town: Palm Beach Tech Talks

This gathering of local tech-minded people will be taking place thrice monthly around Palm Beach County. Come join us in West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens and/or Boca Raton for a taste of the Palm Beach Tech community, without the long drive.

The first get together took place last month. It took place at Palm Beach Tech and featured Alejandra Palacios, a cloud engineer at Microsoft. Over a few cold beers at the Space, Alejandra spoke about cloud infrastructure.

How it works

Palm Beach Tech Talks will take place every month throughout Palm Beach County:

Each Tech Talk gathering will feature a local tech community member who will present for 15 minutes on an intriguing topic. Events will take place after work as a way for people to unwind, chat, and enjoy a happy hour.

Upcoming Tech Talks speakers

Be sure to sign up for our Newsletter, join our Meetups, and follow along on Facebook for exact dates on our upcoming speakers! And we’re always looking for more speakers, but here’s who’s coming up:

West Palm Beach

Palm Beach Gardens

Boca Raton

Interested in attending a Tech Talk?

To stay up to date on the next Tech Talk in your area, sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook. We’ll keep you informed with news and happenings in our Palm Beach Tech community!

If you’re a local business that would like to hold an internal Tech Talk session at your company, contact us and we will be happy to support you as we grow the tech community in Palm Beach County: Team@PalmBeachTech.org

By Vanessa Calas

Hacking for a Cause: The 2018 Palm Beach Tech Hackathon

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Palm Beach Tech Hackathon, Palm Beach County’s first ever 24-hour hackathon, was held on February 23 to 25 and brought in over 75 attendees. Hosted by Palm Beach Tech and the South Florida Science Center, the attendees ranged in age from middle school students to seasoned professionals with 20 years in the industry.

All hackers were invited to bond over the local community and their shared love of technology.

 

Hacking with a Purpose

This was wasn’t your typical hackathon… Instead of having teams just compete for money or to seed a business, the goal was to give back to the community by helping out a local nonprofit that is hungry for technology. By involving participants in building and providing high-quality tech in every facet of the community, including non-profits, we’ll grow our overall innovation at an exponential rate.

This year, Palm Beach Tech partnered with the Palm Beach County STEM & the Palm Beach County School DistrictThey brought three definitive problems for the hackers to solve:

 

  1. Matchmaking Classrooms with STEM Professionals: Creation of a platform where classrooms can post their needs and companies can submit their abilities.
  2. Promoting Events & Organization Opportunities: Creation of a software tool that integrates events from partner organizations, to aggregate then disseminate that information to parents, teachers, and the community.
  3. Your Own Idea and Project: Any team who can identify a credible problem and tangible solution to present their own idea. The project must be presented to the School District Staff on Friday evening for vetting and approval.

 

The Event

Participants coded, hacked, built, and tested as the hours ticked by. The animated atmosphere encouraged most to work through the night. There was palpable energy through the Science Center as the end of the 24 hours got closer.

When the hackathon ended, and each hacker sat back with a deep breath. They’d spent the past 24 hours creating and collaborating towards a shared goal. Despite their exhaustion, they felt immense pride, energy, and accomplishment.

Team Red Stapler, comprised mostly of employees of Florida Power & Light, came in first place. They worked 24 hours straight to build a website that automatically aggregated STEM and community events, and even included an integrated FAQ chatbot.

 

The Results

1st Place* | Team Red Stapler: Carolyn Gadigan, Rita Borraccio, Kirk Suscella, Dmitri Soroka, Laura Fagley, Sathiya, Venugopalakrishnan

*This team donated their winnings to Palm Beach Tech & Tech Garage

2nd Place | Team Undecided: Brett Wright, Colton Zecca, David ‘Mack’ Seager

3rd Place | Team Nebular: Ryan Wang, Gabriel Ferguson, Greg Perlman, Dani Healy, Sarah Nohe

4th Place | Team Tech Garage: Arman Alexis, Oalis Husband, Julia Cardoso, Christopher Cox, Devin Willis, and Dexter Dixon

 

Getting Involved

Palm Beach Tech is already planning next year’s hackathon. We’re looking to turn this 24-hour event into an annual competition that helps nonprofits and community organizations for years to come.

Are you looking to get in on the action?

