A new co-working space is tentatively scheduled to open in Irvine in November. Spaces, with North American headquarters in Dallas, has signed a lease to occupy approximately 34,000 square feet of office space on two floors at 17875 Von Karman Ave.
It’s a brand of IWG PLC, a new holding company that includes brands Regus, Open Office and Color. Houston-based Hines owns the Irvine building. The location also includes a 3,810-square-foot business club.
The design of the Spaces locations are “high-end and European inspired,” said Michael Berretta, vice president of network development Americas. Each location offers a variety of options that cater to different brands, companies and entrepreneurs at varying stages of development. The Irvine location can accommodate a minimum of 300 members per day.
Co-working membership starts at $292 per month, dedicated desks at $415, and dedicated offices at $726.
Spaces joins other co-working options in Orange County, including WeWork, with a location in Irvine, and the beleaguered Newport Beach-based Real Office Centers, which has recently faced a slew of eviction lawsuits from landlord Irvine Co. The two parties appear to be working things out at the four locations Real Office Centers currently maintains.
There are five Spaces locations under development in Los Angeles County and five more planned for Southern California in the coming year, Berretta said. Spaces provides members complimentary access to its network of workspaces around the world.
Dual-Wedding Help
A University of California-Irvine alumnae created a company that helps ethnic brides who plan two weddings, one in the U.S. and one in their home countries. Esosa Agbonwaneten founded Bulletin LLC with a platform called Lythous that enables family, bridesmaids, groomsmen, etc. to connect and collaborate.
She originally started the company to develop an educational organizational tool but pivoted after spending an entire year fulfilling her maid of honor duties for her best friend, who had two weddings in three months—a traditional ceremony in Nigeria and an American ceremony in Santa Monica.
Lythous is hosting “The Not-So Average Wedding Expo” at The Cove on Oct. 21 to offer “a unique and creative perspective.” It will include vendors, a fashion show and a bridal panel. The expo is for both ethnic and American brides. The Cove is the physical space of Applied Innovation, UCI’s innovation institute.
Agbonwaneten started Bulletin during her last year of college in 2014, juggling midterms, board meetings and meetings with prospective customers.
IOC Funding
Irvine-based IOC Ventures recently funded three startups:
n It put $200,000 into Israel-based GrowEat, which was founded by Eyal Melyon, said fund founder Evan Jafa. The existing company was selling a vegetable-growing kit for kids and schools at chains that included Target. But when it wanted to mass-produce its product, its primary backer backed out, Jafa said. IOC Ventures stepped in and pivoted the company to make the garden more of a toy and more interactive through the use of smartphones.
GrowEat will incorporate augmented reality so users can see virtual butterflies and other creatures when they hold their phones over their gardens, he said. GrowEat uses technology to monitor a garden’s water and air quality and enables users to inspect their gardens from anywhere.
n IOC recently invested $40,000 in Moxie, which was founded by Tony Beizaee. The company created a device and an interactive app that lets a pet “call” its owner when they’re out of the house and allows an owner to “talk” to its pet. Jafa said the company isn’t ready to disclose exactly how the pet-owner communication works. The service can also monitor a pet via video and audio. The company plans to launch the service by the end of the month with a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. It’s located in Jafa’s InnovateOC Incubator in Irvine.
n The venture fund invested about $7,000 in Sweet Charms, which makes handmade jewelry and charms. It was started by Jafa’s 9-year-old daughter, Emma.
Founders Take Pledge
James Vigil, a UCI professor emeritus of criminology, law and society, signed the first UCI Founders’ Pledge in June for Aztlán, a mixed-reality game he’s creating with business partner Sergio Muñoz.
The pledge gives students, alumni, faculty and staff an opportunity to include philanthropy in their startup ventures. Signers commit to give back to UCI when their companies reach marketplace success. They can control the amount, timing and designation of their future gifts.
UCI alumni David Ochi, executive director of the ANTrepreneur Center on campus and longtime startup entrepreneur, and Robert Kollar, vice president and general counsel of Givsum Inc., have also signed the pledge.
Founders’ pledges are becoming more prevalent at universities across the nation, according to UCI.
