Last week I attended the launch of a new co-working office space at the bottom of Bree St called Work & Co. Situated on the 11th – 14th floor of the Touchstone House building, the idea behind the space is to build a community of entrepreneurs, creatives, small and medium sized enterprises, remote teams and freelancer with an aim to connect people and promote collaboration and growth.
The idea behind Work & Co came from French born entrepreneur, Julien Verspieren, who back in 2014 sold his business in France, packed up his life & moved to Cape Town. (Great choice Julien, great choice… #BestCityInTheWorld)
Following the global trend of co-working, Julien spotted an opportunity to try and create a new way of working locally…
The hip new 2,000 m2 space is broken up into various working spaces, from hot desks that can be rented per day, to shared office space and private offices that can accommodate up to 15 people. There’s also a coffee shop and a few chill areas designed to make it feel a bit like a home away from home.
The interiors were designed by top Cape Town-based international designer, Andrea Graff, who combined vibrant colours with classic and modern pieces. I personally loved the pops of yellow, the cool geometric print wallpaper and the graffiti wall.
Oh and views? They be having them…
But of course, over and above being comfortable, inviting & trendy, a working space need to bring it on the functional side too…
Work & Co offers members a network and the infrastructure, meeting rooms, high-speed and reliable fibre optic internet, Uninterrupted Power Supply, printing stations, a receptionist, installed landlines and full time IT support. So that way you can focus on what you do best, and they’ll take care of all the other stuff.
Now to me, this is a very cool idea, and yes – I love the concept of awesome people coming together under one roof to create awesome things. BUT that said, when I was freelancing last year, I loved the fact that I could 1. stay in my pajamas all day long & 2. that I had no additional overhead costs like office space & parking by working from home. If I needed to do a meeting, I’d just use my local coffee spot, and then I had a printer/scanner at home for admin things. So would I have bought into the co-working concept? I’m not so sure… I think it depends on what you want to get out of it. Also if you’re someone who gets motivated by being around others, this may be something that perfectly fits your vibe.
So, if you’re reading this and you’re thinking that it may be something that’ll suit your small business / solo mission needs, hop on over to www.workandco.co.za for info on how to become a member or to book a tour of the space.
I’m very interested to see how they grow & develop as I’m all for supporting the “little man” over the big corporation. So yeah, let’s see.
xxx