Attend one of our upcoming Palm Beach Tech events or become a member today! We look forward to having you on board for our other exciting events.

 

By Vanessa Calas

Alta Planning: A Coworking Space Success Story

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Here in Downtown West Palm Beach we have a vibrant community of entrepreneurs looking to make their mark not only on Palm Beach County, but on the world at large. Coworking communities like ours support the growth of start ups through collaboration and continuing education, and provide resources to budding satellite offices for more established organizations.

Alta Planning + Design, a design firm based out of Portland, Oregon, learned this when they were looking to get their Florida office off the ground. With the help of Palm Beach Tech Space, they established a firm presence in the West Palm Beach area.

Here’s their story, and how Palm Beach Tech has helped.

Who is Alta Planning

Alta Planning believes in making urban spaces more bicycle and pedestrian friendly. Their transportation planning and design efforts have spanned dozens of US cities, with over 30 offices and 200 employees. They work toward what they call “complete streets,” by creating spaces for pedestrians and bikers in existing streets, and on more elaborate walking and biking projects. At the end of the day, their primary goal is to turn bustling cities into safer and more accessible cultural hubs.

In the Palm Beach Tech Space, let’s meet Brad Davis and Brian Ruscher. Brad had opened Alta’s Atlanta office several years ago before moving back to the Palm Beaches, where he grew up. He and Brian, a recruit out of Florida State University, set to work starting up Alta’s office in West Palm Beach. Things moved quickly as they soon won a contract with the City of West Palm Beach, planning strategies for improving mobility and quality of life downtown.

They had their hearts set on West Palm Beach, a downtown that with its SkyBike program and the upcoming Brightline train, exemplified the morals and mission of Alta Planning.

Enter Palm Beach Tech

Thanks to Palm Beach Tech, Brad and Brian were able to get office space quickly. The Space gave them the flexibility and affordability they needed to hit the ground running. The Space is conveniently located downtown, so Brad and Brian can get around the city and take advantage of community support, amenities, and activities.

Palm Beach Tech provides the Alta team with varied opportunities to connect with other businesses in the area. They have networked with others involved with the larger West Palm Beach community, which has provided them with insight into the interests and needs of the people they were working to serve. The exposure to other businesses and individuals through Palm Beach Tech has been an effective way to keep their finger on the proverbial pulse of West Palm Beach.

 

 Consider Coworking

Whether you’re a brand-new startup or a remote office, a coworking space will give you the tools and flexibility you need to get started. The convenient location and networking opportunities of Palm Beach Tech make it an ideal spot for anyone looking to get involved and get their business off the ground.

By Vanessa Calas

Mentor Day: Providing Benefits to Local Entrepreneurs

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Palm Beach Tech strives to create a welcoming and collaborative environment for tech industry startups and freelancers throughout the Palm Beach area. Our members enjoy a wide variety of benefits from coworking spaces to special networking events.

We are particularly proud to offer our members access to Mentor Day, bringing together local entrepreneurs and industry professionals on the first Friday of every month. Our mentors come from a wide range of backgrounds, including business planning, software development, growth strategy, branding, legal, and more.

To see a full list of our mentors and learn how to apply to Mentor Day, visit our site.

Make Connections

Mentor Day is an excellent way to network with successful professionals. Many of our community members have benefited from connections made through our program. John Calloway, founder of Halo Technologies, a local 3D printing company, started by working with some of our mentors.

Dan Condro worked closely with mentor Robert Wells, CEO of Allocable, on his way to building Blyz, a high-quality laundry service. Wells guided Condro in making local connections and meeting potential investors.

Sometimes the real key to success is meeting the right people along the way, and Mentor Day facilitates these connections.

 

Business Planning Guidance

A successful business is more than just a good idea. Visionaries who dream of founding their own organizations must first learn how to structure those organizations for success. That means developing a business model that sells and learning the nuts & bolts of business management.  

Wells and Clay Williams, CEO of Achieve Agency, have both worked closely with members of our community on business planning, leadership, and developing effective growth strategies. Clay advised Dan Condro on planning his business, and provided him feedback on his investor pitch deck. Wells worked with John Calloway on his company structure and even guided him in pivoting his company’s business model for a more ideal focus. Even Eddie Garcia,  Founder & CEO of Vivid Arts, credits Mentor Day with providing valuable feedback on bringing his app to market.

