In recent years, the number of flex workers has exploded across various sectors — and with it, the number of co-working spaces. Yet, co-working facilities still seem remarkably similar to each other. We believe that co-working is entering a new phase, where new types of dedicated spaces will emerge for a variety of professional target groups — from food entrepreneurs to lawyers, and from indie hackers to fashion designers.
The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of flexible working and the global demand for flexible workspaces. So far, these unstoppable developments have not led to much differentiation in the offering of co-working spaces. Most co-working providers continue to use a one-size-fits-all model with fairly generic facilities for a broad general group of flex workers and freelancers.
The critical mass for new urban co-working spaces is growing
However, thanks in part to the pandemic, the critical mass of flex workers has grown significantly. A (partly) co-working-based existence is no longer reserved for tech professionals alone. The number of freelancers and flex workers in other professions has caught up in the meantime. In many large cities, there are now enough lawyers searching for a shared flex space. Or doctors, food entrepreneurs, or fashion designers. These professionals have different professional needs when it comes to co-working.
This creates demand for a co-working offering that is much more differentiated than what we have seen so far, with spaces, facilities, and aesthetics tailored to specific sectors and professions. This latent trend offers exciting market opportunities for the development of entirely new types of shared workspaces centred around professional communities that mutually benefit each other. We describe three new types of co-working environments through concrete examples.
