What Start Fort Wayne does

Start Fort Wayne is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit coworking and entrepreneurial support organization headquartered at 3402 Fairfield Ave in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana, one block southwest of the Allen County Courthouse. Founded in March 2015 and previously operating under the Atrium brand, the organization operates a single physical coworking location serving a long-tail base of individual entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small business owners across professional services, creative industries, and remote work.

The organization's core offering is flexible workspace, delivered through three primary products: a General Membership at $99/month providing 24/7 access to general work areas, unlimited WiFi, and unlimited coffee; a Virtual Membership at $65/month providing a professional mailing address and mail handling; and $10 day passes for drop-in use. Add-on revenue is generated via conference and training room rentals ($10/hour for members, $50/hour standard, seating up to 50). All membership operations—sign-ups, billing, reservations, member directory, and access control—are run on the third-party Satellite Deskworks platform with web, iOS, and Android clients. The waitlist status on dedicated desks and private offices indicates demand is approaching capacity at current footprint.

Beyond the physical space, Start Fort Wayne runs an expanding programming portfolio funded in part by the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne and the Don Wood Foundation. Programs include the Lunch and Learn series, Business 101 classes, the Creative Assembly cohort (in partnership with Arts United of Greater Fort Wayne, The Hedge Studios, and the Indiana Arts Commission), a Volunteer and Internship Program, a Small-Scale Development initiative, and the multi-horizon Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Strategy. Go-to-market is community-led and product-led: low-friction self-serve membership sign-up, no long-term contracts, in-person tours between 9am–4pm, social media-driven event marketing (primarily Instagram), and reciprocal distribution through the Indiana Coworking Passport network of 62 coworking spaces. The organization is led by Executive Director Dan Swartz (appointed July 2020) and is governed as a nonprofit with no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no disclosed venture or private equity funding.

Name

Start Fort Wayne

Legal name

Start Fort Wayne, Inc.

Website

https://startfortwayne.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Start Fort Wayne is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating a coworking space and entrepreneurial support programs in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana, serving individual entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small business owners with memberships, day passes, room rentals, and cohort-based programming.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Coworking and Shared Workspace Services

NAICS

Office Administrative Services (5611)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Remote Access, Virtual Workspaces & Digital HQ (BPAMAMAL)

Keywords

• Coworking space
• Shared workspace
• Virtual office services
• Meeting room rentals
• Entrepreneurial support

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Wayne

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Coworking Memberships: Monthly recurring memberships for general work areas, dedicated desks, and private offices. General Membership at $99/month provides 24/7 access to general work areas with unlimited WiFi and coffee. Virtual Membership at $65/month provides mail service and conference room credits.
2. Day Passes: One-time $10 day passes for drop-in work during business hours (9am-5pm), including seating, unlimited coffee, and high-speed WiFi
3. Conference and Training Room Rentals: Hourly rental of conference rooms ($50/hour standard, $10/hour for members) and large training room for events, corporate offsites, and job fairs
4. Donations and Grants: 501(c)(3) nonprofit funded by donations and grants from foundations including Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne and Don Wood Foundation to support entrepreneurial ecosystem development

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Start Fort Wayne operates a downtown Fort Wayne coworking space offering 24/7 General Membership ($99/month) and Virtual Membership ($65/month) plans, $10 single-day Day Passes, and hourly conference and training room rentals. Members access the space via secure door codes and a Satellite Deskworks-powered member portal with iOS and Android apps, and gain reciprocal access to 62 Indiana coworking spaces through the Indiana Coworking Passport. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, it supplements workspace offerings with the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Strategy, Lunch and Learn educational series, the Creative Assembly cohort, and Small-Scale Development programming.