 

Financials and Legal

Dan Condro had what he described as a “very insightful meeting about fundraising” with Robert Wells. As we mentioned above, Robert guided Dan in identifying and appealing to investors as well as identifying other funding opportunities. Eddie of Vivid Arts also found the financial and legal advice offered through Mentor Day helpful after working with Matt Kissner, Associate Attorney with Broad & Cassel, on protecting is company and developing equity packages for employees.

With legal and financial professionals available, Mentor Day provides a well-rounded approach to analyzing and improving new businesses.

 

Building Your Business

What do John Calloway, Dan Condro, and Eddie Garcia all have in common? For one thing, they have businesses that work. What’s more, those businesses have seen success in part thanks to the resources provided by Mentor Day.

By Vanessa Calas

Joining the Space: A dollar by dollar breakdown

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This post created by Palm Beach Content Co.

Last post, we talked about coworking. What a cowork space is, and the difference between working at a cowork space versus an office, a coffee shop, and at home.

This week, we’re digging a little deeper into the benefits of a cowork space — by getting down into the details and the dollars.

Why Palm Beach Tech?

We’ll start with an overview. What’s so great about Palm Beach Tech Space?

To start, it’s blocks away from great food, awesome coffee, and the incredible outdoor art scene of downtown West Palm Beach. The Palm Beach Tech Space is a 3,500 square-foot industrial space, filled with private and community desks, private offices, a conference room, a lounge area, and a kitchen. Membership for the Space starts at $75 per month for a part-time membership, up to $900 a month for a private office.

Members get perks and discounts like free coffee, beer, snacks, secure wifi, and round-the-clock access. Members also receive discounts at local businesses like Skybike, Delivery Dudes, and Zipcar.

That’s all great, but what does that really translate to? Let’s break down the actual costs and benefits of joining Palm Beach Tech.

Free beer & coffee, by the numbers

Coffee is a coworking staple.

Whether you’re brewing at home, at the office coffee machine, or grabbing a cup at a Starbucks, often work doesn’t really start until you’ve got a cup of joe on your desk. Members of the Palm Beach Tech Space get free coffee, via the single serve coffee makers in the kitchen. There is locally-sourced, whole bean coffee, that you grind and use to make some real fresh coffee.Or, if specialty coffee is more your speed, you can always visit Subculture Coffee, where members get one free item per every 10 purchases.

And how about beer?

Beer has also become more present in the work day. Whether it’s an office happy hour, or simply some shared brews because it’s Friday, beer is finding its place in the workplace. There’s an entire fridge stocked at the Palm Beach Tech Space — and it’s all available to members, all the time. So if you’re a fan of an occasional beer to get the creative juices flowing for work, but don’t want to be that guy who takes his laptop to the bar, you might consider a membership.

 

 

 

 

The price of an office

Now, we’ll look at a budget for a cowork space and an office.

As mentioned above, membership at Palm Beach Tech starts at $75/month for a part-time membership, up to $900/month for a private office in the Space. Palm Beach Tech offers 3,500 square feet of space, plus a kitchen, different work areas, fast wifi and free printing. And, as a member you get a physical address to use for your business, and to receive m
ail and packages.

For the sake of this blog post, let’s comparatively look at a private office space at the Harvey building (at 225 Datura St.) and a half block away from Palm Beach Tech (at 313 Datura St.). The office is not on the first floor — so there’s no storefront, just like you’d have no storefront at Palm Beach Tech.

At the Harvey building, a 250 square foot office would cost about $550 per month. The lease price includes electricity and janitorial maintenance to the shared area bathroom — but no internet.

Member Benefits

The perks and discounts of a membership

Palm Beach Tech has partnerships with several local services, and are able to pass along discounts to members. These discounts include Skybike, Delivery Dudes, and Zipcar.

Skybike is the local bike sharing service. With 14 locations scattered around downtown, it’s become a great way to get around for both locals and visitors. And though it’s easy to hop on a bike and pay as you go, they offer monthly memberships for $5 off the monthly membership (normal price: $14.95).

Zipcar is a local car sharing service. Zipcars are short-term rentals for cars, because sometimes you need a car but don’t want to go through the trouble of renting one. Members save $25 to signup and $35 for an annual membership fee, just pay for using the car.

