Coworking spaces make for a brilliant workspace solution for startups, solopreneurs, and other young businesses. We spoke with Dan Zakai, CEO of Mindspace, a leading coworking community, to understand what makes Mindspace’s coworking spaces unique and perfect for startups of all sizes to grow and scale to success. Read on!

What inspired you to start Mindspace? Tell us the story.

I have always been passionate about initiating and building meaningful businesses with a sense of creativity, design, and innovation. Coworking spaces offer the perfect platform to achieve all of those components, and so I co-founded Mindspace in 2014 with Yotam Alroy.   

We knew well that coworking was a growing market with great potential and we wanted to spur this movement that had begun transforming the way people work. For us, building Mindspace together to become a successful global brand is a real dream come true. It gives us the ability to create something that is unique on a global scale.

How does Mindspace provide new age businesses with the quintessential coworking environment that will help them to grow?

Mindspace is a boutique hotel of coworking – high end and beautifully designed with an incredible level of service. We create working environments which nurture imaginative work and cooperation between our members. Our community is super diverse – consisting of startups and innovative teams from world-leading companies such as Microsoft, Samsung, and Spotify – as well as entrepreneurs and independent creatives.

Every space is manned by a local team of impassioned community managers who tend to the individual needs of our members and help tailor the Mindspace experience. They take care of everything so that our community can focus on their business and their growth. These coworking spaces also facilitate connections between different companies through a variety of events which take place at our Mindspace locations every week.

What are your future plans for Mindspace?

Within four years we have become a global player and through further expansions. With the opening of new locations, we will strengthen our position in the coworking market and bring our tailored experience to even more locations.

We are about to open new Mindspace locations in San Francisco, Washington D.C., Amsterdam, Bucharest, Frankfurt, and Munich, with more news to share throughout the rest of 2018. Our international community is constantly growing, and we are excited to see the Mindspace lifestyle continuing to positively influence the lives of so many.

Share with us five reasons why coworking spaces make for the perfect workplace solution for new businesses.

Coworking spaces, like Mindspace, offer flexible, all-inclusive solutions for companies of all sizes, from so many different industries. At Mindspace we offer monthly memberships which let members grow or resize with total ease, deciding on the number of tables or offices they need month by month.

Furthermore, our locations are always in the heart of buzzing ecosystems and our members find huge value in working with an influential community in the center of innovation. As advocates for international exchange and digital growth, we give members open-ended access to work from all our locations, as part of their monthly fee. We help business lower their overhead costs compared to traditional leases, in high demand locations in city centers.

In terms of collaboration, organic networking is tenfold at Mindspace – whether it’s at the coffee machine or at one of the many networking events that make its way into our packed calendar each month. In an effort to empower our members and their business models, we host weekly happy hours, hands-on workshops, inspirational talks, meetups, hackathons, and so on. The Mindspace app gives the community even more opportunity to interact and exchange needs and ideas.

We aspire to provide a lifestyle with evocative and creative spaces to work from. Our bespoke design enhances innovation and creative thinking.

What must new businesses keep in mind or consider before they select their new workplace?

Before making a decision, the startup should be clear on what it needs for its business and also what it needs in order to attract and keep talented man force. The coworking market is extremely diverse in terms of offering a concept for every need and taste.

How has Web Summit helped European startups and businesses in the coworking and collaboration space gain visibility and scale to success?

Events and conferences have been extremely important to position our brand in countries where we are already present with our spaces but also in new markets. Mindspace is a global brand and as a thought leader in the coworking market and our presence at conferences is vital. Events such as Web Summit connect people, companies and enrich the ecosystem. In a digital world, conferences are essential to connect people and their ideas.

How can startups make the most of mammoth tech events such as Web Summit?

Always be prepared! Be clear about who you want to meet, and which talks you want to attend. Instead of just meeting existing business partners, make sure to prepare a list or set up meetings with potential new contacts that can be beneficial for your business.

Another option is to ask for introductions through your existing network. It’s important to make the most of conferences such as Web Summit and to have a clear schedule and overview of events and people that will help your business grow.