A Better Way to Operate and Scale Coworking

Montrose-based Proximity Space has more than 120 connected coworking offices spread across four countries

Gigi Sukin //July 6, 2018//

A Better Way to Operate and Scale Coworking

Montrose-based Proximity Space has more than 120 connected coworking offices spread across four countries

Gigi Sukin //July 6, 2018//

PROXIMITY SPACE

FOUNDED: 2015 | HQ: MONTROSE

Searching for a solution to manage a single coworking space in Montrose, Proximity Space created its own platform with standardized, easy-to-integrate tools and features. As other spaces heard about the platform, the idea to build a better way to operate coworking scaled, with more than 120 connected coworking offices now spread across four countries.

“How do you create a diverse economy?” asks Brian Watson, Proximity's director of community development. “A lot of economies are based on legacy industries and don’t have a good place to convene a remote workforce. Proximity gives people the ability to plug in.”

The suite of offerings ranges from access to controls to meeting scheduling tools. Co-founder and CEO Josh Freed says the technology add-ons are largely crowd-sourced by Proximity members expressing needs and asking questions. This spring, the company rolled out a digital job board nationwide, thanks to community requests.

Freed says customer service is ingrained in his company’s DNA.

“We’ve taken an approach to building this community wherein we will take all the pain away from our customers,” he says.

Freed says three-quarters of the people who visit a Proximity space become members; as a result, the community is doubling in size every three months.

This year, the Montrose-based startup will launch a series of partnerships, ranging from government-run organizations such as the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, to local chambers of commerce, Startup Colorado and a pilot program with Hilton. Proximity will host a first-of-its-kind coworking conference in Colorado for a nationwide audience this October.

Proximity anticipates reaching profitability by the end of 2018.

HIRING? YES. Proximity is on a “pretty aggressive hiring path,” CEO Freed says. The organization is actively recruiting sales and customer support associates and programmers to join the engineering team.