Marcus Geromes knew from an early age that he wanted to be an Orthodox Priest. While raised in Kentucky, his family is Greek. He studied at the country’s only Orthodox Seminary School in Boston. Before becoming an ordained priest, he wanted to grow up a bit, get married, and learn more about the world. He decided to get a Masters in Marriage and Family Counseling and eventually went into private practice.

It was his experience in private practice that led to Therapy Suites. Marcus and his co-founder were passionate about helping other therapists get started in private practice - a daunting proposition that required access to sound-proof, professional, physical space. 

Marcus shares the Therapy Space story, business model and more. 

Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:

Marcus Geromes on LinkedIn

Therapy Space website

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Ian Minor leveraged his deep hospitality background and his passion for innovation to  lead the team that brought the coworking concept working from_ to the Hoxton Hotels.

The Hoxton Hotels 

Delightful experiences.

Gorgeous, buzzy lobbies.

On-point F&B.

Community-engaged.

The hotel/coworking model is VERY compelling for those that want more than a desk and a chair inside of four sound-proofed walls.

And the business model more than works.

If you’re looking for the “what’s next” in coworking, this episode is for you.

Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:

• Ian Minor on LinkedIn

• Working_from website

• Neospace website

Fernando Vasquez is the Chief Operating Officer - Asset Services at Madison Marquette. 

He talks about what it’s like to oversee a portfolio of real estate assets that includes office…when the demand for commercial office space is so in flux. 

He talks about the flight to quality and location like what we’ve seen with retail…and how flexible office will become an important component of office assets.

…And we talk about some innovative experiments in the marketplace like converting old office assets into live/work lofts.

Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:

• Fernando Vazquez on LinkedIn

• Madison Marquette website

Stasha Anderson got hooked on real estate during her undergrad studies in Madison, WI. It was just kind of a calling for her.

What started out as a role to help brokers learn how to incorporate flex into their client solutions evolved into a role helping investors integrate flexible office solutions into key assets.

In this episode we talk about:

• Minimum “efficiency” to make the model work

• The challenge of getting property manager buy-in to add flex to an asset

• Getting cross-functional teams on board with up-leveling the tenant experience

Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:

•  Stasha Anderson on LinkedIn

• JLL website

John Preece is the Chief Property Officer at Hub Australia, Australia’s largest national coworking operator.

We talk about:

• How Hub Australia partners with landlords

• How each each location is designed to fit the local market

• The launch of “Hub local” which is an answer to post-COVID preferences to “work near home.”

• Hub’s focus on staying at the top of Australia’s Best Places to Work list

• John’s predictions around the 4 day workweek and coworking showing up in employee comp packages

Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:

John Preece on LinkedIn

Hub Australia website

Connect with Giovanni on LinkedIn

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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

Connect with Giovanni on LinkedIn

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Katie Vaughan wears a lot of hats, as most Community Managers do.

She also runs a super lean team that manages 66,000 square feet of memberships, events, and a cafe.

Enterprise Coworking is the Coworking/flexible office arm of the parent company Focus Property Group.

In this episode, we talk about:

Transitioning from the role of property manager to Community Manager

Giving Enterprise a brand and identity

Scaling the team down post-COVID

Running a public-facing food and beverage cafe

Being like Cheers - the importance of knowing every member’s name

Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:

Katie Vaughan on LinkedIn

Enterprise Coworking website

Connect with Giovanni on LinkedIn

Find Jamie on the Everything Coworking Podcast

Jillian Brown, the Director of Global Occupier Business Development at Avison Young, is driven by her early experience in coworking and her passion for helping occupiers find the right real estate solutions for their people. 

Her role at Avison Young prioritizes people over place, and she works with both occupiers and owners to integrate flexible office and amenity solutions into their portfolios. 

During a conversation, Jillian shared how the community of members at Serendipity Labs in Chicago helped her through a personal trauma, and now she gives back to others through an organization called Becky's Fund. https://beckysfund.org/

Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:

•  https://beckysfund.org/

• Jillian Brown on LI

• Avison Young

Connect with Giovanni on LinkedIn

Find Jamie on the Everything Coworking Podcast

• Ben Von Drehle is the mastermind behind Tulsa's premier Coworking brand Root Coworking…although he gives most of the credit to his amazing community management team, including his wife, who is beloved for her sense of humor.

• Ben worked on an early WeWork deal as a tenant rep broker in Denver and couldn’t stop thinking about how much he lived the business model.

• Under his leadership, Root Coworking has become a hub for innovation and collaboration in Tulsa.

• He's always looking for new ways to support and connect the local entrepreneurial ecosystem. In fact, he’s kicking off a collaboration with a local coffee company to open Notion Market Cafe - a food and beverage concept that will allow members to order lattes and lunch at their desks.

Resources Mentioned on This Episode:

Ben on LinkedIn

Root Coworking

Connect with Giovanni on LinkedIn

Find Jamie on the Everything Coworking Podcast

James Rankin is the Head of Research and Insight at the Instant Group. They have arguably the richest data set in the flex industry, sourced from transaction data and primary research.

They recently released their annual Flex Industry Survey.

James talks about some of the findings and his broader insights into the flex industry.

• The pace of landlord investment into flex
• The challenge with capital markets keeping up with operator and landlord ambitions
• The type of flex inventor that landlords will supply
• Why Instant made a recent investment in CoworkIntel

And more!

Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:

James Rankin on LinkedIn

The Instant Group website

Instant Offices Annual Report

Industrious/Nuveen Partnership

CoworkIntel

Connect with Giovanni on LinkedIn

Find Jamie on the Everything Coworking Podcast