Your Brave Ideas Weekly Review

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Happy Friday

I hope your week has brought you as much joy as the coffee I'm sipping while I write this. The coffee always tastes better when London is cold & raining. This week we've had all 4 seasons!

One of the things I love about coworking and flex office growing so fast as a subsector of office real estate is the innovation I see taking place across our industry. To everyone out there making gallant efforts to improve and lead us into the future, I commend you.

People aren't looking for a desk, they're looking for an experience

I follow a lot of coworking operators on Instagram and office leasing agents on LinkedIn. So many times I see images of empty spaces advertising "offices on flexible terms with free coffee and wifi."

As our industry heats up with competition, how do we differentiate in a commoditized market?

What's going to sway someone to choose us over someone else?

So when I see people creating better ways for us to stand out, I lean in.

One of these innovators is Manuel Conti , Cofounder & CEO of PONT .

Check out this clip from my Caleb Parker Show interview with Manuel....

Sign up for next week's webinar with Manuel

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The CURE for your FOMO

If you missed the recent Coworking London Conference, mark your calendar for next week. I'll be joining Pauline Roussel & Mandy Jhamat MSc for a debrief to cure your FOMO.

Tap here to signup

Bring some popcorn - you don't wanna miss this!

This newsletter is powered by the Brave Consortium: Bright Spaces , Access Control Executive Brief , NCG , PONT and ReturnSuite

This Week's Brain Food

Brave Ideas is curated by Lucy McInally and features ideas, insights, best practices and analysis all categorized under the 6 Pillars of Space-as-a-Service.

Be sure to forward this to your favorite colleague and help them grow!

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COMMUNITY

How do Brand and Community Come Together in the Coworking World?

asks Christian Schmitz ?

In the music industry, Taylor Swift has built a revolutionary fanbase, who follow her across the globe. In the sports world, Nike has built an entire product line around one persona type – athletes. Read more from Christian .?

"The Community Brings the Brand to Life. The Community Makes the Brand. Not the Other Way Around"

Cat Johnson quoting Caleb Parker , Founder of Brave

Too often, I see people open a coworking space, with all the bells and whistles, having no idea who they serve or what their brand stands for. Read more from Cat .?

HOSPITALITY

Coworking is Now Considered or Moving Towards Being Categorised as Hospitality

says Ian Minor , Brave Cofounder

The problem here is that hospitality tends to occur during our social time (restaurants, bars, hotel stays, theatre). Work has never been considered social but I believe we will see work merge and start to combine with our social time. Read more from Ian .

What The Workplace Can Learn From Taylor Swift And U2

by David Waingarten

What can workplace design learn from the experience economy and the increasing influence it’s having on the design of spaces, goods, and services all around us? Read David’s article in Work Design Magazine .?

How is the Hospitality Sector Capitalising on the Demise of the Office?

asks Lucy McInally

9% of London’s office inventory is sitting vacant, says Timothy Griffin, Principal at Wellbrook Hospitality and Leven, at this year’s Clerkenwell Design Week. Read Lucy’s Nexudus article .

TECHNOLOGY

HOW we Work Trumps WHERE we Work

in conversation with Daan van Rossum and Annie Dean

Atlassian’s VP of Team Anywhere spent 10 years promoting flexible work. Now, we’re talking about the HOW, with insights on AI, remote collaboration, async, and inclusion. Tap into the conversation .?

Event Recap: AI in PropTech at Google's HQ, London

by Alex Wiffin

It's clear that AI holds immense potential for the PropTech sector, but realising this potential requires strategic implementation and robust data foundations. Read more from Alex .

WORKSPACES

Important questions we cannot answer (yet) about the office market

by Bogdan Nicoar? , CEO Bright Spaces

The office market continues to experience a number of major structural challenges — adapting to the evolving needs of occupiers who are also grappling with the new ways of working, while managing ageing and ‘stranded’ office assets through the challenges of achieving net zero. Read more from Bogdan

Designing for Climate Change: “Optional” is no Longer an Option

by Nancy Kohout and Lisa Denlinger ?

Adaptive reuse, minimising embodied carbon in materials, and designing for future flexibility…can help owners and tenants revitalise spaces and communities without causing additional harm to the planet. Read the article in Work Design Magazine .?

Flying High on Workplace Character: Why Culture Trumps Infrastructure in Building Exceptional Teams

by Amanda Stanaway

The traditional approach focused on premium infrastructure — state-of-the-art buildings with top-notch amenities and cutting-edge technology. However, this strategy has fallen short. Read Amanda’s article in Coworking Insights .?

MANAGEMENT

The Rise of Supercommuters Linked to Adoption of Flexible and Hybrid Working

says Jayne Smith

Trainline’s survey of 1,000 rail supercommuters, defined as journeys to work of at least 90 minutes, highlights that supercommuters are still regulars at their desks – spending an average of three days a week in the office. Read Jayne’s article in Workplace Insight.?

Before Covid, Nobody Cared About the Future of Work

says Dave Cairns

Nobody was talking about workplace policies around the dinner table, office landlords and brokers weren’t on their back heels, and the term hybrid work hadn’t been invented. Then Covid happened. Read more from Dave .?

It was Good to Participate in eOffice's Coworking London Conference Last Week

says Jane Sartin

We've not yet reached a settled position on what the post-pandemic world of work looks like yet, with companies continuing to adjust expectations on how many days they expect to see staff in the office. Read more from Jane .

BRAND

Do You Have a Sales Problem or Do You Have a Marketing and Communication Problem?

says Bernie Mitchell

At least 80% of the buyer journey happens online. So when people get to your coworking space, it's a gut feeling. Read more from Bernie .?

We’ve Gone Back to Basics with Some Old School Marketing Tactics

says Jonny Rosenblatt

Here’s what I’ve learned…Digital campaigns are powerful, but if you want real burst, old school outdoor advertising can be phenomenal. Read more from Jonny .?

FINANCE

Should Coworking Make Money?

in conversation with Caleb Parker , Founder of Brave, and Keke Patissier

FACT: 25% of coworking businesses are loss making. But that means 75% are not. Tap into the conversation.?

Innovation Districts: The Next Frontier in Strategic Investing

by Carlo Benigni ?? , Development Management Partner at Brave

In today's knowledge economy, innovation districts have emerged as key drivers of economic growth and investment opportunity. Read more from Carlo.?

10,625 Hours per Month is the Potential for Greater Efficiency in the Flexspace Sector Based on Our Analysis

says Michael Dubicki

This exercise was carried out in an effort to quantify the combined impact of customer contact information provision / qualification detail on the efficiency of the sales funnel and to extrapolate this to the serviced offices marketplace as a whole. Read more from Michael .?

Can Space-as-a-Service Prevent a Banking Collapse?

by Caleb Parker , Founder & CEO at Brave

If mass remote work got landlords to consider flex… Will mass loan defaults get lenders to consider diverse revenue streams? Read more from Caleb.

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See you next week!

Caleb