Entrepreneurs Mesh

Oslo’s Mesh brings small companies together for networking, coworking, and other events

Photo: Mesh Norway
Networking is important for entrepreneurs, so Anders Mjåset and Audun Ueland created a place for them to meet.

Rasmus Falck
Oslo, Norway

After three months of construction work, Mesh just opened the doors. This was more than just carpentry and new furniture. The community creative workspace was founded in 2012 out of necessity. Anders Mjåset and Audun Ueland have been entrepreneurs from a young age. While building companies, the itching need for connecting with fellow entrepreneurs grew on them. They were lacking a professional environment, where one could be surrounded by people who were in the same shoes. After researching different concepts of co-working space, they decided to launch one of their own. They rented a 200 square meter office space a football kick from the Norwegian Parliament and invited their closest of entrepreneur friends to have a desk.

After two months of test operation and development they took over another 300 square meters of office space. This was the first-ever community-focused co-working space in Oslo. The welcome was overwhelming. Soon enough, a small, publicly open café, a nightclub, a maker space, and event management followed as supporting and supplementing activities. After three years of existence the brand and organization were well established. They felt the need to strengthen it.

Inside Mesh the companies are working long days to spice up the startup scene. One of the recent launches is the very international team of DXTR Tactile. They develop the smart toy called plaDXTR. This is intelligent and connected building blocks that analyze child development with real-time data from offscreen play with the world’s most known crowdfunding platform. Now they are looking for a limited group of enthusiastic parents willing to work with them to finalize the concept. The first objective is to make DXTR a platform loved by children. The aim is not an insanely overfunded project, but a meaningful, tight community of passionate parents, eager to move tech to a more natural angle. Hopefully the first toys will be on the market for Christmas 2017.

The Nordic Creators’ Community is the new flag and guiding star at Mesh. They offer various fundamentally different memberships. For individuals and small teams, they offer new membership spaces. In the new Working Lounge, they want to serve the entire startup and entrepreneur community and connect them in an appropriate space with innovators from different sectors. They want to invite entrepreneurs, investors, and corporate innovators to bridge industries and businesses nationally and internationally. The Working Lounge is made for them as a temporary meeting and working space, where the network effect is the strongest. For everyone they have a public café where visitors can enjoy refreshing drinks and meals in Scandinavian designed interior.

In the 21st century, networking is more important than ever. Being connected with the right people can accelerate or even create businesses and new opportunities!

This article originally appeared in the Jan. 22, 2016, issue of the Norwegian American Weekly. To subscribe, visit SUBSCRIBE or call us at (206) 784-4617.