This year, Vancouver Startup Week is thrilled to have Spaces on board as one of our official partners. To date, they’re operating a Spaces location in Gastown, with the Granville location opening in September 2019 and the Mount Pleasant due to open soon.
We wanted to give our attendees more of an inside look into what the Spaces community is like, why they chose Vancouver and their plans for growth into 2020 and beyond.
That’s why we’re sharing with you, our conversations with Spaces’ CEO, Martin Roordink and one of Spaces’ Gastown tenants, Jeff Jang, Co-Founder and CEO of Immersive Tech.
What would you say is Spaces’ mission?
Spaces offers an inspiring work environment for professionals and growing businesses. The creative work environment helps members think, create, and collaborate with like-minded people — while the Spaces team makes sure members always feel welcome. The mission is to offer inspirational surroundings with an entrepreneurial spirit where ideas are born, companies can evolve, and valuable relationships are built.
Vancouver has seen an increase in the number of co-working spaces in recent years. Where did you see an opportunity to open several Spaces location here? What added value do you believe you bring?
Whether through its thriving arts & culture industries, educational institutions, or technology sector, Vancouver is a world-class city that’s been on our radar for a long time. It’s no surprise that co-working is resonating so loudly here, and we saw a big opportunity to meet the growing demand. With Spaces, it’s not just about providing a location for professionals to work, it’s about contributing to the broader community. With our Vancouver locations, we’re bringing a sense of creative collaboration and excitement to the city’s most dynamic and resurgent neighbourhoods.
How do you think Spaces has impacted Vancouver’s startup and entrepreneur community?
Spaces is changing the way that Vancouver startups and entrepreneurs approach work. The objective is no longer to simply find a place to plug in your laptop; it’s about tapping into a community of forward-thinkers, innovators, and game changers. By joining Spaces, members enjoy a turn-key solution that allows them to avoid the time-sucking tasks related to office management; instead, startups (and companies of all sizes) can focus on growing their business, networking with their peers, and getting the most out of their working life.
What other Spaces locations are coming to Vancouver and what can we expect from them?
Vancouver’s Spaces Gastown location has been a runaway success, and we’re excited to bring the same energy to the new Spaces locations on Granville Street (in the historic Tom Lee Music Building), in Mount Pleasant (in the Great Northern Way Campus), and on West Georgia Street (in the forthcoming 24-storey, lamp-inspired downtown tower). Each new location will combine highly prized Vancouver real estate with Spaces’ unique brand of creative coworking, characterized by European inspired design, bright and open-concept layouts, dynamic Business Clubs, and flexible memberships and meeting rooms.
With the scope of your business, did you have any expectations on how the Spaces location at Gastown would benefit your business?
We had the expectation that we’d be exposed to a diverse group of companies and individuals. The benefit for our business has been the ability to engage with these other companies or people we consider as friends, to bounce ideas and get feedback on some of the work we do. We design interactive experiences for the general public so having friendly neighbours near us help a lot.
Has it been easier to build a community with other entrepreneurs and startups?
Spaces does a great job at creating opportunities for meeting other companies and entrepreneurs, from their weekly tea or breakfast sessions or rooftop get-togethers. We’ve only tried two other coworking arrangements in the past but were surprised at how consistent they are at creating these moments of conversation and networking.
Has your business, networking and education approach in your industry changed because of the community at Spaces?
We’re primarily in the business of interactive experiences for brand awareness, product launches, and training. We’ve had great conversations with our neighbours as a result which has informed our processes around strategic partners.
How do you think Spaces will be part of your business in the future? What would you want other entrepreneurs, startups, and freelancers to know about Spaces?
Spaces in our eyes is a great starting point for new ideas that need a well-run space to be able to focus on the business. Eventually, we see ourselves moving to a bigger location but would see Spaces as a resource for new ideas or smaller teams, or ideas to take place in.