Everything Coworking

Ryan Simonetti is the CEO and co-founder of Convene. 

Convene is a leading hospitality company founded off the simple question: “What if you ran an office building like a hotel?”

Convene’s model is more relevant than ever in a post-COVID world…I think it’s interesting to focus on how they are serving today’s modern landlord. 

We talked with Ryan about

• Convene’s recovery from the pandemic.

• How the reception to Convene from landlords has changed over the past few years.

• Convene’s recent acquisition of etc.venues and what that means for their high-end meeting business.

• How Ryan’s mom’s love of antiques and his dad’s entrepreneurial drive shaped his journey.

Convene supports modern landlords by offering flexible workspace solutions that meet the evolving needs of tenants and the market. With a focus on creating modern, flexible, and tech-enabled spaces, Convene helps landlords optimize their real estate portfolios and attract top tenants.

Through its partnerships with landlords, Convene also helps drive demand for the building, increasing occupancy rates and revenue for the landlord. With a focus on creating flexible and dynamic spaces, Convene helps landlords future-proof their portfolios and adapt to the changing needs of the market.

Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:

• Convene

• Ryan Simonetti on LI

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

The Coworking Startup School

The Everything Coworking Academy

Community Manager University

Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective

HIDT Series - Register Now!

The SEO Action Guide

Follow Us on YouTube

The LiquidSpace Hybrid Workplace Index provides unique insight into actual employee behaviour when afforded the freedom to work from anywhere.

The LiquidSpace user-base is comprised of organizations of all sizes - F1000 multinational enterprises, dynamic startups, small businesses and solopreneurs - representing a diverse cross-section of industry verticals – including federal, state and local government, finance, insurance, real estate, healthcare, technology, professional services, legal and education.

The report explores:

• Continued employee engagement with flexible working

• Collaboration driving hybrid workplace spend

• The average cost of flexible workplace transactions and how they are trending upwards

• The shift in bookings from Central Business District to the suburbs

• Hybrid workplace activity by day of the week

Get your copy here.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

Mark Gilbreath on LinkedIn

The Hybrid Workplace Index

LiquidSpace

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

HIDT Series - Register Now!

The SEO Action Guide

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

Coworking Startup School

The Everything Coworking Academy

Community Manager University

Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective

Follow Us on YouTube

There’s a “typical” model in Coworking that, when combined with a great location, design, product mix, and marketing that aligns with a clearly defined ideal member, is optimized for profit.

A lot of folks drawn to starting “Coworking spaces” are inspired by a shared workspace model centered around a thriving community….but they have a specific end-user in mind that is not your typical freelancer or remote user. They are serving a unique audience. Their offerings will be “different.” We see a LOT of those folks in our Coworking Startup School and Accelerator program. 

There’s so much room for diversity of spaces and approaches in coworking. But there’s also a lot of room to end up with a model that isn’t financially sustainable. 

In this episode, we talk about how to pursue a variation on the “typical” Coworking model and find success.

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

HIDT Series - Register Now!

The SEO Action Guide

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

Coworking Startup School

The Everything Coworking Academy

Community Manager University

Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective

Follow Us on YouTube

How much focus should you put on creating a “unique/different” Coworking space? While some differentiation can be helpful in attracting customers, it's not the factor that will drive success. A coworking space that differentiates itself with unique features or services may attract some customers, but if those features or services aren't aligned with the needs and preferences of the target market, the space may struggle to attract and retain customers.

On the other hand, a Coworking space that has a strong product market/fit, even if it doesn't differentiate itself much from other coworking spaces in the area, is more likely to be successful. By offering the amenities and services that its target market needs and wants, and by creating a sense of community and collaboration, the coworking space can build a loyal customer base and stand out from competitors in the eyes of its customers.

On this episode, we talk about why “different” doesn’t matter…what does matter is getting the model right.

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

HIDT Series - Register Now!

The SEO Action Guide

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

The Everything Coworking Academy

Community Manager University

Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective

Follow Us on YouTube

David Andras is a serial entrepreneur who, like many of you, opened a Coworking space to solve a personal pain point. He opened it right next to a gym that he owns…and then he added a public-facing coffee kiosk that adds a service for members as well as a meaningful revenue stream on top of the typical Coworking sources of income.

