Great Minds: A look at some interesting approaches to co-working in the US

June 14th, 2010 by matt No Responses

Inspired by a thread over at readwriteweb.com and our recently announced partnership with Match Office, I decided to devote this post to exploring a range of companies in the US who are doing similar things to us.  After a post titled Co-working Spaces: Building a Startup Community appeared at readwriteweb.com, a number of comments were posted by individuals (us included) eager to share their experiences with specialized and community-based office spaces – and how they had come to establish their own.

I am sure there are many to be found elsewhere, but here are a few that have caught our eye stateside:

nedspaceNedSpace

The timeless words of American anthropologist Margaret Mead are quoted on theNedSpace homepage: ‘Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.’ – and this idea is at the heart of the company.  Based out of Oregon, they have two spaces in Downtown and Old Town Portland respectively and currently boast clients such as web consultancy firm Level Online Strategy.  As well as holding their own weekly NedSpace roundtables, the Old Town office has also become the meeting base for Portland’s collaborative casual working event: Jelly.

boxador

Boxador

On a slightly smaller scale, this software company based out of West Hollywood have foreseen the obvious benefits of collaborative spaces and decided to advertise some deskspace to people who ‘might complement our work style and creative vibe’.  Unlike the almost ‘accessible to all’ approach of NedSpace, Boxador (who have just a few desks available to rent) are being a little more selective with who becomes part of the community by way of asking for submission of work samples from prospective clients.

workbarWorkBar

Shared office space people, WorkBar, are targeting ‘the needs of today’s “work from home” professionals or those finding themselves searching for workspace in coffee shops.’  The Boston company pride themselves on offering professional workspace and conference/meeting rooms to make it as easy as possible for individuals, freelancers and small start-up teams to meet with their clients.  In addition, WorkBar host both casual and more formal networking events in their space, and instead of upholding the more traditional landlord/tenant relationship, they offer numerous levels of ‘membership’ for prospective clients – which fit a wide range of budgets.

coin

The coIN Loft

The notion of ‘membership’ is utilized by The coIN Loft too, though the community aspect of their Delaware co-working space is explicitly connected not only to the strength of those who use it, but also towards the city as a whole.  Co-founded by two branding/development guys and one magazine entrepreneur respectively, The coIN Loft puts social interactions, community building and cross-pollination of services at its forefront.  They are also very active on their blog at: http://thecoinloft.tumblr.com/

It’s good to see such varied and new approaches to the work environment specifically tailored for fledgling companies and start-ups.  And whether to benefit just those who share the space or the wider community as well, inter-company collaboration in the above workspaces certainly seems to be a positive move for those using them.

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