No Lease? No Problem. How Slingshot Real Estate is Rethinking Workspaces

Andrew Robinson is the founder of Slingshot Real Estate and the visionary of The Hub on 3rd in downtown Rochester, Minnesota, a flexible office space concept being called the "Airbnb of offices." Andrew is building something new for Rochester's evolving business and entrepreneurial scene, a space that bridges the gap between co-working and traditional leases. 

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
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Speaker 2 (00:16):
Downtown's are coming back and office space has, I
think, bottomed out and I thinkwe're starting to have that
little V-shaped recovery.
I think bottomed out and Ithink we're starting to have
that little v-shape recovery.

Speaker 1 (00:26):
Welcome to the growing destinations podcast,
where we take a deep dive intodestination development and
focus on a wide range of topics,from tourism and entertainment
to economic development andentrepreneurism and much more.
I'm your host, bill Von BillVaughn Bank.
We're on location at the Hub on3rd in downtown Rochester,
minnesota.

(00:46):
I'm joined by Andrew Robinson,founder of Slingshot Real Estate
and the visionary behind thisflexible office space concept
being called the Airbnb ofoffices.
Andrew is building somethingnew for Rochester's evolving
business and entrepreneurialscene a space that bridges the
gap between co-working andtraditional leases.
Andrew Robinson, welcome to theGrowing Destinations podcast.

Speaker 2 (01:08):
Thank you for having me.

Speaker 1 (01:09):
Well, let's start with your background.
What inspired your journey intoreal estate and
entrepreneurship?

Speaker 2 (01:13):
You know, I've always kind of had that initial innate
feeling to be my own boss at acertain extent.
But I think, having I had tworeally great mentors in La
Crosse La, Crosse.
Lacrosse Wisconsin, lacrosseWisconsin, yeah, and I think
those guys were really goodleaders, not just in the
business but in the community,and so you know I looked at that

(01:37):
and it's you know I essentiallywanted to emulate that.
You know, be a good communityleader and build a good business
that focuses on the customer.

Speaker 1 (01:45):
What brought you to Rochester?

Speaker 2 (01:46):
So after my stint in lacrosse for a few years I was
working in residential andmultifamily development.
After those two years I wantedto learn other aspects of real
estate, and so I had theopportunity to move out to Salt
Lake City and go out to a biggercity.
I'm originally from Arcadia,wisconsin, so you know that's a

(02:08):
super small city, and so Iventured out there and joined
CBRE.
Cbre is one of the largest realestate companies in the world.
So I've got to learn alldifferent types of real estate
classes office, industrialretail, different types of real
estate classes office,industrial retail.
And then what brought me toRochester is I had the
opportunity to transfer, to becloser to family, and so I

(02:32):
transferred from Salt Lake toRochester and then managed one
and two Discovery Square.

Speaker 1 (02:37):
Which are two big developments with the
Destination Medical Centerinitiative.

Speaker 2 (02:42):
Right, yep, yep.
So I had a great time workingwith Morton's and Destination
Medical Center, mayo Clinic andthe other tenants there.

Speaker 1 (02:48):
What's the story behind the name Slingshot Real
Estate?
Every name has a story, so I'msure this one does too.

Speaker 2 (02:53):
The real estate model is.
I mean, the fundamentals havenever really changed, but I'm
trying to get away from thattraditional model in a way.
And I thought about from thetraditional model in a way and I
thought about, you know, Icould easily go with Robbins and
Rentals and no offense againstanybody that's done that kind of
stuff but it's just I wantedsomething a little bit more bold
and a little bit more energyand disruptive.

(03:17):
And so Slingshot came about.
We were actually looking at,you know, we're kind of a small
fish and maybe a big pond andwe're starting out.
And so, you know, my brothersand I were really close and so
they helped me with the name andso we were like, okay, maybe
there's like a David Goliathfeel here.

(03:37):
We were thinking like DavidGoliath and then my brother's
company is an ATM and vendingcompany and he has Bazooka, and
then I have 21 Drones as well asa media company, and so then
I'm like, oh, slingshot could bea David Goliath kind of feel.

