A brief history

Inspire9 is a community to support startups, freelancers and creatives in their growth.

It began in a triple level office space in Cremorne, inner Melbourne where a small group of people came together to work on their passion projects, seeking the company of bright, enthusiastic, awesome types.

Our motivation? To share the knowledge we’ve accrued on our journeys, learn a few things in the process, and work with others to help our businesses grow. We like to think that by giving substantial responsibility and opportunity to the people who walk through the doors, Inspire9 is generating small but significant social change.

Inspire9 has become a community in the truest sense. We share ideas, responsibilities and opportunities. In many instances we share music, hobbies, and even possessions. We share information: news, links, memes, stories, blogs, and much more. Forget minding our own business, we are each other’s business.

And the best part? It’s free to drop in.

The team

The Community team are here to help you make the most of your Inspire9 experience.

For our members, the community team are the platform for diving into ideas. They are the warm, friendly faces of familiarity that make your visit to the space a good one.

They’re just like regular members, with their own personal flavour to add to the space, but also take it upon themselves to make sure when exciting things happen in the space the right people hear about it. You can follow along with their banter on the social channels; Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest, or catch a post or two on the i9 blog.

  • Nate

    Nathan Sampimon

    Founder

    Nathan travels, funds inspiring projects, eats chicos, jams on his Maton guitar, develops apps and likes to run. He admits that the time he spends exploring the full range of versatility his screen bracket provides could be better spent. He enjoys good coffee and great wine, but rarely mixed together.

  • Lucas

    Lucas Renzi

    Community Manager

    Lucas spent a decade across various industries as a team manager before moving into the education sector. Throughout his tenure at Inspire9, Lucas has exhibitioned his handiness with the hammer and drill. It was only a matter of time before the comparisons to Chuck Norris were drawn.

  • Rocket

    Meagan ‘Rocket’ Williams

    Community Manager

    Rocket is I9’s event co-ordinator. Which is just as well, because she has spent the last 5 years frolicking at every event, festival, party or adventure you could poke a stick at between the Mediterranean and Caribbean. She is fluent in Spanish and is partial towards bright pants.

  • Tess

    Tess Power

    Communications

    Tess is the expressive and eloquent drive behind the Inspire9 voice. She boasts an extensive background in Brand Management and Marketing. However she places that experience second to the competitive and sporting skills aquired by being the youngest sister to four brothers.

The space

We work from one of Richmond’s oldest buildings: the decommissioned Australian Knitting Mill which was established in 1910.

It’s now the home to several independent businesses, startups and individuals who drop in to use one of many available desks.

The members and residents work well individually, but work even better collaboratively. And when the need arises, theres ample opportunity for a relaxed game of table tennis, pool or foosball. We've even got a refurbished Mame arcade machine.

More often than not, people call in for the unique environment and then stay for the creative types who work and hang out in the space. Drop-ins (our nickname for members) become regulars, regulars become residents and before you know it, those original drop-ins are part of a community that’s better because of them.

Interested in checking out the space? Drop in today.

Sponsors

We're proud to be sponsored by Optus Singtel.

Optus are providing startups a great opportunity to grow their companies through the Optus Innov8 program. The program offers funding, workspace and access to a great network of mentors.

Read more about Optus' support of Inspire9