Co-workers at Denver's Galvanize, a tech hub in Colorado's capital. Elise Hu/NPR
This week, we've been reporting on the sharing economy — a term that describes the couch-surfing, car-sharing and community-garden-growing world where so many people are using their existing talents, space or tools. You'll find the stories on this blog and aggregated at this link, and we would love to hear your questions about the topic. Just email, leave a comment or tweet.
The sharing economy is powering a rise of new entrepreneurs who need a different kind of office space. Co-working spaces that foster certain communities, like Galvanize, in Denver, cater to that changing culture of work. When you walk into it — the first thing you'll see is a well-stocked bar. The second is a coffee shop.
A morning meeting at Galvanize's office bar. Elise Hu/NPR
" 'Cause coffee fires entrepreneurship, if you will," says Chris Onan, one of the three co-founders of Galvanize.
The 30,000-square-foot space is converted from an old bank note building, and a year after opening it's home to more than 140 tech companies that range from having one person work here occasionally, to teams of 30 that rent semi-permanent suite spaces.
The front, where you find the cafe, is open to the public. The nerve center of the space is an atrium of open workspace, which costs a few hundred dollars a month for membership. The outer rim of the bullpen is lined with glass-enclosed studios where midstage startups rent space next to one another but don't get tied to long-term leases.
"I'm not gonna rent a space for five years. Who knows where I'm gonna be in five years?" says Samantha Holloway, who heads GoSpotCheck, one of the companies who snagged a glass suite.
As the sharing (or peer) economy became big, more people shunned traditional offices and started their own enterprises, and those enterprises needed space and resources. That's what happened with Holloway.
