NJ Ignite participant The Co-Co offers women a place to work side-by-side, learn from each other, and empower one another. PHOTO CREDIT: Jennifer Lavelle Photography
SUMMIT, NJ— The Co-Co Collaborative LLC, a women-focused co-working and co-learning space for entrepreneurs and solopreneurs, which operates The Co-Co in Summit, has become the latest collaborative workspace approved to participate in the New Jersey Economic Development Authority's NJ Ignite program.
The NJEDA announced the Co-Co's addition to the Ignite program on Friday. NJ Ignite helps technology and life sciences startup companies realize the benefits of collaborative workspaces—incubators, accelerators, and co-working spaces—by providing up to nine months of rent support for startup technology and life sciences businesses that are moving to an approved collaborative workspace. To date, 17 collaborative workspaces have been approved to participate in the program.
The Co-Co opened its doors at 115 Summit Ave. in January 2019, less than one year after co-founders Suzanne Willian, Lynne Pagano, Lauren Decker, Christine Gilfillan, and Suzanne Spero hosted a listening event at a coffee shop and brainstormed the idea of creating a place for women to work side-by-side, learn from each other, and empower one another, NJEDA officials state.
"We're seeing an increase in female owned and/or operated co-working spaces, incubators, and accelerators throughout the Garden State, including nearly half of the participating NJ Ignite collaborative workspaces," NJEDA CEO Tim Sullivan says. "Investing in women-owned enterprises is an important step in fulfilling Governor Murphy's vision for creating the most diverse innovation ecosystem in the nation and we look forward to hearing success stories from startups growing out of these workspaces."
Offering full-time, part-time, and community memberships, The Co-Co currently boasts 175 members, including a life sciences attorney, a technology marketer and investor in several startups, a computer analyst at a customer relationship management company, an employee working remotely for a major pharmaceutical company, and several independent consultants. Members also include women who are at different stages of life and career. The Co-Co's location less than an hour from Manhattan offers an alternative for Union, Essex, and Morris County women looking to avoid commuting into New York City, Co-Co officials note.
In addition to office space and networking opportunities, the Co-Co co-working space also serves as a co-learning space, hosting six to eight events per month.
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John Jordan
John Jordan is a veteran journalist with 36 years of print and digital media experience.
