Hive at 55 Small Businesses are Making Waves

The Hive at 55 co-working facility is transforming the Lower Manhattan small business scene.

ShopKeep.com and Aurnhammer LLC, two member businesses, are expanding and have signed leases at 55 Broad Street, while Hive member Roadify, which created a mobile application providing real-time transit updates, won the grand prize in NYC Big Apps 2.0’s software challenge in March.

The Downtown Alliance runs the Hive at 55 at 55 Broad Street with support from the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), the New York Information and Technology Center, the Rudin family, and other Lower Manhattan businesses.

“ShopKeep.com, Aurnhammer and Roadify are famous for the kind of ahead-of-the-curve work that happens at the Hive every day,” said Elizabeth H. Berger, President of the Downtown Alliance. “Congratulations to these three companies for their achievements, and thanks to Mayor Bloomberg, EDC President Seth Pinsky and the NYCEDC team, Bill Rudin and the 100-plus members of the Hive for making the Hive’s first year and a half such a success.”

“My family has always supported the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit that is alive in New York City,” said Bill Rudin, CEO and Co-Chairman of Rudin Management Company. “We are excited that the Hive has proven to be a successful incubator for New York’s emerging technology companies, and delighted to celebrate the success of ShopKeep.com and Aurnhammer, and so many other start-ups that have called the Hive their home.”

Roadify, which won the prestigious app award, makes commuting easy by combining current updates from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the New York City Department of Transportation with user-submitted information on everything from slow-running trains to open parking spots to gas prices.

“The Hive has been a great space for us to concentrate and accomplish our work more efficiently,” said Daniel Robinson, Roadify’s Head of Product. “The Hive’s professional environment and collaborative community have helped us run some of our most successful meetings. In just the first 10 days here, we made contacts with local designers and a potential partner.”

Roadify is not the only recent success story at the Hive. In fact, Aurnhammer LLC and ShopKeep.com—which have made the Hive their business locale since early 2010—are both expanding and have leased spaces adjacent to their former Hive offices at 55 Broad Street.

Aurnhammer LLC is a creative media, design and development firm specializing in branded smart device applications for the mobile space.

“Our experience at the Hive has been great,” said Chief Executive Officer Bill Aurnhammer, “and has provided our company with the ability to expand economically. In fact, we plan on continuing our relationship with the Hive, as our new location is right next door. This should allow us to continue our expansion, as well as taking advantage of their conference rooms and other facilities. So we are leaving the Hive, but not going far from home.”

ShopKeep.com has gone from idea and incubation at the Hive to a revenue-generating product in use at more than 100 locations nationwide. ShopKeep.com is a web-based platform for retailers to manage their point-of-sale and more, an alternative to cash registers and more expensive point of sale systems. The office move coincides with their iPad POS App debut in the Apple App Store in May.

"The value of locating our offices at the Hive initially can't be underestimated and is one reason we chose to keep our offices at 55 Broad—so we still have access to the bright minds and forward thinkers who are associated with this start-up incubator," said ShopKeep.com founder Jason Richelson.

The 4,000-square-foot, fully outfitted Hive at 55 includes a shared workspace for more than 30 people, three private offices and meeting space, as well as Wi-Fi, fax, printer and copier machines, coffee, conference rooms and bike storage. Additionally, workshops, classes, happy hours and other networking opportunities are held there.

The Hive offers several membership options: $25 per day; three visits per month for $50; eight visits per month for $150; 12 visits per month for $200; monthly access during business hours for $300; and monthly 24/7 access for $500. Private offices and classroom space are also available for rent.

The Hive was first proposed at the recommendation of the Downtown Alliance’s ad hoc Committee on Economic Revitalization. NYCEDC provided a $100,000 grant to the Downtown Alliance, which named Daria Siegel as Director.

Additional funding and program support for the Hive are provided by 55 Broad Street, the Rudin family, Poulakakos Family Restaurants (which offers Hive members monthly lunches and happy hours), J&R Music and Computer World (which offers discounts for Hive members), Mancini Duffy, Pace University and Sky-Packets.

More information on the Hive at 55 is available at 212-835-2744, http://www.hiveat55.com, and [email protected].