Product overview

Start Fort Wayne is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit coworking and entrepreneurial support organization offering a portfolio of co-working and meeting space products alongside educational and ecosystem-building programs. Its core products are flexible workspace memberships — General Membership (24/7 access, $99/month), Virtual Membership (professional mailing address, $65/month), and Day Passes ($10/day) — all managed via the Satellite Deskworks member portal platform. Space rental is available through dedicated conference and training rooms (seating 4–50 people). Complementing its physical offerings, the organization runs the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Strategy (EES), a multi-year strategic initiative funded by the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne and the Don Wood Foundation, along with the Lunch and Learn series, a Volunteer and Internship Program, and a Small-Scale Development initiative. Members also receive access to the Indiana Coworking Passport, enabling free day passes at 62 coworking spaces statewide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Day Passes One-day drop-in access to Start Fort Wayne's general work areas during business hours (9am–5pm) for $10, including seating, unlimited free coffee, and high-speed WiFi. Intended for visitors, prospective members, and remote workers needing occasional workspace.
• General Membership Month-to-month coworking membership at $99/month providing 24/7 unlimited access to general work areas, unlimited high-speed secure WiFi, unlimited coffee, shared break room, shared printer/copier/scanner, member rates on conference rooms, and access to member events and resources.
• Virtual Membership Month-to-month virtual office membership at $65/month providing a professional mailing address, mail service Monday–Friday 9am–5pm, 10 free secure scans and shreds, 10 free conference room hours, and member pricing on rentals. Designed for remote workers and small businesses needing a business address without dedicated desk space.
• Large Conference and Training Room Rental Hourly rental of the large conference/training room seating up to 50 people, equipped with a 4' x 8' mobile whiteboard, free WiFi, a 65-inch 4K TV, and an overhead projector. Standard rate is $50/hour; member rate is $10/hour. Used for training sessions, board meetings, corporate offsites, and job fairs.
• Small Conference Room A & B Rental Smaller meeting rooms available for hourly rental by both members and the public, with a tiered cancellation policy: 100% refund with 2+ weeks notice, 50% refund with 48 hours to 2 weeks notice, and no refund with less than 48 hours notice.

Quantifiable outcome

• Member access to 62 Indiana coworking spaces via Indiana Coworking Passport

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Indiana Coworking PassportcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorStart Fort Wayne is a member of the Indiana Coworking Passport, which gives Atrium members access to ONE FREE DAY PASS, PER MONTH at any of the 62 coworking spaces around Indiana. This partnership extends the company's reach and provides added value to members.
• Arts United of Greater Fort WaynecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to host the Creative Assembly cohort, a creative entrepreneurial program for Northeast Indiana. Also partnered for Block Party on Berry during Open Streets FW event.
• The Hedge StudioscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-presenter of Creative Assembly, a cohort-based creative entrepreneurial program designed to give participants tools to advance their businesses.
• Indiana Arts CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in presenting the Creative Assembly cohort program for creative entrepreneurs in Northeast Indiana.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• 1871: Chicago-based nonprofit tech hub providing coworking, accelerator programming, and corporate partnerships for early-stage companies. Closely comparable ecosystem-building model with member dues plus corporate sponsor funding.
• Impact Hub: Global network of impact-focused coworking and innovation spaces. Most directly comparable to Start Fort Wayne because both combine coworking, community programming, and a mission-driven nonprofit structure aimed at entrepreneurs and changemakers.
• Serendipity Labs: Member-based coworking operator offering flexible workspace, virtual offices, and meeting rooms. Closely comparable product set including virtual membership with mailing address and conference room rentals.
• Galvanize: Coworking operator that bundles workspace with technical education and corporate training. Comparable to Start Fort Wayne's combination of physical coworking plus structured educational programming (Lunch and Learn, Creative Assembly).
• Novel Coworking: Coworking operator focused on suburban and secondary-market locations. Highly comparable target geography and member profile (small business owners, remote workers) to Start Fort Wayne's Fort Wayne base.
• The Cannon: Houston-area coworking and entrepreneurship community offering membership tiers, event programming, and startup support. Comparable mission of building an entrepreneurial ecosystem through a member-funded coworking model.
• Common Desk: Mid-market coworking operator offering flexible memberships, dedicated offices, and community programming in multiple U.S. cities. Comparable product mix (general, virtual, day pass) and reliance on community-led GTM.

Broad incumbents

• WeWork: Largest global coworking operator with broad geographic footprint and diverse membership products. Relevant as the dominant incumbent setting expectations for coworking pricing, technology, and member experience.
• Industrious: National premium coworking and flexible office operator with enterprise-grade amenities. Represents the scaled, well-capitalized competitor whose pricing and brand pose a threat to local independent spaces like Start Fort Wayne.

Emerging players

• Workfrom: Online marketplace and community for remote workers to find and book coworking spaces. Adjacent channel partner comparable to Indiana Coworking Passport that helps smaller spaces like Start Fort Wayne acquire distributed members.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/startfortwayne
• Xx.com/StartFortWayne
• Facebookfacebook.com/startfortwayne
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/start-fort-wayne

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Start Fort Wayne