A dream of entrepreneur Raghu Misra comes to fruition this week with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the link, a co-working space, innovation incubator and membership-based venue in Nocatee Town Center.
The St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce Ponte Vedra Beach Division hosted the ceremony Wednesday, July 14, for the newest addition to the local business community.
In conjunction with the ribbon-cutting, the link is throwing a multi-day Grand Opening celebration featuring speakers, performers, workshops, food and more.
From 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday, July 15, the Cultural Center of Ponte Vedra Beach is offering a full day of art and entertainment events at the link. The schedule includes music, poetry, visual arts, ballet, a fashion show and more. View the schedule at ccpvb.org/events/upcoming-events.
From noon to 10 p.m. Friday, July 16, the link is conducting an entrepreneurship and innovation showcase featuring link talks, a luncheon and a cocktail reception.
The link is like nothing else in this area.
“We want to be a place where people of all age groups come and get inspired,” said Misra.
The 22,500-square-foot facility at 425 Town Plaza Ave. is a smart building with technology to keep energy use at an optimum level, artificial intelligence to ensure security, strategies to promote wellness and much more.
It is a hub for tech entrepreneurs to launch their businesses. But the link is much more than that. It offers a variety of recreational and educational activities for the entrepreneurs’ families and members from the community at large.
It is being called the first membership-based organization and venue where people of all ages can go to “learn, play, think and do” under one roof.
Misra, the founder and CEO of Wired2Perform, unveiled his plan for the link in June 2020 during a groundbreaking ceremony. But it was an idea that went back to 2018 when he and wife Gurpreet were driving their son to taekwondo lessons half a mile from their home. During the hour-long class, the Misras waited in their car with little to do.
The experience inspired Raghu Misra to seek a way to reduce the two hours and make the remaining time more valuable. His solution was the link, where people could work while their families engaged in various activities on site, reducing the need for unnecessary commuting.
For the professional, the link offers a variety of office-space solutions, including desks, meeting rooms, virtual office space and a mail service.
For all members, there are activities, classes, entertainment and more with an array of amenities.
In fact, kids’ camps have already begun. Four robotic camps are being offered this summer. And the Cultural Center is conducting seven arts camps. STEAM week is planned for August. And Misra’s nonprofit Sapna Foundation is offering additional courses.
There will be classes in martial arts, including kickboxing and jiu jitsu, physics, fencing and dance.
The Flagler Health+ Immersive Studio is among the facility’s most popular amenities. The meeting room’s walls form a 360-degree environment that can put people inside videos from around the world and images from webcams. The studio is useful for virtual travel, demonstrations or relaxation.
Memberships are available to anyone in the community and surprisingly affordable. To learn more, go to thelink.zone/membership.
[See also: Cultural Center to present leaders in art and performance at the link launch]
[See also: Artificial intelligence to bring security, safety, health monitoring to smart building]
