Co work space

Co work space has become very popular during the recession and with the explosion of startups across the globe. One provider Loosecubes is doing an amazing job at delivering space to entrepreneurs, designers and startups. Coworking is a collaborate approach where people can have a shared working environment. The approach allows individuals to have a sense of community while preserving their ability to work independently. This can also be a great networking tool for finding other talented people or like-minded individuals.

Loosecubes is deployed in 355 Cities and 47 countries boasting unconventional workspace for an unconventional workforce. I looked around the website for available space in my backyard (Boston) and found very cool space at very reasonable pricing. Co-working enables entrepreneurs to have alternative working space instead of the usual coffee shops or home office. The other benefit to co-working is the human interaction element. Isolation can become an issue in a telecommuting and mobile world. The concept is similar to incubators without the structure of mentors and focus of launching a business. Loosecubes describes it’s business model as the following:

We connect members with an empty desk, studio or sofa with other members who need a productive and inspiring place to work. Whether you are looking for coworking companions by the day or longer term studiomates by the month, Loosecubes makes it easy to find the right people to share your space with. Connect your account to Facebook to get recommendations for great workspace based on your social connections. We think who you work around matters and we’re here to help you connect

There are several coworking space providers in this vertical but Loosecubes has a nice business model coupled with a simple user interface. It reminds me of the AirBnB of coworking. In addition, other space providers are usually focused on a particular geography like New York or Toronto where as Loosecubes platform is ever expanding around the globe.

Demographics of coworkers are interesting as well. According to Wikipedia the average age is 34 years old ranging from early 20s to late 30s. Approximately 2/3 are male with approximately 4 out of 5 having a university education. Mostly in the creative field with over 50% being full time freelancers.

You also have the ability to host space if you are willing to open your space up to others. This is a good tool to help subsidize your existing rent and work with interesting people. Whether seeking co-work or hosting space the concept is here to stay. It should continue to be an effective affordable tool for the bootstrapped startup or lean freelancer.