Dr. Gleb Tsipursky – The Office Whisperer
Nirit Cohen – WorkFutures
Angela Howard – Culture Expert
Drew Jones – Design & Innovation
Jonathan Price – CRE & Flex Expert
From amazing amenities that make (or for that matter, break) your favorite coworking space, to unique design and brand values, below are AllWork’s top 10 picks for the best all-around coworking spaces in the United States:
1. NextSpace
With seven locations spanning SoCal (southern California) and one in Chicago, there’s little doubt that NextSpace is doing something right.
Nextspace first opened their doors in Santa Cruz, California back in 2008 and is one of the early pioneers to curate member experiences tailored to each individual location. They were one of the first coworking brands to initiate childcare within their space, but unexpected development and overhead costs forced their program to close in early 2016. But we can’t fault them for trying and would not be surprised to see them venture into childcare once again.
2. Link Coworking
Link Coworking does so many things right–even the little things we take for granted like comfortable chairs and highly caffeinated coffee. With great people, a great space and now with two added satellite locations within the Austin city limits, there is considerable flexibility for their members.
Plus, you can rest assured that coworking will be expertly executed behind the experience of it’s founder, Liz Elam. Elam is the Executive Producer of GCUC, the world’s largest coworking event.
3. Gangplank
It’s true, they are more than just a free coworking space as they proclaim on their homepage. Gangplank operators and their community see themselves as a movement that extends beyond shared space. In fact, in order to use the space, members must agree to shared values explicitly written out in their Gangplank Manifesto that stem from their overall objective to create a sustainable, collaborative work community based on trust.
4. Awesome Inc
We have previously written about how “awesome” this coworking space is and that’s why we’re adding them to our list. The founders were first to market in a city (Lexington, Kentucky) where there was no familiarity of the coworking industry–and turned their space into an all-in-one accelerator, shared office space, mentorship program and coding school.
5. Grind
With an over-saturated market of coworking spaces on the island of Manhattan, Grind stands out as a coworking brand that values community over space. With three locations in New York City, each space is delicately designed for its members with flexibility, functionality and collaboration in mind. Each location stays true to their motto of building a coworking space for “free radicals who would rather work in a community than a company.”
6. BLANKSPACES
It’s certainly no coincidence that when you “Google” Blankspace, immediately underneath Taylor Swift’s top-charting single, you’ll find this coworking brand. That’s most likely because the founder, Jerome Chang, is a prominent innovator within the coworking and flexible office industry. With three locations in and around Los Angeles, the former architect, Chang, has been in business since 2008 cultivating consistent communities of freelancers and entrepreneurs.
7. Workbar
It’s simply impossible to list all the Workbar locations that surround the Boston area. That’s because it seems like they are virtually adding a new location everyday. Members rave about Workbar’s flexibility, convenience and top-notch amenities all at a very affordable price. Last year, Workbar teamed up with Staples to offer their services inside of three separate Staples locations.
8. Office Nomads
“Individuality without Isolation,” as stated on their homepage is forever embedded inside this Seattle, Washington coworking community. It would be difficult to find a space that cares more about their members than Office Nomads. The founders support regional workspace collaboration efforts and even creating one of their own, the Seattle Collaborative Space Alliance to promote the coworking movement in the area.
9. Alley
We head back to the “Big Apple” to give “props” to one of most formidable coworking spaces in New York City. Along with hosting a technology incubator inside the space, its founder, Jason Saltzman, recently teamed up with New York University to “support education entrepreneurship and education technologies” within the college. This is one of the first times we are seeing a coworking company have a presence and impact inside a major university.
10. IndyHall
What’s more poetic than ending this list with one of the most prominent coworking spaces to ever open its doors in the United States back in 2008. It helps when the founder, Alex Hillman, virtually pioneered the models on how to curate the right community for your space, how to make money for your space and the list could go on and on. As the tagline of Hillman’s blog reads, he’s created and continues to create: better communities, better business and better coworking.
Editor’s note: These spaces are in no particular order or ranking. Did we miss any of your favorite coworking spaces? We would love to hear from you!
