16 SKILL UP! ISSUE 25IDEAS THAT WORK
Do you need innovative offices to innovate? It’s a topic that is great for small talk. Here,
we present the language you will need to discuss how some offices encourage ideas.SMALL TALKI’ve an idea: come
join our upstart!Paul: So what’s it like at the innovation hub?
Ruby:It’s amazing, actually. The hub is open round-the-
clockand it’s always buzzing. It has a cafe, game
room and the largest nightclub in the area. Some
people even stay overnight.
Paul: We don’t even have a cafe. Your place sounds more
like a college campus.
Ruby:It is a bit. Only better. It’s geared at budding en-
trepreneurs. The co-working spacesgive us a
chance to tap so many creative minds. We have ac-
cess to a huge pool of talent. As I said, amazing.
Paul: What about money? Is your upstartmaking any yet?
Ruby:Don’t make fun!
Paul: I’m not. I think you have real drive. But it must be
difficult to get funding.
Ruby:It was at first, but not any more. We also have ac-
cess to incubators. And crowdsourcingworks, es-
pecially for projects like ours. People know we’re on
to something. Our ideas are good — some of them
are even pretty scary.
Paul: My ideas will never see the light of day.
Ruby:Then come join the hub. I’ve seen your designs. You
should give it a go. Work on a moon-shot project!
Paul: But I’ve no money. I can’t risk it.
Ruby:Come with me next week and pitch your ideas to
the founderof the hub. You could develop your
ideas alongside your day job.
Paul: Now, that’s an idea.alongside your day job neben deiner normalen
Arbeit
budding entrepreneur angehende(r)
[(bVdIN] Unternehmer(in)
buzzing: be ~ [(bVzIN] voller Aktivität sein
college campus Universitätsgelände
co-working space Arbeitsplatz mit
gemeinsam genutzter
Infrastruktur
crowdsourcing Schwarmauslage-
rung, Crowdsourcing
founder Gründer(in)
gear sth. at sb./sth. etw. auf jmdn./
etw. abstimmen
get funding Finanzierung bekommen
give sth. a go etw. versuchen
have real drive großen Elan haben
incubator US Inkubator, Gründer-
zentrum
innovation hub [hVb] Innovationszentrum
moon-shot project Projekt, das anfangs
unmöglich erscheint
on to something: an etw. dran sein
be ~ ifml.
open round-the-clock rund um die Uhr
geöffnet
pitch sth. etw. präsentieren
pool of talent Talentpool; Bega-
bungspotenzial
see the light of day das Tageslicht
erblicken
stay overnight über Nacht bleiben
tap sth. etw. anzapfen
that’s an idea das ist eine gute Idee
upstart junges innovatives
UnternehmenSituation:
Ruby now works for a software start-up company,
while Paul works at a software giant. They discuss
where and how they work.iStock16-17 Small talkDDD 14.01.14 14:12 Seite 16