The Missouri State University efactory came online in March 2013 as a business incubator hosting a handful of small companies, along with a coworking space.
A decade later, companies that used the efactory to get their start do business in fields as diverse as cloud computing, disability services and esports. Clients have created roughly 3,000 jobs over the years, securing at least $153 million in capital equity for their companies.
That’s according to Rachel Anderson. She joined the efactory more than 8 years ago, working her way up to become executive director.
“Ideas come to life — so whether you’re a high school student, or a college student, or a business professional here inside our walls, we’ve been able to grow our footprint," she told Ozarks Public Radio.
As Anderson and Missouri State University leaders celebrated efactory’s first decade on Wednesday, they announced a new coworking space soon to open across Boonville Avenue from the efactory’s main campus.
They’ll be taking over the third floor of Brick City, the former offices of Marlin advertising agency.
“Across the street was already really well-suited for us," Anderson says. "Marlin had impeccable taste, great design, and so with pretty limited infill budget we were able to make it a space where we can have more coworking options.”
Anderson says demand for shared workspace in downtown Springfield, including semi-private offices, is way up.
“We saw coworking nearly double, membership-wise, in the past year.”
