Published: Dec. 30, 2017

Quite often, we walk along familiar streets and suddenly notice a new storefront, restaurant, or business.  It's as if these things magically appear out of nowhere.  But as entrepreneurs, we know that's not how it works.  Nothing "suddenly appears".  Undoubetdly, it takes weeks, months, even years of planning, sweat, anxiety, problem solving, fundraising, negotiating, and manuevering to get ideas into the world. 

We want to tell you the story of how the new campus startup hub came to be because one thing's for sure, it didn't happen overnight, and we are beyond thrilled to host people in the space and watch what unfolds. 

For context, the space is co-operated by Housing & Dining Services and the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative, and it is intended to convene, educate, and build community around innovation and entrepreneurship.  The current focus of the space is three-fold: 

  1. Coworking and community building: Students desire a place where they can go anytime and work on their entrepreneurial ideas or find like-minded individuals with various degrees of experience.  The Global Entrepreneurs in Residence will be based here and community mentors will be scheduled to provide 1:1 feedback.  

  2. Co-curricular events and programs: In evenings and on weekends, workshops, speakers, and other events will be scheduled to provide co-curricular experiences.

  3. Mini-makerspace: For pretotyping and lite prototyping, the space will have equipment such as 3D printers, design software, a virtual reality station, sewing machines, and other hand tools to support early prototyping.

Here's how it started:

December 2016

In the fall of 2016, the Innovation & Entrepreneurship (I&E) Initiative was in the initial stages of getting up and running.  By December 2016, Sarabeth Berk and George Deriso (assistant directors of the Initiative) had gotten wind of a new space dedicated to entrepreneurship located at the soon-to-be-opened Village Center.  Curious to understand the plan for the space, Sarabeth and George took a tour of the building while it was under construction.  What they found amazed and astounded them.

Inside the building was a 1,975 square foot room for entrepreneurial activities.  CU Boulder Housing & Dining Services operated the space, and when Sarabeth and George met with the team who was supervising the planning, they learned that the vision was uncertain.  Some leaders wanted it to be a serious makerspace while others saw it as a home for student companies.  With the launch of the newly formed I&E Initiative, it became apparent that this was a perfect moment to begin a partnership and collaborate on the vision together. 

February 2017

Using human-centered design strategies, Sarabeth sprung into action.  The first step was empathy research. CU Boulder students were invited into the unfinished space for a visioning and ideation session.  The goal was to let them feel and experience the room while it was a blank canvas in order to open their minds to possibilities.

Undergraduate students from all disciplines drew sketches of how they envisioned the room.  From ball pits to bean bag lofts to juice bars, there were a number of crazy, fun, wild, and unique ideas that came forward.  This information brought student perspective into our conversations and enabled CU Boulder staff to recognize the desires of our target users.

March 2017

It wasn't enough to get student input, we knew we needed to get off-campus and be inspired by what modern day entrepreneurial spaces look like and feel like to have touchpoints with the real world.  We took a group of campus staff, leaders, and students to visit a bunch of coworking spaces including Galvanize, The Studio, Boomtown, Boulder Public Library makerspace, WeWork, and others.  We also visited the Lassonde Studios at the University of Utah and researched models across the nation. 

From this, we examined what we heard from stakeholders, the goals of the I&E Initiative, the resources on and off campus, and the current trends in makerspaces and coworking.  We turned this analysis into a cohesive vision of what the new entrepreneurial space on campus should become.  It was clear that students wanted a place where they could be surrounded by entrepreneurial-minded students and adults as well as be able to create, design, and work on their ventures. 

April 2017

During the spring, we had a lot of meetings around design, construction, and budgets.  We talked with local architects who rendered our ideas into actual specs that met codes. We realized that given time and budget constraints, we should do a phased roll-out and work towards our full vision over time.  We had to ask ourselves, "What were the essential parts we needed in order to get up and running?"  The answer was great A/V, a kitchnette, maker tools, power access, a creative corner, and lounge areas.  By starting small, we like that we can watch and learn how the space is used, and then decide how it should evolve.

July 2017

At one design meeting, we discussed furniture and how much it would cost to furnish the room.  At that moment, it dawned on us.  Entrepreneurs who are starting out are scrappy and don't get new shiny things.  Instead, they're resourceful and inventive and find ways to source materials cheaply or for free.  We decided to do the same and go "shopping" in CU Boulder's storage facilities, and wow, treasures abounded.  We found old tables from the library, a long table that was used to roll out pastry dough, stools, cabinets, and more.

August 2017

To further activate the space, we put out a RFP to invite artists (on and off campus) to submit ideas for an art installation.  We knew an artwork would be eye-catching and also make a visual statement and set the tone for the entire room. 

November 2017

By late fall, we had the construction plans finalized, bids were coming in, furniture was selected, and now it was time to layout how it would fit together.  By prototyping with paper furniture, we determined where electrical outlets needed to drop from the ceiling, how long counters should be, and what elements needed to be addressed that we hadn't thought of yet.

December 2017

The art installation became a massive collaboration between CU Boulder students, the Ladies Fancywork Society (LFS) from Denver, and Robots Love Balloons (RLB) from Boulder.  We spent the fall getting input from students on the artistic proposals they liked, and then brainstorming with the artists on exact content and imagery.  LFS and RLB created "brainstorm clouds" and whimsical details that exemplify how ideas can be sparked by anything and everywhere. 

Combining unusual elements together is the essence of innovation, and is embraced by this entrepreneurial space. The art installation underscores creative collision through its imagery (like flying tacos and a donut city) and its use of mixed media (crochet, illustration, and electricity).  This artwork represents the magic that can happen at the intersection of cross-disciplinary collaboration: science, art, and design.

January 2018

In late January, we will open the space (RSVP for grand opening here) for students and community to use for coworking, making, and learning about all levels of entrepreneurship.  We are in the final stages of construction and interior design, and we couldn't be more excited.

The word "spark" was chosen for a couple reasons. First, it heralds Spark Boulder, a coworking space on the Hill that was student run and led, and epitomized the need for students to have a gathering place around entrepreneurship.  Even though Spark Boulder no longer exists, we loved its spirit and the people who ran it. It felt appropriate to honor that on campus. Second, once RLB started sketching lightning bolts throughout the illustrations, it was obvious that sparks were literally flying.  Hence, the artwork and the space are all about finding your spark.