By Omar Douglass

Contributing Writer for The Purpose is Profit Blog

Tomorrow, August 2^nd, 2014, marks the beginning of International Coworking Week. So it’s a good time to learn more about the benefits of coworking for entrepreneurs. After my last post on business incubators, accelerators, and coworking spaces, a reader named Mary Jo wrote in the comments,

“I would be interested in hearing more of your thoughts on the collaborative networking that results from the synergy created by Coworking Spaces.”

I’m really glad Mary Jo asked that question because incubators, accelerators, and coworking spaces is precisely the highly collaborative work culture that they generate. From well-known accelerators such as 500 Startups and TechStars to more regional coworking spaces like Southwestern Connecticut’s Stamford Innovation Center,

collaboration that cultivates entrepreneurial spirit is the common thread running through them. Coworking space, in particular, seems to be a key ingredient in the secret sauce that incubators, accelerators and their various hybrid forms are offering in order to recruit promising startups and enthusiastic entrepreneurs.

For a better idea of what coworking really looks like in one such organization, I talked to Brian Hertzog, marketing and communications director of Runway – an invitation-only hybrid startup incubator/coworking space that shares a building with Twitter in the heart of San Francisco. Runway consists of 200 residents, split among 75 startup teams (at an average of 3 per team), sharing 30,000 SQFT of beautifully designed, industrial-chic, open-floor-plan office space. Down to the detail, the place was “designed with startups in mind” and created by curators who believe that, for startups, an “emphasis on openness and collaboration is essential for moving fast and working smarter.” This emphasis is clearly present in things like Runway’s 10,000 SQFT of dedicated communal space and also in its commitment to provide vetted corporate collaboration opportunities for resident-startups.

When I asked Brian how a startup goes about landing at Runway, he said that the decisions on which startups to invite inevitably boil down to three main criteria:

1)    Serious contenders only – applicant startups must be scalable companies with a vision of growth intact.

2)    “No asshole policy” – the Runway team is all about their community and actively works to make and maintain a highly collaborative and enjoyable environment. The goal is to find and bring in quality people that add positivity as well as intelligence.

3)    Bring your A++ game – “We’re trying to attract the best talent and ideas.”

Brian says the best word to describe Runway’s coworking-centered business isn’t “incubator,” but “community,” instead. Capitalizing on the competitive advantage of working in the same space as companies like Twitter, Yammer and Sosh, the tech-focused Runway team has managed to hone and harness a naturally exciting and energetic environment that produces innovation.

In another word – and to bring us back to Mary Jo’s question – the synergy created at Runway is “organic.” According to Brian, the Runway team encourages its startups-in-residence to pour their talent and ideas into the dynamic collaborative mix, then watch what happens from a “30,000 foot view.” As for the networking that grows in this kind of organically collaborative climate – and judging from the enthusiasm inside the Runway community – the sauce certainly seems to work for everyone coworking there.

As noted recently in The Economist, coworking and open-plan office space are constituent parts of the now grown-up trend of “Montessori management,” which flattens hierarchies and empowers employees with more control over their work. Reflective of its roots in the “knowledge economy,” coworking structures in place at Google, Amazon and Wikipedia seek to maximize collective productivity via a thoughtful tending to the needs of the individual. For incubators and coworking spaces, it’s really just a simple matter of supplying a need that is in high demand. The fact is, a consistently increasing number of startups want to share space with similarly interesting and good-peopled ventures in order to tap into the collective cultural awareness I alluded to earlier.

Given the simultaneous growth of innovation economics as a widely respected theory, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that business incubators and accelerators have created an innovative new industry for themselves out of an idea to help create innovative new industries. So maybe the way to increase collective productivity really is to move the physical and hierarchical walls out of the way and let the collective be productive. Maybe you think so too. Maybe planting your ideas in fertile new collaborative space will grow into commercial success. Maybe you’re finally ready to start your own business and live out the changes you want to see in your world. Maybe.

Maybe you’re already an independent, highly mobile entrepreneur in need of workspace that doesn’t look like a coffee shop. If so, now is a great time to explore coworking options wherever you are. Global Coworking Week 2014 actually kicks off tomorrow, August 2 and runs until International Coworking Day, Saturday, August 9, 2014. Close to 5000 coworking spaces around the world will celebrate this year hosting informational events and offering deals on usage of their space. (Official Hashtag: #coworkingweek)

For additional perspective and guidance on how to find an organization to help get your dreams out of your head and into the marketplace, search on “coworking space” and “incubators” in your town or city. Because new businesses are the fuel of economic growth, you’ll find that the economic development arms of major cities, such as New York, will have listings of such space.

Now is a great time to explore coworking options wherever you are. Global Coworking Week 2014 runs August 2 until August 9, 2014 (International Coworking Day). Close to 5,000 coworking spaces around the world will celebrate the event by hosting informational events and offering deals on usage of their space. (Official Hashtag: #coworkingweek)

Do you have an experience with coworking spaces? We’d love to hear from you in the comments! And please continue to post questions.

Ed McLaughlin is currently co-writing the book “The Purpose Is Profit: Secrets of a Successful Entrepreneur from Startup to Exit” with Wyn Lydecker and Paul McLaughlin.

Copyright © 2014 by Ed McLaughlin All rights reserved.