Speaker 1 (03:58):
Tell us about your new venture, the Hub on Third.
We're actually here in yourconference room.

Speaker 2 (04:09):
I was at a fork in the road, so to speak.
I initially always wanted tostart my real estate company at
roughly 35.
I wanted to spend 10, 12 yearslearning the business and then
really start to kind of take itserious and go into residential
and commercial.
So the hub on third was aunique opportunity because I got
a call from a broker that knowsmy skillset in office space and

(04:31):
knows that I can help solveunique problems and distressed
assets.
And so this particular propertywas bought and the prior owner
had a great vision and so hewent and scraped four
condominium units and then builtout 12 individual offices with,
you know, conference room andkitchen.
And so I was approached andsaid is there any interest in

(04:56):
purchasing this building andtrying to solve this issue?
And so this kind of ties intothe hub on third, but also kind
of my overall, where my fork inthe road was is that I could
have.
My initial plan was like well, Icould snowball duplexes,
essentially duplex, duplex, fourunit, eight units.
You know, you know that's likeyour traditional path.
But I said, well, if I have theskillset, you know why don't I

(05:19):
just do duplex, duplex,commercial and like make a big
jump?
And so, you know, the brokerand I worked out a deal with the
seller and then I looked atthis project and I said, ok,
what does Rochester need, whatdoes Rochester have?
And you know how, how can wereally serve the community and
make it easier for businesses?
So it really is very like Amazoncommunity and make it easier

(05:39):
for businesses.
So it really is very likeAmazon.
Folks like make it all aboutthe customer, right.
Traditional real estate mightbe like let's just build the
walls and then let the customerkind of figure it out, do a TI,
build out and that kind of thing.
This one is hey, let's go andenvision what this therapist

(06:00):
might need, envision what thisgroup team might need, and let's
do the work on the front end.
Traditional has always beenlike let's just wait until to
see if they want to sign a leaseand then do the work.
We're like way being superthoughtful on doing that and so
far it's worked out very wellfor the hub.

Speaker 1 (06:25):
And I think I've read it's been described as the
Airbnb of offices.
What exactly does that mean fortenants and how does it differ
from traditional co-workingmodels and I know this isn't a
co-working space because it's alittle bit more short to
long-term rental right?

Speaker 2 (06:35):
I look at the whole growth phase of all businesses
and I say, ok, if you look atlike a stair step and like the
lower step is like the ideationright, like somebody has an idea
to create some kind of productor service, right.
And so I looked at, so you havelike Collider.
I think Collider is localdowntown here.

(06:56):
They're, you know, mayoClinic's interested, dmc is
interested with them and youknow they're helping with
bringing ideas to the next step.
And so then after that, youknow people are like okay, I'm
starting to generate income.
And the next step is like well,maybe I need some.
Where do I?
I have to create an LLC.
You know, where can I put likethe address from LLC?

(07:17):
And so that's where like avirtual office comes in.
And then there's another steparound that.
That's the co-working open deskwhere people are like I'm
making money, you know I'mstarting to.
My idea is coming in.
I just need an open desk tostart working and maybe
collaborating.
And then I think the next stepis really just kind of like a
private office space or just aspace.
So the next step is kind ofthat you need some sort of space

(07:39):
and it depends on whetheryou're a pressure washing
company, or you're just needingsome office space to do.

Speaker 1 (07:45):
So as businesses are starting to scale up, you come
into play.

Speaker 2 (07:48):
Yeah.
So that's where I'm trying tohelp them with the growth Right.
That's where the hub kind ofcomes in.
We're catching them trying tonavigate what's next for them,
right, because some people mightneed just one office space,
some might need a waiting roomand office space.
So we're trying to kind ofcater to that what?

Speaker 1 (08:08):
kind of users or businesses are showing early
interest in your space.