Delivery Dudes is a delivery service partnered up with local restaurants. This means that while they won’t bring your Domino’s, they can deliver Mellow Mushroom, Nico’s Pizza, or Hit Pie Pizza straight to the Palm Beach Tech Space, saving members between $5-$7 on the delivery charge. Just tip the driver!

And there you have it! If you’re on the fence about joining Palm Beach Tech because of the expenses, hopefully we have provided some insight to what the costs really look like at the end of the day.
If you’re curious about Palm Beach Tech or have questions, don’t hesitate to come by. We’ll show you around, and let you try our awesome coffee for yourself.

By Vanessa Calas

Why Cowork? Pros & Cons of Workspaces

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This post created by Palm Beach Content Co.

Have you noticed a cowork space in your neighborhood?

In the past decade, coworking spaces have sprung up all around the world. Starting in big cities and expanding to smaller communities, cowork spaces are an office for work-at-home professionals, freelancers, digital nomads, and entrepreneurs. They have grown in popularity as the internet has made it easier for people to be self-employed or remote workers, becoming a space for work, collaboration, and community.

The benefits of working at a cowork space

Working at a cowork space is great for many reasons. Aside from the fact that open floor plans and shared space allow people to meet others and collaborate easily, cowork spaces offer perks for their members. Perks can range from free parking, like at The LAB Miami, to free beer, like at the Palm Beach Tech Space. Generally, cowork spaces offer coffee, secure wifi, printing, desks, and accessible meeting space.

Most importantly, you’ll be apart of a community of people just like you! Aside from the networking benefits, coworking allows individuals and small businesses a synergetic environment that fares better than an office, a home, or even a coffee shop.

Versus working at an office

Whether you’re looking to set up an office yourself or go the turnkey route, you might consider a cowork space first. Not only is a cowork space just as comfortable and turnkey as any office, but it’s much more cost-effective and accessible. If you have a team, you’ll find that a cowork space is a friendlier environment, where collaboration and networking flow much more openly than at a traditional office environment.

In the era after Office Space, after all, do you really want  to grow your business and team in an area of cubicles, staplers, and expense reports?

Versus working at home

For a budding entrepreneur, working at home is the easiest route. You save money on everything, and you’re in a comfortable environment. You can work in your pajamas, go to the fridge every half hour, and nap in your bed when you need a refresher … And you end up being completely unproductive, more than anywhere else.

Though cowork spaces aren’t free, they’re definitely affordable. Add into that the connections you’ll make, the trouble you’ll save setting up a PO box and a printer, and the comfort of a desk and meeting areas, and you’ll see that coworking is a great option.

Working at a coffee shop

Coffee shops like Subculture Coffee have become the impromptu cowork space. Visit any local coffee shop with free wifi, and you’ll see people working on laptops, drinking coffee, and conducting meetings. Because they’re laid back places with an abundant amount of coffee, they can be a great place to get some work done.

However, they’re an impractical place to grow a business since they have limited space, limited wifi, and no office resources nor mailing address.

Choose the best for your business

At the end of the day, cowork spaces, offices, home offices, and coffee shops have their own unique advantages. Consider your business, your team, and your capability when deciding where to set up shop.

About Palm Beach Tech Space

The Palm Beach Tech Space was established in 2016, and it has become a staple of West Palm’s tech community. With custom tables, comfy couches, and private offices for monthly rent, the Space is great for individuals and small teams looking for an office in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach. They even host regular events to foster community growth, while providing free printing, coffee, and beer.

Membership starts at $50 per month, but you can view full pricing here. If you’d like a tour of Palm Beach Tech, come by! The team would love to meet you.

But even if you’re in Lake Worth (The Social House), Delray Beach (The KTCHN), or Boca Raton (Flamingo House), there are plenty of coworking options close to you!

Introducing the New Palm Beach Tech Speakers Bureau
There’s a new shindig in town: Palm Beach Tech Talks
Hacking for a Cause: The 2018 Palm Beach Tech Hackathon
Alta Planning: A Coworking Space Success Story
Mentor Day: Providing Benefits to Local Entrepreneurs
Joining the Space: A dollar by dollar breakdown
Why Cowork? Pros & Cons of Workspaces