Around Indy: Launch Fishers

I’m relatively new to Fishers, I just moved here in 2008. When choosing where to buy our home, it was merely a matter of convenience. It was right off the highway, and at the time I worked downtown and my husband worked in neighboring suburb Carmel. Plus, Fishers is cheaper than Carmel.

But the town lacked personality. Unsure if it wanted to be a small town, or a mirror suburb of Carmel there was a feeling of adolescent awkwardness. Plans for “downtown” were designed and then scrapped. And although Fishers had grown quickly, and won several awards, the town still felt like it lacked personality.

But as I enter my fifth year in Fishers, it seems we’re finally outgrowing that phase and determining who we want to be. And Launch Fishers is hopefully a sign of where we’ll be going.

What Is It?

Launch Fishers is a co-op workspace. Basically, if you’re an entrepreneur you can pay $300 a year and have a place to go to work on your projects. You can whiteboard out designs, host meetings, copy/scan/print/fax documents, have access to high speed wifi, and basically all of your office basics. There’s also a coffee bar serving locally brewed Hearthstone Coffee. As I was talking to  Kurtis Moss, the director of Launch Fishers, about this facility he described it as “a place to do business, not a place to grow business.” In other words, a place to get things done.

Why Fishers?

The $300 a year fee is ridiculously low for this kind of facility. SpeakEasy in Meridian-Kessler is $500. The price of real estate is not the only reason for this price differential, its also that the Town of Fishers has provided umbrella funding and the space is part of the library.

In addition to having the support of the town, Fishers has an excellent location for this kind of facility. The reasons I moved to Fishers, being right of the highway with easy access to Carmel and downtown, opens the facility up to more people.

Who Uses It?

About 70% of the Launch Fishers members are working in software development. To me, this completely makes sense. There’s so many times in development where you just need a second set of eyes. In the first six months of the facility opening, they had 171 members. This facility was needed, and it was need precisely here.

What’s Next?

There’s plenty of room for Launch Fishers to grow. They’re planning on adding an outdoor workspace connected to walking/biking trails. They’re growing quickly, but the facility has plenty of room for more entrepreneurs looking for their own space.

The Story Doesn’t Stop There…

Make sure to check out our Flickr Album from our Launch Fishers visit. The story continues there with local art and how they used reclaimed wood from the library remodel.

Contact Launch Fishers

7 Launch Way
Fishers IN 46038
(317) 537-7939
http://launchfishers.com/

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