Nov 11, 2024

Inside Stone & Chalk: Is Australia's Biggest Startup Hub Worth It?

Stone & Chalk is Australia’s largest startup hub. They’ve got fancy offices in Sydney and Melbourne, big corporate partners, lots of press.

I spent 6 months there. Here’s what it’s actually like.

What Stone & Chalk Actually Is

It’s a co-working space plus programming plus connections. Part WeWork, part accelerator, part networking club.

The pitch: Be surrounded by other startups, get access to mentors and corporates, grow faster.

The reality: It depends entirely on what you make of it.

The space: Nice offices. Good location. Coffee. Meeting rooms. The physical infrastructure is legitimately good.

The community: Other startups around you. Some are great. Some are playing startup. You’ll find both.

Events: Constant events. Pitch nights, workshops, panels. Maybe too many. You could attend something every day if you wanted.

Corporate access: This is their main value prop. Banks, insurers, big companies come through. If you’re selling to enterprise, this matters.

Mentor network: Hit or miss. Some mentors are genuinely helpful. Some are corporate types who’ve never built anything.

Customers: Nobody’s handing you customers. The corporate connections are introductions, not deals.

Funding: Stone & Chalk isn’t an investor. Being there doesn’t guarantee investment.

Magic growth: Plenty of startups at Stone & Chalk fail. The hub doesn’t make bad ideas work.

Peace and quiet: It’s an open floor plan with constant activity. If you need deep focus time, bring headphones.

B2B fintech startups: The corporate connections are mostly financial services. If that’s your market, huge advantage.

First-time founders: The community and programming helps if you’re figuring things out. Experienced founders might find it less valuable.

Extroverts: If networking energizes you, you’ll thrive. If it drains you, you’ll struggle.

Teams of 2-10: Big enough to benefit from community, small enough that the space works.

Solo founders: Too expensive for one person. Get a home office.

B2C startups: The corporate connections don’t help much. You need users, not enterprise intros.

Late-stage companies: If you’re past 20 people, you probably want your own space and identity.

Bootstrappers watching every dollar: It’s not cheap. That money might be better spent elsewhere.

Pricing varies but expect $500-1000/month per person. For a team of 5, that’s $2,500-5,000/month.

Compare that to a basic co-working space at $300/person. You’re paying a premium for the programming and connections.

Is it worth 2-3x the price? Depends if you use what’s on offer.

I got value from Stone & Chalk. Made connections that led to customers. Found a mentor who was genuinely helpful. Liked being around other founders.

But I could see founders who don’t work the network getting nothing extra for the premium price.

The hub gives you access. You have to do something with it.

General co-working (WeWork, etc.): Cheaper. Less startup-specific. Fine if you just need a desk.

Industry-specific hubs: If you’re not in fintech, other hubs might be better connected to your market.

Incubators/accelerators: If you want more structured programming and potential investment, look at accelerators instead.

Home/remote: The cheapest option. Works if you’re disciplined and don’t need networking.

Stone & Chalk is good at what it does: connecting startups to corporates and building community.

It’s not magic. It’s infrastructure. What you build with it is up to you.

If you’re selling to enterprise and want an Australian base, worth considering. If not, save your money for things that directly grow your business.