David shares how he balances operating and innovating, running multiple businesses at once (and starting new ones!) and how he keeps his coworking spaces lean and profitable while providing a great member experience. 

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

David Andras on LI

David’s Coworking Space

The Coffee Kiosk Licensing Info

David’s Podcast - Scaling your Business

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

HIDT Series - Register Now!

The SEO Action Guide

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

The Everything Coworking Academy

Community Manager University

Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective

Follow Us on YouTube

Alex Neil was early to Coworking…fuelled by his desire to work for an Indianapolis company…in Denver. 

He worked on the operator side for about 7 years and then joined Proximity. 

Alex spends his days talking with operators and finding solutions to their challenges through technology.

Alex shares his behind-the-scenes perspective on what Coworking trends are starting to bubble to the surface in 2023. 

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

Alex Neil on LI

[email protected]

Proximity.space

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

HIDT Series - Register Now!

The SEO Action Guide

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

The Everything Coworking Academy

Community Manager University

Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective

Follow Us on YouTube

Creative Cubes is the model for the future of work.

Tobi and his team have created an ecosystem that delivers great design, high-end design, unparalleled workplace hospitality, the hottest fitness options, event space, and more. I predict that what Tobi is already doing at Creative Cubes is where most of the industry will ultimately go. I don’t think there’s a long-term desire for “just office space.” In the age of the experience economy, we simply want more. 

On this episode, Tobi covers:

• How he got into coworking
• How over time, he created an ecosystem including work space, wellness, and hospitailty through CreativeCubes, Orange Theory, and Timber and Greens
• How the Happyness Team came to be and how they serve the CreativeCubes members

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

Tobi Skovron on LinkedIn

CreativeCubes.Co website

Toby’s visit with Shaquille O’Neil

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

HIDT Series - Register Now!

The SEO Action Guide

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

The Everything Coworking Academy

Community Manager University

Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective

Follow Us on YouTube

On this episode,  I share what I’m thinking about/what questions I’m asking at the beginning of 2023.

What are the big themes in flex/coworking this year?

How will we see these trends play out? 

How will these trends impact operators and other flex constituents?

How can I embed more access drivers into my curriculum?

And more!

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

Mark Gilbreath’s “Postcard from the Future” blog post

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

HIDT Series - Register Now!

The SEO Action Guide

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

The Everything Coworking Academy

Community Manager University

Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective

Follow Us on YouTube

Dorothy had to talk Dan into turning the building they had just bought from Skidmore College into a Coworking space. It took convincing over one, maybe two, bottles of wine….and then it took six months to get members. But here they are, a few years later, filling up space #3, and this one is another addition to their LL portfolio.

Insights from Dorothy and Dan:

• It is possible to build a multi-site Coworking portfolio and run another significant business.
• There is no one-size fits all model - they own 2 locations and lease another.
• Always be learning - they’re super stoked about the new platform they’ve used to fit out their latest location - see the link below to learn more. The future of flex is flexible…and good for the environment.
• You don’t have to be 100% sure before you take the leap, but you have to know what’s at stake.
• Sometimes you have to negotiate with your business/life partner over wine to get your way.
• You can have multiple locations in a smaller market if you get the product/market fit right.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

Dorothy Rogers Bullis on LI

Dan Bullis on LI

Saratoga CoWorks

dRb Business Interiors

Faulk Built

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

HIDT Series - Register Now!

The SEO Action Guide

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

The Everything Coworking Academy

Community Manager University

Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective

Follow Us on YouTube

Follow Us on YouTube

Everything Coworking Featured Resources:

The SEO Action Guide

Masterclass: 3 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets to Opening a Coworking Space

The Everything Coworking Academy

Community Manager University

Creative Coworking Partnerships: How to negotiate and structure management agreements from the landlord and operator perspective

Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:

John Wallace on LI

Workbox

John Wallace, Co-founder and CEO at Workbox, started his real estate career on the asset management and investment management side. Now he’s on the operating side, betting on an asset-light model differentiated by a platform that provides services to growing companies. 

John shares the Workbox journey to date, how the Workbox team executes its asset-light, service-heavy model, his vision for Workbox for the next few years, and how they’re differentiating themselves in the flex industry.