Coworking Space: Troy Innovation Garage in Troy

I'm a software engineer and have been coworking 1 or 2 days a week at the Troy Innovation Garage for a little over a year. I've been in business since 2006, but prior to coworking, I've used a combination of coffee shops, libraries, kitchen table, and on-site at client/project offices. Deciding to cowork at Troy Innovation Garage has been a fantastic decision that I'm still pretty excited about a year after starting! Why do I choose to cowork? 1) A place to call "my office" (as opposed to the coffee shops, library, kitchen table, etc.) 2) A place to meet with clients 3) A chance to collaborate with people that bring different skills than I have, and a chance to offer back skills that I have to a community of people all trying to do be successful. How has coworking impacted my business? 1) From a business perspective it is a no- brainer. I did more business in 2017 (since coworking), than I did in 2016 or any year prior to coworking, which more than pays for the coworking fees. The first time I heard one of my clients say "your place or mine" when scheduling a meeting, I started to realize the impact it was having on my business. 2) I started a local AWS User Group (https://www.meetup.com/Capital-Saratoga-Region-AWS-User-Group) since coworking, and regularly hold meetings in the awesome space in off-hours. Everyone at "the garage" has been super helpful and accommodating in working with me to coordinate the meeting logistics. What is my favorite part about coworking in Troy, NY? Great atmosphere and people. Downtown Troy has a great vibe for creatives and tech companies right now. It has always had the great college area advantage with RPI, Russell Sage and nearby HVCC. But even beyond that there is just a great tech vibe happening in Troy. Everything from large companies like Apprenda, or NYS moving ITS into the Atrium, to brand new startups like Velan Studios, to game companies like Agora Games, all the way to smaller companies doing great things for the community like Greane Tree and Enable Labs. I could go on and on... just a lot of great people and tech happing in downtown Troy right now. The Troy Innovation Garage is a true coworking establishment. Every decision made in renovating this building has been geared to creating a truly remarkable coworking space that is both aesthetically pleasing, fun to be a part of, and geared to getting work done.

I run an IT company in the Troy NY area. I ran it from my house for a number of years. It was a strategic decision to move my company to the Troy Innovation Garage for a variety of reasons, since The Garage has some awesome and affordable suites. Said reasons I made the decision to move include the solid internet connection, and a community full of knowledgable and resourceful people who have helped in the development of my company; we regularly cross promote and collaborate on projects for eachothers' clients regularly. I would not be able to leverage such a solid community from the confines of my home uptown. When I was looking to make the decision to move my company, I searched high and low throughout the entire Capital Region. While there are other coworking spaces in the area, few, if any, have as vibrant of a community as The Troy Innovation Garage.

Troy Innovation Garage is a creative and inspiring workspace. The members make the space a enjoyable work environment where you look forward to seeing one another! The Garage has evolved in a short period of time from a disused building into a hub of activity. The most impressive is the community. Plenty of events, great vibes, cool co-working space and opportunities to work in an energy-charged environment. The Community Manager is here to help and make each members experience the most convenient and wanting to come back. "Coworking is a movement to build community workplaces." "Work spaces that combine the freedom of working for yourself with the community and creativity of a traditional job."

Troy Innovation Garage is an awesome place to work. There are a ton of flexible workspace options available to suit a variety of needs, whether it be professionally or personally. They offer fiber optic Wifi, printing, mailing and private meeting rooms. The building itself is very cool - it's an daily source of inspiration to do great work. More than just providing a creative workspace, there's a lovely sense of community. The Garage puts on monthly programs, panels, potlucks and opportunities to get to know other members. It's fun to meet other members of the community, as they are all interesting and talented people and often times there is organic collaboration that occurs. The Garage has endless amounts of coffee from a local shop and the location is prime. Troy is a beautiful little city, and The Garage is located near plenty of cafes, restaurants and shops to enjoy a nice break from work. Definitely worth checking out!