A ribbon-cutting on Tuesday, seen here, marked the official opening of CoWork at the Accelerator. Front row, from left: Lindsay Griffin, vice president and chief operating officer of the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce; Larry Newman, executive director of the Diamond City Partnership; Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown; Kristopher Jones, entrepeneur and founder of CoWork at the Accelerator; Robyn Jones; State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski. Second row: Unidentified, Jeff Kimmel, Alec Ryncavage. Top row: Steve Blackburn, Mark Dymond, Unidentified.
Kevin Carroll | Times Leader
CoWork at the Accelerator debuts space for entrepreneurs, businesses to collaborate and grow
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A look at some of the space inside CoWork at the Accelerator, the newest endeavor launched by local entrepeneur Kristopher Jones.
Kevin Carroll | Times Leader
A ribbon-cutting on Tuesday, seen here, marked the official opening of CoWork at the Accelerator. Front row, from left: Lindsay Griffin, vice president and chief operating officer of the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce; Larry Newman, executive director of the Diamond City Partnership; Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown; Kristopher Jones, entrepeneur and founder of CoWork at the Accelerator; Robyn Jones; State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski. Second row: Unidentified, Jeff Kimmel, Alec Ryncavage. Top row: Steve Blackburn, Mark Dymond, Unidentified.
Kevin Carroll | Times Leader
A look at some of the space inside CoWork at the Accelerator, the newest endeavor launched by local entrepeneur Kristopher Jones.
Kevin Carroll | Times Leader
WILKES-BARRE — As the COVID-19 pandemic has made working from home the new norm in 2020, entrepeneurs and business professionals looking to thrive in a high-energy, professional setting while still maintaining their distance are in luck.
CoWork at the Accelerator, the newest endeavor launched by entrepeneur and founder of the Accelerator Kristopher Jones, officially opened for lease with a ribbon cutting on Tuesday evening at the Accelerator’s River Street location.
“With our other tenants here, we wanted their businesses to be a bit further along in the process,” Jones said. “With CoWork, aspiring professionals could work, collaborate and work on growing their ideas.”
Located on the third floor of the Accelerator, CoWork features a number of desks and a few private offices, all with plenty of space and distance in accordance with COVID-19 protocols. In all, the space measures about 2,500 square feet and could safely house about 12 or 13 people, according to Jones.
“Before the pandemic, a space like this wasn’t even on our roadmap,” Jones said. “Everyone’s had to pivot this year, so we did, too.”
Some of the amenities and perks that come with leasing out space in CoWork include: financial and legal services, growth marketing, and one-on-one business coaching with Jones himself.
Prospective tenants would also gain access to the Accelerator’s Studio 16 South, which comes with video, audio and digital content-creating technology for promoting businesses. The studio was launched in partnership with Coal Creative back in June.
“We’ve had a few different people express their interest in leasing out space,” Jones said. “They would have access to everything that we offer here.”
The building that houses the Accelerator was formerly owned by Berkshire Hathaway GUARD, and was acquired by Jones in April of 2019 with the idea in mind to transform the space into a hub for local startup projects and entrepreneurial ventures.
Tuesday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony was hosted by the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce, and was attended by a number of prominent Wilkes-Barre figures, including the Chamber’s vice president Lindsay Griffin, State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski and Mayor George Brown.
Also in attendance was CoWork’s first tenant, Alec Ryncavage. Just 19 years old, Ryncavage is a current Plymouth Borough council member and the founder of CYBIOT, a cybersecurity software company that recently received a $50,000 investment from a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley.
“I love it up here,” Ryncavage said. “It’s affordable, and I’ll get the chance to work alongside so many great minds.”
Ryncavage has been moved in for about a month, after a work-from-home stretch of about five months.
“I was working from my bedroom, and I had to get out,” Ryncavage said. “Kris and I have been friends for awhile.”
“Alec reached out to me before I even had this idea,” Jones said. “He’s one of the most driven young people I’ve ever seen.”