Frequently Asked Questions

What is Hero City?

Hero City is a coworking space geared toward entrepreneurs and early-stage startups. In addition to housing a general coworking space, Hero City also houses the Draper Venture Network and a subset of it's fund, as well as Boost VC and it's bi-annual accelerator program. 

What is the difference between Hero City and Draper University?

Hero City is a day-to-day work space for entrepreneurs, startups, and in-house investors, whereas Draper University runs structured entrepreneurship education programs. To be sure, while operationally separate, Hero City and Draper University do work synergistically within the same ecosystem. 

How do I join Hero City?

Everyone who joins Hero City is directed to fill out this application. If you'd like to schedule a tour of the space before filling out the application, you can do that here.

What are your different membership options?

We currently have (3) membership options, differentiated by frequency of access to Hero City and type of workspace. 

  • Part-Time
    • Frequency of access: 10 calendar days/month
    • Type of workspace: open seating 
  • Full-Time, Open Seating (sometimes referred to as a *flex membership*):
    • Frequency of access: unlimited/month
    • Type of workspace: open seating
  • Full-Time, Dedicated Desk:
    • Frequency of access: unlimited/month
    • Type of workspace: dedicated desk

What's the difference between open seating and a dedicated desk?

If you have an open seating membership, you're able to sit anywhere within the open seating sections, but when you pack up at the end of the day you must take your belongings with you. If you have a dedicated desk membership, you have a desk that is always and only yours. You're able to leave your belongings (ex: monitors, desk supplies, etc).

There are two primary open seating sections in Hero City, and one main hall of dedicated desks.

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We do not provide monitors. If you have an open seating membership, you will not have access to a monitor. If you have a dedicated desk membership, you can bring your own monitor. 

Why might one choose open seating over a dedicated desk or vice versa? 

Open seating tends to work well for individuals, whereas dedicated desks tend to work well for growing startup teams, especially those with a number of software engineers (who often prefer having larger monitors to work off of). 

We have a limited number of dedicated desks. Sometimes individuals and teams join with a part-time or flex membership as an interim solution while they wait for a dedicated desk to open up. 

When we are close to capacity, we prioritize dedicated desks for growing startups.

Can I share my membership with someone else?

No, memberships are person specific. If you have multiple people on your team that will be working out of Hero City they must each hold their own membership (although not everyone on the same team needs to hold the same type or membership, i.e. you can be part-time while your co-founder is full-time etc).

In addition to general workspace, what amenities and services do you offer?

With all membership packages, you will have access to the following @ no additional charge:

  • Office hours with our in-house VCs, and volunteer accountants and lawyers
  • World-class startup and entrepreneurship events (frequency varies throughout year, but on avg. ~1 event/month)
  • (3) executive level conference rooms and (4) smaller breakout rooms
    • Booked on a first-come, first-serve basis through an online portal
    • Shared between all of Hero City (coworking members, in-house VCs, Boost VC
    • No additional fees
  • Printers
  • General kitchen appliances (coffee making things, hot water, filtered water, microwave, toaster) and basic coffee and tea
  • Weekly community snacks and monthly community lunches

You may also have your business mail sent to Hero City. However, Hero City does not provide secure mail services. You will be responsible for checking our mail sorting area for any packages or letters you're expecting. 

The following are also available, but @ additional charge:

  • A theater that holds ~200 people
    • Members are able to book @ 50% the rate we offer outside groups
    • To inquire about an event, fill out this form
  • Media services
    • Members are able to book @ X% the rate we offer outside groups
    • To learn more about the media services we offer, visit this page

How do you promote community at Hero City?

We host weekly community snacks and monthly community lunches. Other than that, we encourage interactions to happen organically. Smile, say hi, strike up a conversation, and respect each others boundaries. 

What's the noise level like at Hero City?

Hero City is a coworking space, and the noise level reflects that. While our members are generally respectful and cognizant of each other, if your work requires consistent silence, Hero City is probably not the best fit for your workspace needs. 

Headphones are nice to keep around on days in which chatter and excitement is abound. 

We do also occasionally host day-time events in our theater. 

Do you provide parking to Hero City members?

No. However, there is metered street parking, and a number of parking structures within 5-minutes or less walking distance from Hero City. You are able to purchase parking passes for these structures through the City of San Mateo here. We are also X minutes away from the San Mateo (specific name) CalTrain stop. 

Does joining Hero City mean I will be invested in by a Draper Venture Network fund?

No. However, there is significant value in the proximity- and access- to DVN VCs. A number of investments have been made as a result of this unique access.