In an increasingly entrepreneurial economy, there is no such thing as too many coworking spaces. According to a recent Colliers report, flexible workspace has grown rapidly to account for one-third of office leasing in the last 18 months alone. Even so, there are a few coworking spaces and brands that stand apart. Check them out below.
Galvanize
Denver, Boulder, Austin, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Seattle
Galvanize was founded in 2012 by Denver restauranteur and tech entrepreneur Jim Deters as an initiative to organize and educate Denver’s notable growing startup scene. It all began by turning the old Rocky Mountain Bank Note Co. building at 1062 Delaware St., into an entrepreneurial campus featuring high-speed bandwidth connectivity, phone booths, expandable conference space, communal workspace, private office suites, and more. The most important amenity, however, is the educational value that Galvanize brings with its honorary members – industry experts and venture capitalists – offering mentorship. Galvanize offers rich educational programming and became one of the first few coworking companies to offer crash courses in web development, coding, and other technology skills.
The Galvanize community has since grown to over 3,000 members and nine campuses, anchoring technology ecosystems of students, entrepreneurs, startups, and established companies, and bringing industry and education under one roof. With partners like Silicon Valley Bank, IBM, Amazon Web Services, and Google for Startups, Galvanize has also secured a pool of reliable resources for members.
Rocky Mountain Bank Note Co., building, 1062 Delaware Street, Denver, CO (image courtesy of Yardi Matrix)
Hera Hub
San Diego, Carlsbad, Washington, D.C., Phoenix
Not just a coworking space for women, but a true professional support community, Hera Hub’s stated goal is to create spaces where women can feel safe and thrive. The coworking provider is on track with its aim to support over 20,000 women in the launch and growth of their business by the end of 2020. The platform has been successfully launching entrepreneurial careers through collaboration, resources, referrals, feedback and mentoring. Hera Hub serves innovators at all stages of business, in industries including technology, finance, marketing, legal, personal services, education, non-profit, and more.
Though the spa-inspired coworking hub is driven by and focused on women, it is highly inclusive. Everyone is invited to take part in the conversation and benefit from the resources of this network. After all, who wouldn’t be inspired by working in spaces that were designed to benefit one’s entire being and to cater to all five senses? Hera Hub locations include collaborative coworking space, private suites, coaching rooms, video rooms, event space, meeting, and conference rooms.
As of this January, Hera Hub is an official Benefit Corporation, which commits the organization to higher standards of accountability, transparency and social impact. According to founder Felena Hanson, “Hera Hub has always been focused on making a positive impact on the community. We do this in three ways – programs to help people get back into the workforce, donation of space to non-profit organizations, and free business education and mentoring programming. Becoming a Benefit Corporation is simply a way for us to better articulate the impact we’ve made over the last seven years and the impact we hope to make in the future.”
Landing Zone
New Orleans
Marine veteran Robert Armbruster holds that military skills lend themselves well to entrepreneurship, so he started VetLaunch in 2014 to connect veterans looking for their next mission with the resources they need to successfully transition into civilian life.
VetLaunch operates the Landing Zone, a small business incubator and New Orleans coworking space located in the Lower Garden district on the East Bank, at the corner of Felicity and Celeste streets. While the incubator is open to both veterans and civilians, creating a highly valuable and unique collaborative community, the hub offers discounted rates for veterans, as well as a business accelerator for veterans and their spouses who are looking to build successful enterprises out of ideas.
The space encompasses a 3,500-square-foot gym, full-size commercial kitchen, informal socializing space, and conference rooms. Members have free parking, high-speed internet, hot desks, dedicated desks, private offices, storage, mailboxes, and 24/7 access, depending on the membership.
Landing Zone, 625 Celeste St, New Orleans, LA (image courtesy of Landing Zone)
NeueHouse
New York City, Los Angeles
Self-described as “grandiose and opulent,” NeueHouse first opened in 2013 in New York City and went straight for the high-end market segment as a posh coworking space with a cultural platform. In 2015, a second location opened in Los Angeles, in the Columbia Square CBS Radio and Business buildings. NeueHouse currently counts roughly 1,500 members and a hundreds-long waiting list. The community is carefully curated and, in order to maintain high industry diversity, a committee handpicks members.
