Adams Hub business incubator readies for March opening

An incubator for burgeoning businesses is set to open its doors in Carson City next month.

The Adams Hub, named for the Hop & Mae Adams Foundation, which financed the project, is going in the newly-renovated former Stewart Title Co. building at the corner of Carson and Proctor streets in the center of downtown.

The 5,000-square-foot building was refurbished by Carson City-based Shaheen Beauchamp Builders based on a design by local architect Robert Darney.

The two-story facility includes four finished offices and conference room space downstairs and open space upstairs that will likely be turned into additional offices, depending on the needs of the occupants, as well as desks and seating for about 20 individuals to share as a common workspace.

“The co-working space is a new concept in Carson but it’s exploding nationwide,” says Rob Griffin, executive director. “We’re hopeful that it will spur on new businesses as well as people meet and entrepreneurs bump into one another.”

Griffin will be mentoring the new businesses based on his experience working at five start-ups in diverse industries. His background includes sales, marketing and business development, including for Reno medical supply maker Microflex; SoundPix Inc., a digital imaging company in Incline Village, and Understand.com, an online medical education provider in Reno.

The incubator will provide its handful of business tenants with office space, office equipment, coaching and, in select cases, seed money.

“We would invest up to $20,000 in businesses that meet our criteria,” says Griffin.

The decision to invest will be made by a committee, including Griffin, the incubator’s board and a team of advisors which is still being determined.

Also still being chosen are the companies to reside in the facility.

“We haven’t even flipped the switch on marketing yet and startups are already coming out of the woodwork,” says Griffin.

Miya MacKenzie, owner, MacWest Marketing in Carson City, who is helping to market the incubator, said they are now negotiating with a software developer and a professional services company to be the facilities first residents.

The co-working space will be available based on different membership levels, similar to a gym membership, says Griffin. Members will have access to work and conference space, and fax machines and printers, all for a nominal fee, says Griffin, to be sure it’s affordable for cash-poor upstarts.

“We’re trying to spur an entrepreneurial community down here,” says Griffin. “We want to help early stage start-ups accelerate, increase their odds of survival and help them receive funding. And we’re looking for tech or innovative companies with ideas that can scale and eventually hire lot of folks.”

For now, Griffin and MacKenzie are busy furnishing and buying equipment for the facility and preparing marketing materials.

The incubator is slated to open in mid-March. Anyone interested in finding out more about it, including membership, can go online to www.adamshub.com.