![By Pub. by John W. Graham & Co., Spokane, Washington. "Tichnor Quality Views," Reg. U. S. Pat. Off. Made Only by Tichnor Bros., Inc., Boston, Mass. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Greetings_from_Spokane%2C_Washington_%2874088%29.jpg "By Pub. by John W. Graham & Co., Spokane, Washington. \"Tichnor Quality Views,\" Reg. U. S. Pat. Off. Made Only by Tichnor Bros., Inc., Boston, Mass. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons")
We at IP Street believe our city is a great place for startups, and not just ones like ours that focus on providing intellectual property analytics APIs. Spokane has enabled us to create exciting patent tools to sharpen your competitive intelligence and, while we could choose to live anywhere, we’d prefer to be here.
Here are the top three reasons why:
Cost of living and working
We love not being distracted by the minutia of barely getting by in an expensive city. Housing prices are reasonable and you can get involved with co-working groups like Fellow, Startup Spokane or IC:Work to minimize your office space costs and maximize your network.
Fellow
Fellow is located in Downtown Spoakne and ranges from 1 day a week at $49/month to a full-time premium desk at $325/month. Within their building there is also a coffee roastery, a restaurant, and a yoga studio for all of your work/life balance needs. Recently Fellow was named as one of the top 50 coolest coworking spaces in the USA.
Startup Spokane is a program of Greater Spokane Incorporated. The co-working space is also located in Downtown Spokane and grants 24/7 access to their beautiful office and meeting rooms for $100 per month. Their program called Professional Connect can connect you with mentors, advisors, and industry experts in the Inland Northwest.
IC:Work is sponsored by the Innovate Collective in nearby Coeur d'Alene, Idaho (About 30 miles away from Spokane). Their co-working arrangements are flexible and range from one-day a week memberships starting at $35 a month, or 24/7 Access with dedicated desk at $255 a month.
Lifestyle
The local area is rich with outdoor activities and you can be mountain biking, skiing, or hiking all year long. There is no real traffic to speak of in Spokane. Cutting your commuting time to mere minutes means your creative bandwidth doesn’t get maxed out by driving stress. We are able to put all our energy into refining our patent algorithms instead of searching for toll road change.
Community
And finally, we've found nearby communities of likeminded folks who understand your passion for Python, your need for capital, and overall support as your launch your next big thing.
Startup Spokane offers multiple programs to bring great minds together. They offer a free Initial Entrepreneur Assistance meeting to assist you in your unique needs. They also host events and offer connections to with mentors, advisors, and industry experts in the Inland Northwest. You can listen to their podcasts here.
The Innovation Collective in nearby Coeur d'Alene, Idaho hosts over fifty events each year to connect you to anyone from patent attorneys to renowned inventors. This video is an introduction to the resources for entrepreneurs at IC.
We have found Spokane to be a wonderful home for IPStreet and our patent api integrations.
