6 Businesses That Started Up in a Coworking Space [Plus 5 Reasons Why It Helped]
It’s no secret that coworking spaces are a melting pot of innovation, expertise, and business growth. That’s what’s made them such a popular choice for solo professionals, established businesses, and satellite teams.
And so it should come as no surprise that some hugely successful businesses have emerged from coworking spaces across the world.
6 massive companies that started in coworking spaces
1. Instagram
Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger were 26 and 24, respectively, when they founded Instagram in 2010. The duo worked from the now-famous San Francisco-based coworking space Dogpatch Labs, which allowed them affordability and flexibility as they worked to get their app off the ground. On launch day, the app got its first users at 8:00 a.m. By 9:00 a.m., their server had already crashed due to all the traffic, and by 2:00 a.m., the platform had 25,000 users. Today, it has well over a billion monthly users.
2. Indiegogo
Instagram wasn’t the only massive business to emerge from a San Francisco-based coworking space. Indiegogo, the revolutionary crowdfunding platform which has raised more than $1.5 billion since its creation, also got its start in a flexible office space. In fact, the company’s founders, Slava Rubin, Eric Schell, and Danae Ringelmann have said that, had it not been for the support of coworking spaces, the company wouldn’t be what it is today.
3. Uber
Uber started as an idea to eliminate taxi troubles in San Francisco. And the app itself was created in coworking spaces in New York City and San Francisco. Back in 2011, a team of 8, including the co-founders Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp operated from rocket space – a tech coworking space in San Francisco. Today, the business operates in 80 countries and has a valuation of over $75 billion.
4. Spotify
Do you know what Uber and Spotify have in common? Well, aside from having both revolutionized their respective industries, they also both got their start at the famed coworking space, rocket space. Spotify launched in October of 2008. Today, it has more than 207 million monthly active users.
5. Wanderfly
Back in 2011, Christy Liu, co-founder of Wanderfly, described her start-up as “a travel inspiration site that helps people discover new experiences based on their budgets and interests.” She started the business with three other co-founders and a handful of employees working from a coworking space called Projective Space in Soho, New York. Just one year after it was launched, Wanderfly was bought by travel mega-site TripAdvisor for an undisclosed sum.
6. Hootsuite
Another product of rocket space in San Francisco, Hootsuite was launched in November of 2008 as a free, cloud-based tool for desktop users to manage all their social media accounts from a single dashboard. The idea for the business came as a eureka moment for founder Ryan Holmes who had grown tired of logging into each of his social media accounts separately. Fast forward 13 years and Hootsuite has 15 million users, including more than 800 of the Fortune 1000 companies. The company’s founding team isn’t shy about discussing the impact their coworking community played on the business and has stated that coworking enabled Hootsuite to generate valuable connections which helped them thrive.
5 factors that make coworking spaces hotbeds for successful businesses
If you’re wondering why these businesses, and thousands of other companies of all different sizes, thrive at coworking spaces, the answer is simple: coworking spaces offer a ton of benefits that help growing businesses to succeed.
This includes:
- Cost-efficiency: Coworking spaces allow businesses to get professional office space at affordable and scalable rates rather than having to take on full-cost traditional office leases.
- Flexibility: For businesses that are growing, the need to scale up (or downsize) can happen fast. Coworking spaces accommodate businesses as they grow, allowing them to move from a hot desk to a dedicated desk to an office, as they need to.
- Networking: Coworking spaces are bustling professional communities that put you in close proximity to a lot of like-minded (or unlike-minded) people and businesses. This helps keep the creative juices flowing and keep you inspired.
- Expertise: Coworking communities and the networking they offer also open the doors to a whole ton of collaboration and expertise that can help businesses grow. Need a web designer? A marketer? An accountant? A legal expert? There’s a safe bet you can find one at your coworking space.
- Business tools and support: Everything you need to run your business is included in your membership cost at a coworking space, from internet access to printers and copiers to chains and desks and more.
By their very nature, coworking spaces are hotbeds for business growth. But don’t just take our word for it. Take a look at the multinational organizations that have deep roots in a shared office environment.
Want to Take Your Workdays to the Next Level in 2021?
If you’d like to learn more about how coworking and flexible office space can support the success of your business, or if you’d like to book a tour of Co-Balt Workspace, get in touch today.
