Is ‘Creative Venture Lab’ more than meets the eye?

Letter to the Editor

To the Editor, 

Most rural folks probably aren’t aware of a company called “WeWork” unless they have been watching this latest dotcom collapse. Basically, the company was cashing in on landlord-owned properties by breaking them up into small business spaces all over the globe to be leased to companies that were new and upstarts for a fee. They have little real assets, and tended to be much the same as the dotcom company that provides taxi service using other people’s automobiles and the owners as drivers called “Uber.” 

WeWork’s CEO, Adam Neumann, was given a “Golden Parachute” of $1.7 billion by a company called “Softbank” when “WeWorks” initial public offering tanked and Neumann stepped down from the chairmanship. Not a bad deal for failing! WeWork was initially valued at $47 billion and currently “Softbank” has lowered its value down to $5 billion at the end of the third quarter, leaving a trail of layoffs and landlords wondering if they are going to get paid. What will become of the company seems to be up in the air. 

Now comes Monticello and its initial look at going all in with several other towns with “Creative Venture Lab” in Dubuque as the hub, and wants to have a similar deal with the city. They will provide space for a membership and a fee, based on use in Dubuque and charge Monticello a lump sum fee. It is said that the state has already pledged $45,000 for a build-out in Monticello. Although it is all very sketchy at the moment, I certainly hope we aren’t buying a pig in a poke with this “cutting edge” thinking that can tank as quickly as it gets off then ground. 

Known as the “Center of Rural Innovation,” it got its start in Vermont, a state much smaller than Iowa but very rural for the eastern seaboard. Iowa got involved initially, creating hubs in several communities that have colleges, such as Grinnell, for their hubs and smaller communities surrounding the hub as their network. 

The object is to educate and train local residents in digital skills, employ them in new economy jobs, and empower them to launch the startups that will drive their digital economy. Immediately it appears the feeling is if you train people they will automatically create new jobs based on training in a new technology. I don’t quite see the connection, or at least not one that comes immediately to mind. 

For those who have the technology skills and are currently working elsewhere, moving here and continuing with your employment is already available even without broadband connections, which is also part of this technology drive. All you really need is a computer and a decent connection to the web and you already have that. 

We are coming in under a different strategy utilizing the “Creative Adventure Lab” in Dubuque for the hub. Up to now, the only attraction I have seen in this “Adventure Lab” was a giant pile of Lego blocks for people to create things with. Beyond that, I have little knowledge. I would suspect that the first round of folks might see a better outcome in Grinnell since they are a world-class college with a billion dollar endowment! Whatever comes of this bears close watching and I would invite residents of Monticello to keep an eye on this so it doesn’t get completely out of hand as some things tend to do here.

Steve Hanken

Monticello, Iowa

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