Inspire9

Coworking space. Events. Meetups. Startup culture. Tech People.

@pat does great pancakes. Yum! I love this place — for coworking, meetings, training and fun. A beautiful community and often hosting a wide range of events — there’s always something happening at the appropriately-​named Inspire9.

Who said the best things in life aren’t free?
When it comes to co-​working spaces, Inspire9 is one of the best and guess what? It’s Free. With a capital F!
As a place to come and rest your laptop for a few hours, it offers just about everything you could possibly need and want as a freelancer or solo business operator:
— Big open spaces with lots of natural light and plenty of desks;
— Free reliable wifi;
— A «work» vibe which means that you can focus and get stuff done when you’re in «the zone»;
— Neat bathrooms;
— Small kitchenette;
— A communal library;
— Easy access to Richmond station and nearby cafes;
— A chill out «lounge» with sofas and a TV;
— Meeting rooms and phone call «pods»; and (the favourite part for people who normally work from home)
— A bunch of creative/​techie people to hang out with!
Sure, if you’re here every day then you’ll pay something, but if you just want to hang out for a half day every few weeks then you will be welcomed here by a great group of people… and maybe even asked to go for a beer after work!

I know it’s difficult to understand the concept of Inspire9. I didn’t believe it myself.
Wait, you mean you WANT me to pop by the open desks, plonk my laptop down, use your wifi, ask the brilliant permanent occupiers of the space their thoughts and tips on tech and creative related stuff while im there, and I dont have to pay?!
Yup. This space is brilliant. Encouraging you to immerse yourself in an environment full of other inspired people and all coming together for the common good. And scary part is, it totally works!

I first walked in to Inspire9 some time early in 2010 when I was looking for some developer help. I thought I’d just be dropping in for a couple of hours to get some help with my website, but instead I’ve turned up almost every day since.
As well as being a great place to co-​work and get projects happening, Inspire9 is an entirely awesome place to stumble upon collaborations with other people in the space, to get help from people with different skills, and to share your own skills.
Most importantly, the community that surrounds the space is full of the most welcoming and enthusiastic people I’ve met — many of them have become my closest friends as well as my coworkers.
It’s free to drop in and see if the space is right for you — so come past for a coffee, or a game on the PS3, or even to get some work done!

A spectacular place with spectacular people. I don’t get there as often as I’d like, but when I do, I’m always made to feel welcome. It’s my favourite co-​working space in Melbourne.

I’m a big fan of Inspire9 (i9) & the community that has developed. It’s a open, friendly space — the space is fantastic and the people are even better.
i9 offers an open desk policy. If you’re a casual drop-​in or you just want to try the space out — feel free to drop on by. Say hi to Kealey or Nathan when you arrive, they’ll be able to take you around the space and help you get set up.
i9 regularly hosts Melbourne Jelly — a fortnightly meetup where people get together to co-​work. This brings in a lot of crowd, so it’s great if you want to meet people. They also host Melbourne Nightowls — an event where people get together and work into the night.

When Nathan Sampimon was running his web development agency he had a few spare desks, so he invited anyone in Melbourne to come and join him to share the office space. The idea took off and now Inspire9 has completely transformed into a great coworking space for entrepreneurs and technologists in Richmond. Drop in sometime and meet the community.