Both exquisitely designed creative enclaves offer exclusive co-working space and a private-club membership, with varying levels of access to private suites, communal work and social spaces, conference rooms, gallery floors, and programming events.
Members include power players in art, fashion, music, politics, science, food, wellness, and business, so exclusive access to the Member Directory is in itself quite the perk. Cultural programming also offers members and their occasional guests the chance to mingle with, learn from, and pitch to leading creative professionals. High-end food and beverages are served on-premises and events include in-house art exhibitions, advanced film screenings, cocktails and happy hour programming, small or large-scale conferences, exclusive after-parties, and more.
NeueHouse Hollywood, Columbia Square – CBS Radio & Business Buildings, 6121 West Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA (image courtesy of Yardi Matrix)
Paragraph
NYC – Manhattan & Brooklyn
Attention, writers! Paragraph NY is exquisitely tailored to be a space for your headspace and is open 24/7/365 at two locations: Union Square, in Midtown Manhattan and Williamsburg in Brooklyn. Book yourself a free trial day and test out the sweet library-grade silence that is carefully maintained in the workspace, along with a world of perks.
Both locations are divided by soundproofed walls into a kitchen/cafe area – equipped with a refrigerator, microwave, toaster oven, complimentary tea and coffee, and sugar in delicious forms – and a writing room, which includes partitioned desks, reading/lounge/nap areas, and of course lots of books and periodicals. Moreover, both spaces were selected to offer natural light through high windows and skylights.
Sign up for the Paragraph newsletter to keep up to date with the many writer-specific events and activities they put together, including literary agent roundtables, editor and publicity agent panels, workshops, write-ins, rooftop parties, and other writing-related events in town. Northwesterly traveling members also get access to The Writers WorkSpace in Chicago and the Toronto Writers’ Centre, through Paragraph NY’s reciprocal membership program. Membership options are pretty flexible and range from a $ 35-day pass to a full-time, all-access monthly pass of $275.
Rough Draft NYC
NYC – Brooklyn
Located at 402 Hooper St., in Williamsburg, Rough Draft NYC is the first hybrid coworking space and full-service creative agency, concocted by creatives for creatives. Alison and Glenn bring their 10+ years of experience in meaningfully bringing people and brands together, and offer full agency services. Flexible coworking membership plans address the needs of freelancers, remote workers, and individual or small group startups.
This renovated pre-war building space offers plenty of natural light, is 100% powered by renewable and solar energy, and is designed to cultivate interaction in a collaborative environment, so as to keep you inspired throughout the day. While full-time members have the option of fixed desks, more flexible attendees can work at hot desks, cafe tables, conference tables, in lounge spaces, or even outdoor seating.
Resources include books, magazines, Pantone, color printing, scanning, faxing, and high-speed internet. Storage, and audio/video and computer equipment are available for rent. Water, coffee, tea, beer, wine, snacks, and a creative reference library are also available. Memberships range from a $14 trial to a $300 full-time membership. Drop by during business hours to take a tour!
The Farm SoHo
NYC – Manhattan
Manhattan’s darling coworking space, The Farm, welcomes innovators in one NoMad and two SoHo coworking locations. The quirky workspaces sport a unique blend of Midwestern Americana. Farm SoHo designers sourced rich oak barn-wood, corrugated tin, and fixtures from farmlands in the Midwest. In the original location at 447 Broadway, over 1,200 square feet of highly modular loft space doubles as one of New York City’s most unique event venues, serving both private and corporate events. The Farm makes a point of hosting a wide range of events, where members can promote their work and reap the organic growth advantages of collaborating with diverse innovators.
An engaged community of designers, social change agents, developers, artists, and entrepreneurs come together to share ideas in Manhattan’s hippest historic loft coworking spaces. Rustic charm aside, all locations feature award-winning technology powered by Sennheiser: online meeting solutions, as well as audio/video presentation and/or entertainment equipment. Locations include shared workspaces, conference rooms, private offices that range in size from 3-person to 14-person suites, sound cancellation phone booths, breakout rooms, and more. Although space is notoriously difficult to find in Manhattan, The Farm managed to fit many shifting and inspiring spaces into their lofts. Oh, and it’s pet-friendly!
