Dan Zakai, CEO of Israel-based coworking real estate firm Mindspace, says that the coworking sector is bigger than WeWork’s recent losses.
Mindspace was founded in 2013 and, at the time, was the only coworking company in Israel. Now, it is at 90% capacity across its 30 locations in seven countries where it has around 100 employees and attracts companies big and small.
Yotam Alroy, Mindspace’s chief of development, explained that he is unconcerned with the impact of WeWork as research anticipates the coworking sector to take up 30% of global office stock by 2030.
“More and more renters are looking to give their employees something extra but they either do not know how to do it themselves or are afraid to be bound by long contracts,” said Alroy.
Zakai explained that it is practically impossible to fill up locations at the rate WeWork was opening them. This model is ultimately what led the coworking giant down the path of infamy.
Mindspace offers a different business model through owner partnerships. It establishes and operates the coworking space, while the owners funds it.