It all began in July 2012 when Jonathon Lister, Joshua Bradley and James Governor shared an office in Scrutton Street. When the second floor of the building became available the entrepreneurs opened it up and offered affordable desk space to friends in the creative and digital areas. The first members were Arachnys and This Is My Jam. Fast-forward to 2013 and Shoreditch Works continues to be one of the best places for emerging startups. The demand for affordable office space grew and the business expanded. Nonetheless, Shoreditch Works is not entirely about space; they want to help companies grow and start. And recently, they’ve unrolled the the Shoreditch Village Hall, a pop-up venue, allowing them to enter into the realms of curated lunch sessions with speakers from Tech City, with a space to meet and network. According to community manager Ana Bradley, “Touching base and meeting people is still one of the best ways to grow and learn from others’ mistakes.”
Notable startups that began here include, alongside the aforementioned Arachnys and This is My Jam: Tectonic Interactive, Global Street Art, Good Night Lamp, Poetica, Contentment, Every Interaction and FutureGov.
Tectonic, a TV media firm, built the X Factor app this year, while FutureGov’s Casserole Club initiative has been a hit in and out of London.
Shoreditch Works is funded privately. They’ve also generated £90,000 in a Kickstarter campaign.
The organization is set to make it easier for startups to get the ball rolling and grow. They’ve begun seeing multiple tech revolutions in numerous dimensions at the very moment. Everything is on the table and disruption hasn’t really shown its face yet. London is to be at the heart of any change and Shoreditch Works is bound to be the platform for disruption and sustainable change. Bradley adds further, “We’re currently hosting 20% free events for the community which means we’re making great steps in helping meetups scale. We’re hosting companies like Young Rewired State, Code Club and more so we’re really making moves towards helping people in other boroughs, such as Tower Hamlets, benefit from Tech City.”
