WINSTON-SALEM – Flywheel Coworking has signed a long-term lease in Winston-Salem that will double its footprint in the city’s entrepreneurial ecosystem to more than 18,000 square feet.
According to a statement from the organization, Flywheel plans to move from its current location in the Center for Design Innovation to the 8th floor of 500 W. Fifth Street in October.
The future home of Flywheel Coworking is already home to Winston Starts, a nonprofit that nurtures and grows companies from early-stage to growth stage, which already occupies 35,000 square feet on the fourth floor.
“The potential collaborations of Flywheel and Winston Starts will create a distinctive roadmap for an entrepreneur in our community and provide a critical mass of entrepreneurs who can work together,” said Don Flow, Chairman & CEO, Flow Companies, Inc.
Flow, who invested personally and through the company in the revitalization of the building at 500 W. Fifth Street, is a member of the Winston Starts Board of Directors.
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“With Flywheel and Winston Starts in close proximity, Winston-Salem will have the opportunity to become a leading hub for starting and growing companies,” said Flow.
Additional amenities that Flywheel’s current and future members will receive with the relocation of the coworking community include complimentary access to a 4,000 square foot fitness center, 24/7 access to the building and its facilities, downtown parking, and a large, social commons and event space, said Andrea Howell, Flywheel’s Community Manager.
“We love our current space, but we need additional capacity for our growing community of entrepreneurs and more meeting space for our accelerator programs and curriculum,” said Alicia Hardin, managing partner of Flywheel. “This is about growth.”
The Future of Flywheel
According to Hardin, the new location in Winston-Salem triples the available private offices while at the same time increasing their size, doubles the amount of meeting space, and increases coworking space by 25 percent.
The New Ventures Accelerator, which wraps up the summer 2019 accelerator program with the Triad Startup Demo Day on September 6, will also move with Flywheel.
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In its original location in Winston-Salem’s Innovation Quarter, Flywheel’s community grew to more than 80 companies, with a mixture of startups, consultants, freelancers, and independent knowledge workers, in their first five years. According to Howell, at least 47 new companies formed at Flywheel through the New Ventures Accelerator, the inception stage investment fund, or organically by becoming a place for entrepreneurs to connect and form companies.
Notable startups that found a home at Flywheel’s Winston-Salem location include Orbital RX, Leading Role, Ampogee, Fluree, MedXoom, Threat Sketch, One Donation, and Wellnecity, among others.
In July 2018, Flywheel opened their second location at the Jay Hurt Hub for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Davidson College, or the Hurt Hub@Davidson, which recently celebrated their first anniversary by hosting a startup showcase.
“Our business model for markets of this size is to design and operate coworking innovation spaces in partnership with colleges, universities, and local government,” said Peter Marsh, co-founder of Flywheel and Vice President of Workplace Strategies, which designed each location. Flywheel is in discussions with several more locations in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, said Marsh. “We are adding additional locations in the Southeast.”
