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BRISBANE'S new $5 million co-working space for 200 startups, The Capital, has opened on the Queen Street Mall.
The first tenants are Fishburners and Little Tokyo Two a pair of startups that have made a business of facilitating young entrepreneurs.
Fishburners Chief Executive Murray Hurps says Brisbane is the ideal location for his company's next Australian venture outside of its Sydney base.
"Brisbane has a strong entrepreneurial spirit and has a track record of producing ground-breaking startups with world-changing ideas," Hurps says.
"Fishburners is a not-for-profit focused on inspiring new startups, attracting and validating existing startups and connecting them with support from other parts of the ecosystem."
The workspace is partly funded by the Brisbane City Council, as outlined in its Brisbane 2022 New World City Action Plan.
"With support from the City of Brisbane and our corporate partners, Fishburners Brisbane is now open to new high-impact, scalable startups looking to create something big in a collaborative community," says Hurps.
Little Tokyo Two Founder Jock Fairweather says there is no other space in Australia offering the entire startup, enterprise and business ecosystem in one single building.
"The Capital has offered Little Tokyo Two the opportunity to provide what we thought was missing in the ecosystem a space that could host scaled startups, venture capitalists, mentors and corporate innovation teams in a space that is conveniently co-located with startup innovators from Fishburners," says Fairweather.
"Being part of The Capital has allowed us to become recognised as a leader in innovation, culture, creativity and entrepreneurship. We are proud that we are now known as Brisbane's leading curator of innovation communities."
The Capital is located on the Queen Street Mall, above Zara, with entrance through the Regent Cinema.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk says Fishburners and Little Tokyo Two will cultivate the city's startups through their business life-cycle.
"The Capital's location in the heart of the CBD will provide Brisbane startups with exposure to corporate and government customers and partners crucial to helping them grow and attract new investment," says Cr Quirk.
"Innovation is an industry that is critical to our future economic growth and will continue to be a major stimulant of job creation for our city.
"The Capital will continue Brisbane's momentum as a centre for innovation in the Asia Pacific region and ensure the city continues to thrive in this rapidly globalising economy."
Brisbane City Council has signed an agreement with Fishburners and Little Tokyo Two as anchor tenants over five years with building redeveloper ISPT joining The Capital as a Founding Partner.
Fishburners is supported by partners Google, News Corp, Optus, NAB, PwC, Cisco, Dropbox, Amazon and BigAir.
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