#3 Nordic Co-working Spaces: MESH

MESH is a Norwegian co-working and event space in downtown Oslo, which is connecting and accelerating the startup scene in Norway. MESH believe that Norway’s future should be dependent on talented people creating startups instead of the North Sea oil.

MESH is a big house for the entrepreneurs and creative minds of Oslo, located in a 2500 square meter four storey building in down town Oslo. The building consists of a co-working space for entrepreneurs and freelancers, a makerspace with available 3D printers and much more, a venture café, a nightclub and several different event spaces.

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A place for likeminded people

The idea for MESH came from Audun Ueland and Anders Mjåset back in 2012, after they experienced how hard it was starting a startup in Oslo, because it was difficult to find likeminded people to talk to and share experiences with in Oslo. They decided to do something about it and created MESH, with the money they got from selling their last startup. They went together with Kriszti Toth and Thomas Johansen, who all work towards making the Norwegian startup community blossom.

The goal of MESH is to create an ecosystem for entrepreneurs, where they could get support, talk with likeminded people, help each other to grow and get in touch with investors. The founders behind MESH believe that Norway’s future should not be dependent on the North Sea oil, but instead focus on utilizing the big amount of talented young people creating startups.

“We want to be on the forefront of the change, to make Oslo one of the great startup cities of the world,” says Kriszti Tóth, Co-founder of MESH.

MESH is currently expanding by taking over two 400 square meter floors, especially targeted for startups in the growth stage. MESH also added space for investors. This expansion is putting MESH over 3000 square meters, and we will most likely see more expansions in the future.

“When we first started MESH, the idea was that startups would get a desk and work on their idea here. When they grew to a certain size they would have to leave, but we soon found out that no one wanted to and therefore we had to adapt,” says Kriszti Tóth.

Focus on people’s personalities

When MESH is looking at new applications for membership, they do not value a startups idea as highly as other co-working spaces. MESH’s number one criteria is people’s personality.

“Ideas change all the time, but an idea means nothing if there is no execution behind it,” says Kriszti Tóth.

MESH are looking for good people, who do not get discouraged if their first idea turns out not to work. Having members who have tried and failed is huge, as these members have a lot of experience to contribute to the MESH community. MESH is of course also looking for startups with scalability and global potential.

“We are looking for people who are thinking globally from the get-go,” says Kriszti Tóth.

By prioritizing people’s personalities, MESH secures a great feeling in the house. Everybody is ready to put in the extra work, and are full of energy. This results in a great community, during work hours as well as after work. MESH often get praise by its visitors, because of the atmosphere around the co-working space.

“People often say that our members are not typical Norwegians. Our members are always full of energy and very talkative, which ensures a great atmosphere at the office,” says Kriszti Tóth.

Current members include Kahoot, the edutainment startup who are aiming to allow teachers to engage students in a fun, interactive way. Kahoot is an example of a startup that has been with MESH from early on, and is now a role model for new startups joining MESH.

The benefit of being a Mesher

MESH offer five different kind of membership. The prices are as following:

• Makerspace, 490 kr. ($65 ~) per month for 24/7 access to the Makerspace.
• After Hours, 1190 kr. ($155 ~) per month for access to MESH after opening hours and weekends.
• Flex part, 1190 kr. ($155 ~) per month for a flex desk at MESH up to 9 days per month.
• Flex full, 1990 kr. ($260 ~) per month for 24/7 access to a flex desk.
• Fixed, 2890 kr. ~ ($392 ~) per month for 24/7 access to your own desk.

The space is open 24/7, so members can do business with people from different time zones, or can work on their startup after they finished their day job. Other benefits of being a member are:

• 24/7 office access, including free meeting rooms, high speed internet, coffee, office supplies, color printer-scanner-photocopy and a personal locker.
• Co-working exchange program within Norway, work free at co-working spaces in all major cities for up to 3 days.
• Breakfast on Mondays and after-work beers on Fridays.
• Invite to exclusive events and free entry to events in general.

Being a member of MESH give, you gain access to some of the most inspirational that Oslo has to offer. You also get the opportunity to share your knowledge with the other members, and is free to use all the common areas. These common areas are used for eating and socializing, workshops, parties, lectures, meetings as well as relaxing with some table tennis or PlayStation.

If you are interested in becoming a member of the Mesh community, then you have the option of joining one of their guided tours and interviews on Fridays at 16.30. Check out their website for more information about the community and their guided tours!