David Crewson is hoping a new business organization rises from the ashes of StartUp Squamish, which is closing permanently this week.
Crewson and StartUp co-founder Mario Gomes have decided to shut their centre for entrepreneurs after only one year. Their last day is Thursday (April 30) and they’ll sell off their furniture and old gondola on Sunday.
“It was a business decision,” Crewson told The Squamish Chief. “The building was sold.”
A new business will move into the space at the corner of Cleveland and Pemberton Avenue.
StartUp had two components: the economic development centre and the co-working space where people could pay to use the desks and other business facilities. New co-working spaces are expected to emerge as a result of the closure. Crewson said one of the StartUp tenants is acquiring their own space they will share with others, and another is expected to soon start renting out desks. Both will be downtown, he said.
“We are very happy about that,” he commented. “The anticipation is that they will open May 1.”
But those spaces will be rental desks, “unlike StartUp Squamish, which is really a resource centre where people can walk in and find out about the business community here and become networked into the local economy,” Crewson said.
Crewson and Gomes were not able to forge a public-private partnership they had hoped would result from StartUp Squamish. “Most models that have been successful engage in a public-private partnership. It’s difficult if not impossible for two local residents to take on the full burden of developing an entrepreneurial ecosystem in the community,” he explained.
He still wants something to grow out of the venture in the long term. “It’s my hope that others in the community will see the progress and take ownership and build upon it,” said Crewson.
“There was always an expiry date on StartUp Squamish,” said Crewson. “The whole idea was to stimulate an entrepreneurial movement in Squamish. I think we have achieved that.”
StartUp Squamish was funded entirely by Crewson and Gomes, both entrepreneurs. Crewson previously owned a software firm in Whistler and had worked for technology companies including Microsoft and IBM. Gomes has a background in technology, fashion and housing and has already moved on to new projects as Crewson closes shop for StartUp. Crewson said he is “focussed on putting StartUp Squamish to bed then working on another venture,” but the specifics of his planned business are “under wraps at this point.”
The new business occupying the space at Cleveland and Pemberton will be “a wonderful brand to highlight the gateway to downtown Squamish,” said Crewson. Details will be revealed later by the business owners, he said.
