Hi guys!
This article is based on our personal feeling and story about this particular space as we are members, so it’s a little bit different to other articles we will release.
We wanted to share with you how it was for us to join this incubator.
Here we are, earlier this year in Cambridge, we were looking to join an incubator, which was the first time for us.
We did something that would blow your mind. We googled it!
Very quickly we found the Eagle Labs, in Cambridge. Created by Barclays, a bank that we knew at the time, and 10mn away on our fixed gear bikes.
On their website, you can directly book a tour, and that’s what we did. A few minutes later – and I insist on that – we received an answer from a certain Benjamin Storey, who proposed us to come and have a look when we are free.
In 5 minutes maximum, the tour was booked, and we were like: “wow… That was quick”.
D-Day, we are in the lobby, and we can already feel the “startup” atmosphere, with this old fashion computer, and in the stairs, few stickers of the big moment in the startup industry in Cambridge.
Warmly welcomed by the staff, they directly propose us a coffee to wait – we always arrive a little bit before rather than a little bit later.
Very soon; it’s Benjamin who comes and starts to make us visit the space.
The atmosphere and the decoration are cool, between industrial with the usage of the metal for the ceiling that you can see, and cool with the color used for the sofas or the pillows.
It’s busy but very studious. People are here to work, develop and grow their business, but nothing too serious, more casual.
It’s not noisy; we felt that we could work and focus when we would need it.
Benjamin introduces us to the rest of the staff, and to other members.
It’s much diversified, there are many different types of businesses, of many sizes from different origins. Everybody is doing something different.
He also shows us the meeting rooms and how easily you can book it, the printer (which you can use as much as you need), the kitchen with this fabulous coffee machine – Every coffee you imagine; you can do.
At the time, there were 80 seats available, but since, they developed the floor under, and so, they added 50 more seats, private offices and many more features!
After half an hour discussing our business and why we are here, about the Eagle Lab… We told to Benjamin that we would think about it, and then we left.
We contacted Benjamin 1 hour later and said: “Let’s do it!”
This is what we expected, and for our first experience in an incubator, we must say, we recommend it! You’ll never be alone: you meet a lot of different people, you exchange ideas, visions…
We think – and advise you, if you are used to working from home – to join an incubator or a co-working space to get some mentally fresh air. You could be surprised how good you feel when you go to work in the morning, especially if your goal is to grow your business.
More about the space itself: The internet bandwidth is perfect – we never had any problem connecting our laptop to the WiFi, and navigate, or stream our music.
The printer was an HP, which works in the cloud: you have to install a utility, and then, when you print something, it’s sent to your account. All you have to do is to log-in on the printer and print. That’s perfect for security reasons, and that makes sense when you think that there is potentially 80 people using the same printer.
The meeting rooms are equipped with iPad mini at the door, with a dedicated app to book it.
They have their app – only iOS at the moment – so you could book the meeting room wherever you are.
And now, one of the biggest thing about the Eagle Labs: the mentors.
As they are partners with the Judge Business School of Cambridge, you can imagine that it’s a pretty strong mentorship program. This school is in the top 3 business school in the world.
Let’s roll back to this app I talked about few lines above: it also/mainly allows you to book a meeting with a mentor, and to be honest when you look at the list of mentors and specialties… It’s huge!
Everything you need from marketing to communication, fundraising, business development, management…
An incubator program last on average two years, so imagine all the skills you would get when you leave such a space?
Because you are an entrepreneur, what else would you need? Yes, you’re right – I bet you guessed – CONNECTION.
Every month, they organize a Beer –Pizza event, where you can meet a lot of other entrepreneurs, who are not necessarily members of the Eagle Lab – A kind of a business networking, but cool. Just grab a beer, a slice of pizza and talk to everyone!
Regularly, there is a breakfast event which is the same principle as the Beer-Pizza, conference with well-known people from different industries who comes to talk and share their success story, experiences and who can give you advice if you book a 1 to 1 meeting.
As a conclusion, I would say that this space was great for different reasons:
• The atmosphere
• The members
• The events
• The mentorship program
• The staff
They want to improve, to innovate and most importantly, they listen to their members and do their best to create something perfect for you.
But also, it’s a great experience, and seriously, it feels great to get some fresh air!
Don’t forget; they are here to help you, so really, don’t hesitate to join an incubator program if you can.
We hope you liked this article about “our” incubator. It’s quite special for us, and it was important to talk about it.
Feel free to get in touch with them if you are around and plan to join an incubator program.
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