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Co-founder Zeger Nelis and Kai Lieuw-Kie-Song, both of STOO, at work in IJBurg’s coworking space (Image: IJburg College)

The ideal co-working space offers more than just a desk. The best ones offer synergy between companies holding offices and the community that hosts them. Encouraging creativity, stimulating collaborations, exploring new ideas and nurturing talent. Then add a couple of hundred teenagers. It’s the unique combination of Amsterdam’s newest co-working space, located in secondary school IJburg College.

‘Boost the area’

“It looked a bit sad”, says school director Jolanda Hogewind of the cafeteria connected to the gym at her IJburg College, in the eastern part of Amsterdam. As it was no longer in use, Hogewind decided to find a new purpose for it. After some consideration, she got the nod from the municipality to turn it into something new. “They didn’t want it to have an inward focus”, says Hogewind. “It needs to give the area of IJburg a boost.”

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What better way to boost the neighbourhood by setting up a co-working space for startups? Early-stage companies looking for an office can now go back to secondary school. The low fee includes coffee, internet and a view of the neighbouring park. Peek through the windows on the other side, and you catch the action of a sporting event taking place in the gymnasium below. 

‘Do something back for the school’

Co-working at IJburg College offers a good deal for Amsterdam, where square meters can be notoriously pricey. There is however a catch, explains Hogewind. “We expect startups that work here to do something back for the school.” 

Building your business at IJburg College also means building the future of the students in the school. “Living and working in the current society requires a lot of young people. In secondary school, it is important to gain a certain set of skills that help you in the future. These could be computer skills but also collaboration and curiosity.”

Professional network for young creatives

That means startups have to be open to share their knowledge, growth and progress with the school. One of the startups that fit right in at IJburg College is STOO. A new platform for young creatives to develop their talent. STOO produces video clips for musicians, organises DJ sets for up-and-coming talents and is working on a series of documentaries on young creatives from Amsterdam. 

The goal of STOO is to offer these creative minds an opportunity to gain experience within a professional network, says STOO co-founder Yvar Agterhuis. “Young creatives often hit barriers early on. There’s no place for them to gain certified expertise. I used to be a musician and wanted to record a video clip. I quickly found that it would cost me 500 euros. I didn’t have that money. So I connected with some friends and found out you don’t always need all the gear. It’s the motivation that counts.”

Connecting with filmmakers got him thinking about creating a platform to connect these skills. When he asked STOO co-founder Zeger Nelis to design a logo, they also started to bounce ideas off of each other. “We figured we didn’t want to become the next video production agency, so we opted to create a foundation for talent development among youth.”

‘Studio Oost’

They landed on the name STOO. As Agterhuis and Nelis explain, it is a contraction of ‘Studio Oost’. Or, if you’re looking for the cooler explanation: it is also slang for ‘Oost’, named after the part of Amsterdam where the startup was founded, only then flipped and misspelt as all the cool kids are doing these days apparently. 

“After founding STOO we were taking meetings at other people’s homes or on a bench in the park. It was important for us to meet as many people as possible. So when we got the offer for IJburg’s co-working space we took it.” 

Keep the target audience close

By working from the college’s co-working, both Agterhuis and Nelis are back in familiar surroundings, as they are both alumni at the college. It puts them right where their target audience is. “For us, this is a great chance to give workshops, but also to target youth from certain subcultures we’re looking for. We also had a girl from this school join us on production. She was interested in photography, so we were able to show her what’s possible and motivate her to look at the possibilities.”

Mainly due to COVID, the co-working space is relatively quiet. STOO is looking forward to new companies joining, as it gives them more opportunities to collaborate. Agterhuis: “For us, it would be beneficial to get into contact with web designers, marketing startups or photographers. But to work here, it is important that you see an added value in working with youth. Students can just come in and ask a question about your expertise or business.”

Teaching teachers tech

There’s also another category of businesses for whom working at a school is a great opportunity: startups developing education technology can use the environment to validate, test or perfect their product. It’s why John Onneweer, community manager at IJburg College, is currently in talks with Amsterdam-based edtech startups to make IJburg their home.

“There’s sometimes a gap between what teachers can do, and what they should be able to teach”, adds Hogewind. “As a school, we also need to constantly work on our skills.” Onneweer also sees opportunities for students to gain entrepreneurial experience, for instance through internships. “That would be great. For students and startups to discover projects together. So we’re really looking for companies that are into that.”

‘Get your work done’

Hogewind and Onneweer are also eagerly looking at the future for their co-working place. “We’d love tech companies that try to solve social issues through technology. And it would be great if we could get companies in the field of art and science”, says Hogewind. 

“Like drone shows. Or strandbeesten”, adds Onneweer, who emphasises that any startup is welcome. “The best thing would be if we can collaborate with incubators at universities, to get them to come here and share knowledge with teachers and students. Together we have to apply an interpretation to the community we’re shaping here. But let’s not forget, companies joining will also be able to just get their work done.”