TechRanch and Cospace Partner to Make Austin the Gateway to Innovation

Cospace announced today a collaboration with Austin incubator TechRanch to foster innovation and entrepreneurship. Through the partnership, TechRanch will be developing and extending their Venture Program through cospaces while the two work together to make tech, design, and professional classes more available and accessible throughout Austin.

"Austin's culture is incredible and unparalleled in the world," shares Paul O'Brien; Co-founder of Cospace. "Entrepreneurship is part of our DNA and the creativity in this community drives innovation not just in technology but in design and business. But industry in the United States all too quickly tries to solve the challenge of employment and entrepreneurship with capital. The gateway to innovation is more fundamental than that; people need collaborate work environments, cospaces, relevant classes with on demand curriculum, and the early seeds of a business the likes of which TechRanch alone excels in providing."

A November 2011 study of the U.S. Economy, conducted by Gallup, the University of Florida's Jay Ritter, and the U.S. Census Bureau found startling evidence that the country is failing to foster innovation as it once did. 84M Americans would prefer to be in business for themselves, they want to be entrepreneurs, yet only 414,913 businesses are founded annually. In partnering in Austin with TechRanch, Cospace is making innovation open and accessible in one of the most appealing, business friendly and creative cities in the world.

"Success in a new venture is driven first by a community of peer entrepreneurs and advisors," added Kevin Koym, founder of TechRanch. "From such communities comes the training and guidance people need to overcome the challenges of getting started. Our pre-seed and seed stage programs, extended through Cospace's community and network of partner spaces, and enhanced with their exceptional teachers and curriculum, will give more people the skills they need to innovate."

TechRanch will also be leveraging Cospace's member management platform to streamline the operation and growth of TechRanch and focus on the development of their Venture Program. With the platform in place, Cospace will manage working membership and office space, process member registration and payment, and promote TechRanch as a collaborative work space.

Economic consulting firm TXP puts the number of tech professionals in Austin over 67,000 people, with only a fraction of those downtown. TechRanch and Cospace classes are not only accessible to would-be entrepreneurs but convenient for the entirety of Austin's entrepreneurial community. For more information about TechRanch and their Venture Program, visit techranchaustin.com. To learn how Cospace can help you learn and work collaboratively, visit cospace.co

About Tech Ranch
Tech Ranch Austin is a technology incubator that provides pre-seed and seed stage tech startups with the instruction, training, and guidance needed to drive business success. Their community of vibrant entrepreneurs, advisors, investors, and subject matter experts find and offer solutions in a collaborative, co-working environment that supports an entrepreneurial ecosytem. For more information about their advisory and venture development services contact info@techranchaustin.com or visit techranchaustin.com.

About Cospace
Cospace makes demand-driven tech, design and professional education accessible and provides opportunities for those with such skills. Through a network of collaborative spaces, Cospace's demand-driven marketing & technology platform analyzes the communities around a given space to determine what skills and classes are 'in demand'. To learn more, visit http://cospace.co or contact paul@cospace.co