The Hive at 55: A Place Where Businesses Grow and Thrive

05/23/2011 in

Hive 2

It’s always wonderful to watch Hive Member Businesses grow and thrive—and recently, I’ve seen some major success stories develop.

Over a year ago, Jason Richelson came to the Hive with an idea that stemmed from the frustrations of owning a small neighborhood wine shop. He set out to build a simple and fast point-of-sale system that relied on the Internet, providing store managers access to the “back office” from any location with web access. The result is ShopKeep.com, which now also boasts an excellent iPad cash register!

Shelly Hoy and Josh Jasper of ShopKeep.com
Shelley Hoy and Josh Jasper of ShopKeep.com

Since arriving at the Hive, Jason has used the facility for his launch party and hired other Hive Members for freelance work. But he needed more space after he hired two full-time employees. As a result, ShopKeep.com leased the office suite directly next to the Hive.

Battery Park City resident Bill Aurnhammer has a similar story. He came to the Hive seeking an office close to his family for Aurnhammer LLC, a mobile marketing and advertising company. Over the months, the business grew and he added more employees.

At the Hive, Jason and Bill rented offices next to each other. When Jason decided to rent the office next to the Hive, he considered finding a co-tenant for part of the space. Bill and his new employees were a logical match. So now Suite 13G houses two small businesses incubated at the Hive.

Donn Gobin, Bill Aurnhammer, Walter Vargas-Pena, Jack Sisson, Michael Swider of Aurnhammer LLC
Donn Gobin, Bill Aurnhammer, Walter Vargas-Pena, Jack Sisson and Michael Swider of Aurnhammer LLC

Meanwhile, in early 2010 as the Hive scheduled more weekly events, we hired our Evening Manager, Dan Robinson. When we met Dan, he excitedly talked about the startup he was working for—a mobile app for NYC commuters called Roadify. Sure enough, Roadify went on to win the NYC BigApps competition earlier this year. With the cash prize, Roadify is our newest startup company, and it is nice to have more familiar faces in the room!

Scott  Kolber, Brian Bush and Dan Robinson of Roadify
Scott Kolber, Brian Bush and Dan Robinson of Roadify

Long story short: The Hive is a dynamic place where exciting opportunities can arise. While some startups grow up and leave, new ones are arriving all the time.

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