The Mesh - Lisa Gansky [58]
Here’s another example. In my hometown of Napa, there’s suddenly a big garden space in the middle of town that no one knows what to do with. Some years ago, the Mondavis and others founded a museum and center to celebrate food, wine, and the arts, called Copia. It was quite a spectacular complex in the old town of Napa, along the river. But from a local’s perspective, the wine exhibits, restaurant, and small shops weren’t compelling enough to warrant repeat visits. Copia wasn’t really hitting the mark, and it went bankrupt in 2008.
Copia remains a beautiful and well-equipped building set along the Napa River in the midst of a wine-and-food haven. Its enormous organic gardens are not only productive but also spectacular. A number of different characters have been negotiating to take it out of bankruptcy. In the process of all that negotiation, the community, which is full of people who are enthusiastic about food and wine, and the restaurateurs, who are finely focused on the quality of the raw ingredients that they use, proposed a Meshy concept. The gardens are to be maintained by and for the use of the Napa community. People can learn how to garden there, and also grow food for the local restaurants—organic, local, and specialty stuff. The chefs will direct what gets grown in different seasons, and then present the harvest in their world-class restaurants. Copia’s future is still in flux, but there are no shortages of ideas on how to integrate this treasure into the hearts and stomachs of the community and its many visitors.
Whether we live in suburbs, cities, towns, or rural places, there are land and real estate opportunities like this one. Who is going to contribute to, and who’s going to get value from, these various assets or material goods? Landshare in the U.K. and Local Dirt in the United States are good examples of services that match aspiring growers with landowners. Land uses change over time. And the Mesh supports changing, adaptive models.
People are now hypersensitive to the drag of the true cost of things relative to their real and perceived value. That creates opportunities to take advantage of the current real estate slump. Citizen Space in San Francisco is a good example. A group of people got together to create a shared workspace. There’s also one at the David Brower Center in Berkeley that is part of a worldwide network called the Hub. Both are interesting models, say, if I am writing a book and want to be out of my house, but don’t necessarily want to take a huge office and sit by myself. I can sit with people who do similar work or minimally have a similar work style. Or I can have a separate space where I can work but still pop out and take a walk or get a coffee with an office mate. Depending on the offering, you could have access to the space by month or by year. As a commercial building owner, these models expand the possible options for marketing, pricing, and attracting a range of tenants. More options can help an owner get through market fluctuations with less panting and chanting.
I would add another possibility for dreaming up a Mesh business—things that are consequential businesses or services related to going from ownership to access, such as financing, insurance, and maintenance. These are adjacent businesses that provide necessary services or reduce the “friction” of certain offers. Finance, insurance, and maintenance are fundamental for launching car sharing into the mainstream.
arrive early. stay for the main meal.
In most businesses where technology is involved, including Mesh businesses, there’s something called the first mover advantage. You get the first mover advantage by, well, being first—by identifying a category or a class of service or product, and going to market with it before anyone else. If you do, you’re