Collaborative Co-Working Space Mission Fifty Opens in Hoboken
NJTechWeekly.com visited the co-working space Mission Fifty in Hoboken on Tuesday. Office manager Peta Moran gave us a tour of the recently opened facility aimed at providing a collaborative workspace for budding entrepreneurs.
Mission Fifty is holding an open house this week and next for entrepreneurs, startup founders and others who want to explore the possibilities of co-working. The space is new, and on the day we visited, a rainy day right after the Labor Day holiday, only two consultants were taking advantage of the site. We heard that on the following day, some 20 people had found their way to the penthouse at 50 Harrison Street. 
After the tour, we spoke to one of the founders, Aaron Price of makeMania.com (Hoboken), about his vision for Mission Fifty. Price is also the founder of the former Hoboken Tech Meetup, now known as NJ Tech Meetup. He said the idea for Mission Fifty came about after he and Michael Pierce, a Tech Meetup member, discussed the need for a collaborative working environment in Hoboken. They then found Greg Dell’Aquila, a Hoboken developer who had space available in his office building. All three partnered on the project, which came together rapidly, in about six months.
Mission Fifty offers a range of services for its users, and costs for renting the office space are available by brochure. However, Price emphasizes that Mission Fifty is more than a place to rent a desk and that the co-working culture isn’t for everyone. True to its tag line “Space to build your Mission,” Mission Fifty would be a good fit for people who want to take advantage of a collaborative environment. “It’s more about helping your peers and getting feedback,” he said.
“Really what makes these places thrive is the ability to rely on your peers to help you out with certain expertise,” Price explained. The actual space is set up so that there are large communal workspaces where people can rub elbows with others and smaller private work areas/offices meant to accommodate a single user or small group. Boardrooms are available for meetings. There are booths where users can step away from the community to take a private phone call. The facility is equipped with wireless and wired connections, of course, whiteboards and phone service from N.J.-based small-business telephone service provider Phone.com (Livingston).
As part of an effort to create a collaborative workspace, Mission Fifty is holding various events to help entrepreneurs remain inspired, Price said. Attendees will be able to work at the space for free on the day of the event, at least initially. Events planned include Financing Your Early Stage Business with Dave Sorin, partner/founder of SorinRoyerCooper (East Brunswick). Future events will cover such topics as how to lead a growing company and how to hire and fire employees legally.
