In this week’s fresh article we shine some light on the success story of one of the fastest-growing coworking corporations originating from Europe, called Spaces. This company just recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary and, from what we can see, they have plenty of reasons to celebrate!
Short history of Spaces
The Spaces coworking concept had quite humble beginnings. Back in 2008, one of the company’s founders was working in a lovely office with alluring vibes by the canals of Amsterdam. He was continuously approached by strangers who were inquiring about the possibility of renting out a desk to work at or if they could have lunch there. Thus, the idea of opening a stimulating, inviting and fun space for like-minded people to enjoy was born.
The first Spaces office was opened in October of 2008, by Herengracht, one of Amsterdam’s many historic canals. But the founders of the company couldn’t get too comfortable with their new business venture, because soon after inaugurating their first office Lehman Brothers bank collapsed and the world-wide economic crisis began, leaving them baffled about whether or not they could keep the company afloat.
As it turned out, they had nothing to worry about, since the recession climate actually favored coworking offices. The crisis led everyone to rethink their job statuses and many craved more flexibility in their work. People were sick of paying full price for oversized offices when they only used a portion of the space. Therefore, Spaces was in fact booming, functioning at full capacity from the moment it opened its doors.
Features and amenities
Spaces is set on offering its members a welcoming and practical office experience, made to spark creativity, increase work flow and encourage professional partnerships. With this in mind, all Spaces offices around the world were designed to cater to these needs in the most elegant and inviting ways possible.
They all provide members with super-fast Wi-Fi, reception and mail handling services, along with the finest in-house coffee prepared by a local barista, to help you kick start your productive day. You can enjoy unlimited 24/7 admission to your secured space and full entry to the Business Club during traditional business hours. Those opting for dedicated desks will also have access to their very own cupboards, lockers and office supplies. As a member of Spaces, you can have access to all coworking hubs belonging to the franchise in every corner of the world.
Community of creators
The emphasis on an active and collaborative community atmosphere has always been a top priority at Spaces. Their coworking hubs are open to host many types of event to get their members together. They regularly host cooking classes, thematic talks, yoga sessions and even low-key fashion shows. These fun activities are, of course, additional to the full calendar of networking events, business lunches, insightful seminars and various courses aimed at enhancing their clients’ entrepreneurial journeys.
Membership options
Similarly to other coworking hubs, Spaces provides a wide variety of membership packages offering a well-equipped professional setting, access to office amenities and a lot of flexibility to tailor prices in accordance with clients’ business needs. Both individuals and corporations can pick their own dedicated desks, meeting rooms and private offices.
Locations and future plans
After the enormous success of their first office, Spaces opened an additional space in Amsterdam one year later, this time in the city’s financial district, in the Ernst & Young HQ building. The company always leases space from existing buildings owned by large corporations and makes the most of the room capacity through clever layouts and tasteful designs. In the following couple of years, Spaces opened additional offices in The Hague and Rotterdam, along with more coworking hubs in various parts of Amsterdam.
2015 was a turning point in the company’s history because they inaugurated their first few offices outside the Netherlands—in London, New York and Melbourne, to be precise—to see whether there was a market for their services or not. These locations also proved to be profitable, so Spaces further accelerated their growth and at the moment boasts about 111 different locations all around the globe. Their not-so-secret goal is to have 250 locations in 150 cities by 2019—an ambitious target, and we wish them the utmost success in achieving it!
