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🎉 Coworking celebrations.
🇨🇦 Local provider officially opens new location #
ACE Coworking shared on twitter that their new Trafalgar Road location is now officially open! Congrats!
👉 Read this.
Coworking news & views.
🎍 Firm introduces paper, bamboo and wooden key cards #
Caterina Maiolini shares that SALTO have introduced these new guest key cards to reduce plastic usage, helping the firm and their customers prioritize green practices.
👉 Read this.
✅ Proof that content marketing works for coworking spaces #
Taylor Mason shares some 2022 content marketing stats from The Post Workspaces. They include 11k views, a 51% visitor retention rate, 1k unique visitors arrived through just 3 pieces of content, and evergreen content from 2021 still generating 1,200 visits.
A quick reminder that content can pay huge dividends, especially when designed around a strong long-term strategy.
👉 Read this.
📹 Where innovation & agriculture intersect in rural America #
The Center on Rural Innovation, that features the amazing work Kate Schwarzler and Indy Commons are doing in Independence, Oregon.
Not only do I love this feature, but it highlights the opportunity that community builders have to build the right kind of spaces and support networks in rural and agricultural markets.
👉 Read this.
🍼 Coworking + Childcare isn’t the future, it’s now. #
Lauren Walker and Iris Kavanagh share some ideas for coworking spaces to provide childcare or babysitting services, and why now is the right time to do so.
👉 Read this.
🗄️ Can hyperlocal coworking spaces work without private offices? #
Zoe Ellis-Moore shares that they feel it’s hard (if not impossible) for operators to open local coworking spaces in the UK if their model doesn’t include offices and at least 8.5k sqft. Although they do note success from VWorks (by Village Hotels) and ARC Club, some great operators like HomeWork, Patch and Old Bond Store are mentioned in the comments.
👉 Read this.
🎨 Local operator rebrands and eyes expansion #
StartUp Harrisburg, which was the first coworking space in the city with a population of around 49k, is becoming Pursuit Coworking. Since launching in 2013, the brand is now pursuing additional satellite locations in the city due to increased demand for all 3 of their coworking options.
👉 Read this.
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💻 Coworking technology.
💰 VC raised fourth Proptech fund. #
Camber Creek‘s Jeffrey Berman shares news that the VC firm have raised a new proptech fund, adding $325M in capital to be deployed into technology for the property industries.
👉 Read this.
🚀 6 months in, on-demand platform eyes new funding round. #
Hayri Demirçapa shares that the FlowSpace team are starting their next funding round after being live for 6 months, to “do what Spotify has done for music and what Netflix has done for movies” but for space-as-a-service on demand.
👉 Read this.
📲 Landlord launches multi-operator flex space app #
Newmark announced the launch of Optality, an enterprise-focussed app to allow corporate real estate leaders to manage hybrid office models, and centralize the associated costs. Building upon the recent acquisitions of international agile workspace providers Knotel and Deskeo, this adds an additional element to the landlords growing flexible office offering. The platform is powered by Upflex, and will also allow the landlord’s enterprise customers to give employees access to their network of partner locations.
👉 Read this.
🧮 Flex space aggregator adds 1.5k more listings. #
Grant Philipp shares that Office Hub have onboarded 1,500 new locations last month.
👉 Read this.
Coworking data.
🇺🇸 America’s new tech hubs? #
Axios summarizes a report from the Brookings Institution and LinkedIn data tracking tech migration to paint a picture of which fast-growing cities are hosting a bigger and bigger slice of the US tech workforce.
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧 State of Market for London 2022 #
Michael Dubicki shares a bunch of interesting data around the flex market in London (and the launch of a live data dashboard/platform for those interested).
Some takeaways: highest desk rate was £1,225, lowest was £180, short-term contracts down 20% from ’21, whilst long-term contracts were up 4.1%.
👉 Read this.
Coworking market moves.
🔗 IWG and Instant merge digital assets #
The Instant Group and IWG announced an interesting investment-slash-acquisition-slash-merger this week. I break down the deal a bit here, but in short: Instant will continue to be run independently, a bunch of IWGers will move over, £320M ($421M) are being invested/paid to exiting stakeholders, IWG will transfer management of EasyOffices(.com), Meetingo(.com), Rovva and Worka to Instant, and there’s a plan to IPO the merged entity in 2023.
Quite fascinating! The distribution and discovery side of coworking is definitely getting interesting.
👉 Read this.
💰 Hybrid-hub company raises $9.6M seed #
citybiz shares that Daybase, who I’ve covered a few times since the ex-WeWork execs announced their plans, have raised a significant early round of capital from some prominent investors and NYC real estate owners.
Led by Joel Steinhaus and Doug Chambers, the company provides hybrid workers a network of on-demand workspots, that are close to home, in neighborhoods and communities across the country.
👉 Read this.
📝 Consultancy and booking platform announce partnership #
Denise Brouder shares the announcement of a partnership between Deskpass and SWAYworkplace, in which the two firms work together to make hybrid work… well… work for more mid-sized companies. Through the partnership teams using Deskpass are being offered customized training programs to scale hybrid work strategies.
I love this. After all, the more companies successfully including your spaces in their strategies, the bigger the market becomes for all of us.
👉 Read this.