Speaker 2 (08:12):
Most of the people that have looked at the space so
far have some sort of wellnesscomponent, which makes a lot of
sense because this buildingtraditionally has been filled
with therapists and lawyers andso, yeah, so far, you know,
we're getting a lot of activityfor therapists and some, you
know, some component to wellness.
But we do have people that youknow need a remote office, and

(08:34):
I'm saying Paul here.
What I call that, basically howit's constructed, is that the
outsides, the corner offices,are essentially therapists with
a waiting room, and then theinterior offices are more infill
, like where it could bebusinesses like that.

Speaker 1 (08:49):
What are some of the top amenities and features that
today's entrepreneurs or smallteams expect in this kind of
space?

Speaker 2 (08:55):
So again it goes right to the customer is what do
they need?
We look at, well, of course,you know mailbox, to provide a
mailbox right, an office that'slockable and private, that's
really critical, theinfrastructure to get going.
So it's turnkey.
So having a desk, a chair, amonitor, keyboard, mouse, basic
office supplies, you know, paperpens, all that stuff, office
supplies, you know paper pens,all that stuff.

(09:17):
And then you know we took it.
This maybe is a littledifferent than what most people
would have done.
So I had 12 private offices.
I actually took one office andsaid we need more amenities.
So I actually removed thatoffice and made it a resource
room which has a vending machine, beverages and snacks which you
know obviously is important forpeople an ATM and then a full

(09:39):
blown printer, copy scanner,right, essentially they can come
to the office and geteverything they need really.
And then, of course, you know akitchen, reception area and
then an eight person conferenceroom.
This is where they can have,you know, client facing meetings
or group team meetings, allthat.

Speaker 1 (09:55):
Why was downtown Rochester the right place to
launch the hub on third?
Why?

Speaker 2 (09:58):
was downtown Rochester the right place to
launch the hub on 3rd.
Downtown Rochester has so muchgoing for it that I looked at
this distress test and said,okay, I think we can solve a
need in the marketplace.
And traditionally, people haveyou know, I go to these real
estate summits and people likeall talk about west side of
Rochester, West Circle Drive,and I actually think that it's

(10:23):
cyclical.
Downtowns are coming back andoffice space has, I think,
bottomed out and I think we'restarting to have that little
V-shaped recovery.
Now it depends on the market,of course, but if you just look
at it is that you know GovernorWalz had basically said in June
that they want state employeesto start coming back, and so I

(10:43):
think that was just kind of away to help the other large
companies also send the samemessage.
And now you're starting to seethese large companies like
Target, and they're starting tosay, hey, our employees need to
come back September 1st.
So I look at that and say, OK,so People are starting to come
back to the office.
That means that there's goingto be more demand for it.
And why downtown Rochester?

(11:04):
Because this is where it'shappening.
It's happening in this district.
There's literally hundreds ofmillions of dollars being spent
here, and we're really just atthis we're in the second half of
that spending, and so I thinkit's a perfect place for
businesses to collaborate withMayo Clinic, as well as the

(11:25):
other companies spinning off ofit like Nucleus Radio Pharma.
There's just so much innovation.
I think that's starting, butalso it's going to increase a
lot in the next few years.

Speaker 1 (11:35):
In your view, how is Rochester evolving as a
destination for innovation,entrepreneurship and flexible
work?

Speaker 2 (11:42):
I think what I'm trying to do is be part of the
ecosystem and I think that'swhat even my time spent at 1 and
2 Discovery Square is, that oneof our focuses has been was
what do people need that they'recoming in from Boston, san
Diego and creating thatecosystem, and so I think if we
can look at like a rising tiderises all ships, that kind of

(12:04):
feel, if you look at Colliderand one or two Discovery Square,
even Regis, you look at thesedifferent flexible models and
then you look at the hub onthird, each of them is solving a
different problem in themarketplace and I think that we
need to get away from liketrying to take all the business
yourself.
That kind of view is.

(12:24):
Maybe somebody calls me andsays, hey, I need this space,
and then I can say, look, no,you should go to Collider based
on what you told me, or youshould go to one or two.
I think that's where we need tostart getting to.
I'm not sure we're there yet.

Speaker 1 (12:38):
What would you say to someone who's hesitant about
moving into a non-traditionaloffice space like this?

