9th of August is International Coworking Day, Let's Celebrate!

In the coworking industry, the 9th of August means a day of celebration, collaboration, and community. But what are we celebrating exactly?

In the coworking industry, the 9th of August means a day of celebration, collaboration, and community. But what are we celebrating exactly?

Let’s go back in time and track the origins of this fairly new way of conducting collaborative business.

Did you know that coworking originated back in the 1990s?

In 1995, Berlin to be more precise. When 17 computer engineers wanted to create a space where they could work together, help each other, share knowledge, and divide the costs. With the rise of the internet and new technology, their solution was to share the benefits of an office space, or as they titled it the ‘hackerspace’.

It wasn’t until 1999 that the actual word ‘Coworking’ was first used by Bernard DeKoven, an American game designer, author, lecturer, to describe a collaborative work supported by new technologies. Although he was the first to introduce that term, it was revealed that it was destined more in a way of working rather than a place to work.

In 2002, Austrian entrepreneurs created an ‘Entrepreneurial centre’ in the heart of Vienna, another actor in the history of Coworking space. Schraubenfabrik was referred to as “the mother of coworking spaces”. The ‘Entrepreneurial centre’ was built in an old factory for freelancers, consultants, and start-ups to collaborate and meet.

It was on August 9th 2005 that the first coworking space as we know it, was founded by Brad Neuberg. He created the San Francisco Coworking Space in the city’s Mission District. The main goal was to have people collaborate and be part of a community while working freely and individually. Although Neuberg’s story is inspiring, it wasn’t so smooth at the beginning. Neuberg stated that for the first two months, not a single person visited the building. It took for an important entrepreneur to step foot in the San Francisco Coworking space for the public to give it interest. Entrepreneur, athlete, and start-up developer Ray Baxter showed up, becoming the first member to sign up.

Neuberg stated that coworking ‘’combines the freedom and independence of working for oneself with the structure and community of a traditional job’’. He believes that coworking spaces are coffee-shop like spaces with an emphasis on community and work.

The following years cemented the movement’s powerful trend. 2009 saw the establishment of the Global Coworking Unconference Conference, an authority in the coworking industry still in power to this day. The following year, in 2010, the 9th of August was declared International Coworking Day, 5 years after the opening of the very first coworking space. By 2012, over 2000 spaces of collaboration were established worldwide.

Tank Stream Labs was created in 2012 by Entrepreneurs for Entrepreneurs. At this point, co-working was a new phenomenon in Australia. The first office space was located in Sydney (Bridge Street) with the goal of supporting the innovation and growth of the start-up ecosystem in Australia. In 2018, Tank Stream Labs opened its first office outside of Sydney on the West coast of Australia, the goal being to connect the East and West coasts of Australia.

Since the beginning, Tank Stream Labs has helped over 700 start-ups to grow and scale. It has also been the starting point for many international technology companies setting up subsidiaries in Australia including Godaddy, Buzzfeed, Braintree, Box, Survey Monkey to name a few.

Tim Fung, Co-Founder and Director of Tank Stream Labs and Bradley Delamare CEO of Tank Stream Labs

The benefits to any business of immersing themselves in a coworking working community are endless. These can include cost efficiencies, Collaboration with other businesses, networking opportunities, flexibility and productivity, education and resources, access to key stakeholders such as investors/Governments/Corporates. The main advantage that co-workers see is the sense of community. “They feel part of a community. Connections with others are a big reason why people pay to work in a communal space, as opposed to working from home for free or renting an isolated office”. These benefits have contributed to the success of co-working spaces globally, especially in the start-up ecosystem.

There are now over 14,000 Coworking spaces in the world. In Australia, the movement also saw an expansion and researchers state that Coworking office space in Australia will be tripling during the next 10 years. If you have not been to a co-working space, go for a trial or attend one of many events that are regularly hosted at a space.

Happy Coworking Day everyone!

Contact us to further discuss the various advantages when choosing a coworking arrangement.