💵 Could Yardi be WeWork’s new investor? #
The New York Times reports that WeWork is restructuring (some) their debt and looking to take on new money. This isn’t news to anyone who reads this newsletter, but seeing Yardi listed as a potential investor is interesting.
We know they’re working together on a play for workspace management tech, so it’s not out of left field, but does make me wonder if the software co is eyeing investment in other operators, and if not, why not?
👉 Read this.
👷♀️ Property developer introduces their own flex workspace product. #
Granite have announced “Ready Collective“, their own take on a flexible workspace product offering private, furnished and wired suites + amenities on monthly and yearly terms.
Customers have 24-hour access to Ready Collective, as well as full access to building amenities which include The Lounge (offering a variety of seating options, a kitchen, library, and event space), MOVE fitness center, EATS café, MEET conference center, and a large, landscaped outdoor workspace called The Yard.
Whilst this is the first location launch, they do hint that more may be coming and will be available within their proprietary leasing platform called evolve.
👉 Read this.
🏆 Subscription furnishing service wins Nordic Proptech award #
NORNORM shared that they won the Nordic Proptech Award in the Space-as-a-Service category. The firm, backed by IKEA, aims to create a fully circular model for workspace furniture through using, and reusing, resources intelligently.
Seems like the furniture as a service space is heating up!
👉 Read this.
🎯 Landlords on hunt for flex-space partners. #
JLL shares that against the backdrops of empty offices and a hybrid future, even more landlords are seeking partnerships with experience operators through management agreements. Jacob Bates and Ben Munn share their observations from their work with/on flex offerings through the firm.
👉 Read this.
💵 Chicago-based coworking brand raises $3.5M for national expansion #
Caitlin McAllister shares that Workbox Company, who run coworking spaces in Chicago in which members can network with over 40 angel and VC investors, raised $3.5M to expand out of the city and across the country. This raise brings their total investment to $7M to date.
👉 Read this.
👏 Seattle-based operator adds team bundles #
Christopher Hoyt shares that The Pioneer Collective are introducing team bundles starting at $995 for up to 5 employees. The bundle included 24/7 coworking access and discounted conference room usage on a month-to-month basis.
👉 Read this.
💥 Coworking impact.
🌎 Mobilizing the global coworking movement for Ukraine #
On March 9th 2022 the Coworking IDEA Project team and the European Coworking Assembly hosted an International conversation to hear directly from the coworking community in Ukraine, and to understand exactly what is needed by our friends and colleagues who are being directly impacted by violence, migration, and the trauma of war.
👉 Read this.
🇺🇦 A message from Ukraine’s coworking spaces #
Anastasiia Kachan of the Ukraine Coworking Association shares a message of hope, determination, and thanks for their support.
👉 Read this.
🤰 Operator puts Black moms’ startup dreams first #
The Cube, created by and for Black mom entrepreneurs, sets itself apart with on-site babysitting services with the aim of helping women getting stuff done, and building generational wealth. The Cube’s CEO Tammira Lucas also announced that in December they’d reached an agreement to buy their building in East Baltimore too.
👉 Read this.
🇪🇺 Another big operator provides free space #
WeWork have shared that they’re providing free space across Warsaw, Stockholm, Prague, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Brussels to displaced Ukrainian businesses that are in need of immediate assistance and nonprofit organizations that are providing relief efforts.
👉 Read this.
🏨 Coliving communities group to support those displaced #
The Co-Liv organizers are collecting information on coliving operators across Europe who are able to support those in need with accommodation, food, legal, financial assistance, job or anything else. The information will then be packaged and distributed with individuals in need.
👉 Read this.
🇩🇪 German coworking alliance steps in to welcome refugees #
The German Coworking Federation (GCF) have made a clear and open statement that they are open to refugees. They also provide a number of resources, and have collaborated with the One Coworking, independesk and the German Coworking Map to make it easier to find spaces giving free access, coffee or other support to refugees.
👉 Read this.
🙏 Two orgs partner up to promote diversity and inclusivity #
andcards and the European Coworking Assembly’s Coworking Values Podcast are partnering on a monthly “Visionaries” series featuring interviews with coworking operators worldwide, with deeper insights shared on the Coworking Smarts blog.
👉 Read this.
🅱️ Australian operator celebrates 10 years of being a B Corp #
Brad Krauskopf from Hub Australia shares some words alongside their ESC manager Whitney Teluk on the 10th anniversary of being a Certified B Corp.
👉 Read this.
💙 Coworking for Ukraine #
Christoph Fahle and the One Coworking team have put together a growing resource for refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine. Not only are they sharing a map of free work and meeting spaces for refugees across Europe, but they also list other resources like free rides and places to stay.
👉 Read this.
🎙 Coworking conversations.
The European Coworking Assembly shares some messages for our friends in Ukraine ft words from Jeannine van der Linden in the Netherlands, Johanna Vol in Germany, Piotr Boulangé in Poland, Hector Kolonas (me) in the US, Lea Turner in Slovenia, Patricia Salmič in Slovenia, Manuel Zea in Spain, Jose Antonio Morales in Slovenia, and Bernie J Mitchell in the UK.
Jerry Alexander shares his take on the IWG + The Instant Group tie up and what it could mean for the industry and independent operators.
Jamie Russo chats with Michelle Talbert about her unique blend of digital and physical business support for her members at Her Power Space, and more on the Everything Coworking podcast.