Speaker 2 (12:43):
I'd say that my job is to make it so you're not
hesitant, and that's why I'mtrying to make it as flexible as
possible.
So it just depends on whereyou're at.
So maybe it's hey, why don'tyou test out for 12 months?
We'll put a 60-day clause inthere that says, hey, things
aren't working out, you give menotice and you can leave.
It's meant to be very, veryflexible and very thoughtful, is

(13:07):
my viewpoint.

Speaker 1 (13:09):
Do you see this as a test and do you envision
replicating it somewhere else?

Speaker 2 (13:15):
I think that I have enough data to say that this
model is going to work and thatscaling this is very certain to
me.
So I do see that there will besome expansion and it will be
more than likely in downtown.

Speaker 1 (13:33):
What role do you think local entrepreneurs and
small businesses play in shapingRochester's downtown identity
and energy?

Speaker 2 (13:40):
The entrepreneurs are going to have disruptive ideas,
and I think that more and moreyoung people are going to have
to be part of theentrepreneurial economy.
And that's not out of choice,it's out of necessity, because
the working for a job for 40years might not be working
anymore, so now it's work a job,try to find another business

(14:02):
that you're good at.
And I do think that the youngerprofessionals are starting to
kind of wake up and saying hey,we need to do something.
We need to maybe disrupt thingsa little bit, change things,
because I think we can all speakto at least the young
professionals.
It's been extremely challenging, especially with cost of living

(14:23):
.
So I do think that we all speakto at least the young
professionals.
It's been extremely challenging, especially with cost of living
.
So I do think that we're goingto start seeing more and more
young people starting businessand start to shape what the
energy looks like downtown.
And I think when it comes todowntown, one of my mentors
always said is you don't createthe market, you response to the
market, and so I think that'simportant pieces like what do we

(14:47):
need downtown, and not tryingto force something downtown.

Speaker 1 (14:51):
What's something you're really excited about
right now, either professionallyor personally, that you want to
share?

Speaker 2 (14:58):
You know, I think I'm probably most excited about how
this jump for me, going tolaunch my own company is.
That's probably the mostexciting.
And I'll be honest, I think I'mway more stress free.
I did manage very complicatedassets in Salt Lake and here

(15:25):
Salt Lake and here and but it'skind of a crazy epiphany.
That's like you'd think thatstarting your own business would
be more stressful, and itcertainly is Right, because
everything's on you and you knowyou have to make those payments
.
You don't have that steadyincome.
You know you have to figure outyour insurance.
You have to, you have to figureout everything Coffee maker,
just anything and everything isfigured out.
But honestly, I think, yeah, Ifeel I just feel better, and so

(15:48):
I think I guess my message isthat you have to be thoughtful
on when you do it and make sureyou're prepared for it.
But I think and I've talked toother businesses owners is, once
you kind of make the jump, Ithink things grow at a much
faster rate too because you'reso focused on your business,
like you're hyper-focused on it.

Speaker 1 (16:06):
I do want to mention that you are definitely an
entrepreneur because you haveother business ventures, and one
that introduced me to you wasyour drone media business.
Tell us a little bit about that.

Speaker 2 (16:17):
The drone business.
It's always been a hobby ofmine.
I started in 2017 doing videosfor real estate and stuff.
But you know, last year youknow I was working full time and
I was like, ok, I wanted tojust start a business.
And so I was like I'll do thedrone business because I enjoy
doing it.
And so then I worked withvineyards and municipalities and
anything and everything thatneeded some kind of fun videos.

(16:39):
Like, I think anybody can buy adrone and do pictures right,
you just click a button, go toBest Buy, buy that kind of thing
.
But what I really enjoy and Istill do it today is create
captivating videos usingfirst-person view drones or
aerial drones.
It's really trying to tell astory in a different way.
So that's how that businessreally started.

Speaker 1 (17:02):
Well, you've done a great job with the drone
business.
Thank you for hosting us todayhere at the Hub on 3rd Best
wishes to you.
Thank you for being our gueston the Growing Destinations
podcast.

Speaker 2 (17:12):
Thank you.

Speaker 1 (17:13):
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