As part of celebrating our 10th anniversary last November, we ran a competition for new startups and entrepreneurs in Tauranga to win 10 weeks of office/desk space at Basestation. One of these winners is Grier Fisher, who last year started Renderrite with an old work colleague, Chayse Russell. 

 We sat down with Grier for a kōrero, and he shared a bit about himself and the journey so far. 

For this year's IWD blog we sat down with Stacey Canham from Egis, she has been part of the Basestation whānau since July 2023. She works in one of the larger offices on our first floor alongside the rest of the Tauranga Egis team.  

Back in January this year, the New Zealand government announced that the rules for visitors are changing and people arriving on a visitor visa or NZeTA can now work for overseas employers whilst visiting New Zealand.

This is great news if you are a “digital nomad”, or you are able to work remotely for your employer or client. 

Coworking has its roots in the tech space. Many people see the independent c-base in Berlin, Germany as being the ‘origin story’ for the coworking movement. Formed in 1995, c-base saw itself as the hub of the Berlin hacker scene with a purpose to increase knowledge and skills pertaining to computer software, hardware and data networks. This type of setup then became copied and replicated globally, especially in San Francisco where Silicon Valley had become well established and was growing from strength to strength. 

At Basestation we have two fully equipped modern kitchens - this means that if you’re a resident, working at a hot desk, or using one of our meeting rooms you can BYO food in. We have microwaves, a toaster, and panini maker - so there are a number of options when it comes to preparing food and drinks.

That being said - every now and again our residents like to venture out and sample some locally prepared kai (food) from the local cafes, restaurants and eateries. 

Workplace wellbeing can cover a whole raft of issues, from mental health, physical health, a sense of belonging, eating well, and everything in between. 

The definition of “wellbeing is the experience of health, happiness and prosperity.” Good health and wellbeing is one of the United Nations Sustainable Development goals, so it must be important - right?

It’s estimated we spend one third of our life at work - therefore it makes sense that workplace wellbeing should be high up there on the priority list! The World Health Organization (WHO) actively promotes healthy, safe and resilient workplaces for all.

As it’s the start of Techweek this week; Aotearoa’s festival for tech that’s good for the world - we thought it would be a good excuse to catch up with some of our residents in the technology sector at Basestation. One of the longest standing companies here is TechnologyWise, we sat down to kōrero with Randal Hyde, one of the technologists on the team.  

Nominate an individual, small business, or community group for free space at Basestation! Following the success of our 10th birthday competition last year, we are offering something very special to the wider community. In keeping with the mission to champion entrepreneurship and those doing great mahi, Basestation is offering a deserving individual, community group, or business free office space rental for up to six months.

Are you new to Tauranga?

Between 2013 and 2023, the population of Tauranga grew by 32.73%!

The city’s annual average growth rate, between 2.1% - 2.3%, is above the national average, which is 1.3%. So we definitely have some new faces coming in. 

This is reflected in our residents at Basestation, a good handful of them have moved to the area in the last five years. Some are originally from the region, but have returned from an extended overseas venture, or they have young families and chosen to be closer to extended family. Others have just moved out of the rat race from other bigger cities and are looking for more work/life balance. 

Part of the human condition is to be social and find connection and belonging. 

With remote working on the rise, more people are looking to join a coworking space so they can connect with others on a regular basis rather than just working from home. 

At Basestation we understand the importance of connection and belonging, so we host regular events and opportunities for our residents to connect, network and create belonging together. Here are just some of the events, initiatives and opportunities we've hosted or got behind in the last 6 months!