I’m embarrassed that it’s taken me almost a year of living in Austin to finally make my way downtown to the Capital Factory - or as its founders like to call it, the “Center of Gravity for Entrepreneurs.”

I’ve started working on a project that I thought would lend itself well to an incubator or accelerator type model. So, I headed down to Brazos Street for a Q&A about the Capital Factory’s Accelerator program.

Unfortunately, I quickly realized that the Capital Factory Accelerator was not for me…yet.

Hayley Netherton, Venture Associate at the Capital Factory, led the informative session for our group.

My two main takeaways were:

• The Capital Factory Accelerator is looking for established startups with traction, and a total addressable market of at least $1 billion.

• The Capital Factory Accelerator has shifted from the typical accelerator model of investing seed money in exchange for equity (think TechStars), and instead offers its mentor network, unlimited co-working space for all of your employees, and vendor credits in exchange for 1% equity.

Even though the Capital Factory doesn’t invest up front, your very acceptance into the accelerator is a step in the right direction on the funding front.

The folks at the Capital Factory will match any investments that mentors make in your company.

I have neither traction nor a TAM of > $1 billion with my current vertical, so the Capital Factory Accelerator will have to wait.

I did, however, get a chance to check out the rest of the co-working facilities. And I must say I got a much better vibe than I did when I checked out WeWork in North Austin.

It’s not really an apples to apples comparison (I think WeWork has a location downtown), but for whatever it’s worth Capital Factory felt more heads down and work vs. a lot of chatter at WeWork.

Some may prefer the latter, but for me, the type of atmosphere at the Capital Factory wins hands down.

I look forward to spending a month or three in their co-working space once I’ve got some momentum going on my project, and can justify the cost.

If you’re looking for a startuppy co-working space in Downtown Austin, then go check out the Capital Factory for yourself!