Momentum Entrepreneurship Hub set to open doors in downtown South Bend

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- A transformative new space for entrepreneurs, business professionals and remote workers is getting ready to open their doors in South Bend.

The Momentum Entrepreneurship Hub is a launch pad designed for entrepreneurs, startups, and remote workers looking to collaborate, connect and grow together.

The hub will have private offices and podcast studios, a gym, conference rooms and an event space.

"We started to do some informal entrepreneurial events back in like 2016 to 2019 and we just saw there was something missing in the ecosystem where we need that connection with that collaboration, because entrepreneurship is this really lonely place to be sometimes, and being around other people, working on hard problems, working on hard projects, and it's what this region's needing, and then also traveling to their cities and seeing they have really robust hubs for their startups, for their entrepreneurs, for their small business owners," Founder of Momentum Entrepreneurship Hub Kristopher Priemier said.

Priemier says his vision is to help make South Bend a destination for entrepreneurship and innovation and he believes this hub is the first step in making that vision a reality.

"We really tried to create the perfect space. What went from the really nice amenities, from the events, from the culture. It's just going to be something that South Bend hasn't seen before," Priemier said.

The hub is designed to build community, offering everything from networking events and mentorship to on-site apartments just steps away.

The goal is to help entrepreneurs live and work in the same neighborhood.

"We think this hub is going to have an amazing impact on the region. We think it will help more startups stay in the South Bend, Elkhart region, versus leaving. We also think other entrepreneurs will come back to the region and work on their products. They see now that there's a community and ecosystem they can easily plug into. And I think the big goal is that other cities look to us and see, how did South Bend created this amazing space, and want to visit and then replicate what we've done in their own cities," Priemier said.

He hopes this project will spark business growth and keep local talent here at home.

"It's amazing to see what we thought about three and four years ago of just this pie in the sky idea, and now it's becoming a reality. As we take more people through tours, they can see the vision. They bind the vision. And it's really something I could never have imagined five or six years ago, before it was even an idea. It's super rewarding to see how we're going to impact our region and also the entrepreneurs around South Bend," Priemier said.

The hub is slated to open in a few weeks, with no exact word on the opening day.