When the Van Sweringen brothers finished the Terminal Tower 85 years ago, the developers took a chance and created something iconic. Today, StartMart, which opened in September on the tower's second floor, is giving entrepreneurs the means to take the same innovative risks as the Van Sweringens. "When you're six months into a startup and have to sign a five-year lease, it's like, I have no idea how big I'm going to be in five years," says Charles Stack, a serial entrepreneur and CEO of StartMart. Instead, the 35,000-square-foot co-working and office space, which overlooks Tower City Center's fountain-filled atrium, features offices known as Startpods for $300 per month along with a host of amenities. Here are just a few to get you started.
drawing inspiration
One of the first companies to get space in StartMart, Markers creates business-to-business software to store and analyze corporate investment information, such as communications documents or Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Founded by 33-year-old Glenville native Reginald Cash, who previously worked as the head of investor relations for Deutsche Bank and UBS, Markers is beta testing its initial product with a full launch planned by 2016. "One of the things that's hard to put a value on is the relationships that are needed to build a successful company," says Cash. "When you're in an environment like this and are around people that are trying to do the same thing you are, you tend to stumble upon those relationships, which are a critical ingredient to success."
