Pack Your Bags Aussie Tech Nerds: A Place to Crash in San Fran!

A team from StartUpBus: one of Elias Bizannes’ other start-up initiatives. Photo credit: Eoin McMillan.

A couple of entrepreneur Aussies (and a Kiwi!) are tired of having their tech start-up friends, with bright, puppy-dog eyes crashing on their couches week after week. They needed somewhere to direct their tides of friends so they could actually sit down in their living room in the morning!

Australians Elias Bizannes, Bardia Houseman (lol – what an appropriate last name for this project!), and New Zealander Stephen Weir decided enough was enough and decided to literally set up a house for the homeless start-ups. And what are they calling it? StartUpHouse.

These guys aren’t just some random kids from down-under with a good idea and no idea how to implement it. Bizannes moved to San Francisco about two and a half years ago and has a solid job as a director at Charles River Ventures. He also has experience in start-up ventures, including StartUpBus (which actually sounds really cool!) – get on a bus with Internet access and have a viable tech company set up by the end of the road trip!

Being a veteran in nurturing start-ups, Bizannes realized that San Francisco holds a definite allure to aspiring Aussies, and since it’s difficult for a foreigner to find a place to stay in the city of technological dreams, there was a void to be filled. He also is an invaluable resource, being very connected in the Silicon Valley network and giving local insight on the ideas coming through.

The 3345-square meter complex, at 880 Harrison Street in the “SoMa” (South of Market) district, is set to be “Ground Zero” for what they believe is the next Silicon Valley. With 210 desks and a 576-square meter building next door for accommodation, they hope to incubate great minds and churn out even better enterprises.

The government of New South Wales liked the idea so much that they’ll be subsidising the costs of NSW businesses using the facility by up to 50 per cent!

For us techy nerds, it’s a dream come true: a fun place to meet people of like minds, but most of all, to cooperate with those of like minds. It is the beginning of the human version of a mind meld, and hopefully it will start spitting out ingenious ideas that will completely change the world.

One might think that there are so many other places offering space to the start-ups, that we’re in a bubble that might well soon pop. Well, Elias defies such theorizing and says we’re not quite in the bubble yet, we’re still in a “boom” and this hub is going to be a “fun” place where entrepreneurs will live, sleep, and breathe together – hopefully to the benefit of all.

So if you’re keen to pick out your little corner from which you plan to become a leading tycoon, check out this video tour that Bizannes gave Hermione Way of the 880 Harrison street complex!

[Via The Age]