Five Years of theCO

Five years ago, theCO opened its doors, bringing an innovative coworking space to Jackson, and changing the shape of the city forever. theCO emerged out of what was originally the Entrepreneur Development Center of Southwest Tennessee, located in downtown Jackson. In 2014, the CO:founders, five Jacksonians with their sights set on the future, transformed the Center into what is now theCO on Wiley Road. Over the next few years, theCO quickly expanded beyond coworking and making, hosting events and programs designed to spur innovation throughout West Tennessee. These projects include TN Driving Innovation, Our Jackson Home, Dev Catalyst, and much more. We’ve included a graphic to see a comprehensive timeline of theCO’s projects and events!

This July 24th, the community came together to celebrate theCO’s 5th birthday. Gathering on one of the CO’s wide porches, attendees enjoyed drinks from Retro Coffee Bar’s Pop Up, lunch from El Mariachi Loco food truck, and mini-cupcakes from Woodstock Bakeshop. They could browse photos from the past five years on a #5 shaped collage displayed in the entryway amidst blue balloons. TheCO also offered free co:working for the day for community members to try out the space, no Day Pass or Membership necessary! 

Lisa Garner, the Executive Director of theCO, addressed the happy milestone, writing: “Five years of theCO! Five years in an old restaurant with hand lettering on the walls, laser cutters, drills, a stage, a human-sized robot and more all under one roof...well, one roof plus three converted RV roofs. Five years of brainstorming, planning, and implementing the best programs and events we can think of to support Jackson, West Tennessee, and our whole state of entrepreneurs, future web developers, robot creators and more. We’ve no doubt accomplished a lot in 5 years-- but we know full well that there is so much more to do. I think that’s what’s kept most of our team (some of the most creative and hardworking people I know) energized -- the potential for more. So if you see us around town or here at theCO-- tell us what you’d love to see more of, because we’re up for so many more years of experimenting and tweaking to be an even better resource for you.”

Thanks to all who have supported theCO over the past five years and to everyone who came out to help celebrate our birthday. Here’s to the next five years at theCO!