Coworking, by its very definition, is rooted in community, growth, and innovation.
Because of the passion and dedication of thousands of coworking community members, the industry has expanded to what it is today – a revolutionary movement that is shaping the way our world views businesses, offices, and the way people get work done.
By the end of 2016, there are expected to be 10,000 coworking spaces throughout the world – 28% growth from 2015.
This leads to some very important questions for 2016: as coworking goes “mainstream,” will the originality and unique roots of the movement remain?
Where is the line between coworking and just working, and how do we ensure that we’re remaining authentic to the foundational elements of the industry?
Leading up to the major 10,000-space milestone in 2016, there has been a strong community of influencers who have helped shape coworking into the high-growth industry it is today.
These are pioneers, revolutionaries, and next-level leaders who are all tied to one very strong belief: that coworking is changing the way we work and is here to stay.
We asked the coworking community to nominate influencers they feel have had a significant hand in building the coworking movement, accelerating the movement’s growth, and/or ensuring the movement stays on the right track.
We received tons of awesome nominations and have broken up the influencers into six categories:
1. Most Impressive Networks
2. Coworking Innovators
3. Biggest Commercial Successes
4. Most Active Community Builders
5. Coworking Originals
6. Rising Newcomers
Read on to find out more about each category and the influencers!
The original post can be found here: https://blog.getkisi.com/30-influential-people-coworking-2016/
2. We asked the coworking c o m m u n i t y
to nominate influencers
they feel have had a significant hand
in building and accelerating
the coworking movement.
3. We received tons of nominations
and broke up the influencers into six categories:
Most Impressive Networks
Coworking Innovators
Biggest Commercial Successes
Most Active Community Builders
Coworking Originals
Rising Newcomers
6. Company: Coworkaholic
Location: Washington, DC
Website: www.coworkaholic.com
Twitter: @liveventi
Mike LaRosa
He is truly passionate about coworking. It’s most clear in
his ability to bring communities together to collectively
propel the industry forward.
“ ”
7. Company: Coworking Europe
Location: Brussels
Website: www.global-enterprise.biz
Twitter: @jeanyves
Jean-Yves Huwart
He’s one of the biggest voices of coworking in Europe, and
has brought together a community of coworking spaces
through Coworking Europe, where we can learn from each
other and discuss the future of our industry.
“ ”
8. Company: New Work City
Location: New York City
Website: www.tonybacigalupo.com
Twitter: @tonybgoode
Tony Bacigalupo
Tony is truly passionate about the collective good of
coworking, bringing together coworking owners to
ensure that whoever wants to be part of the coworking
movement can be.
“ ”
9. Company: Betacowork
Location: Brussels
Website: www.coworkinghandbook.com
Twitter: @ramonsuarez
Ramon Suarez
Ramon quite literally wrote the handbook on coworking,
and he’s done a great job of using it to connect
individuals interested in coworking from throughout the
world.
“ ”
10. Company: GCUC
Location: Austin
Website: www.linkcoworking.com
Twitter: @LinkCoworking
Liz Elam
She hosts the GCUC [Global Coworking Unconference
Conference], and has dedicated herself to her passion
of connecting and informing the industry.
“ ”
12. Company: Creative Density Coworking
Location: Denver
Website: www.craigbaute.com
Twitter: @craigbaute
Craig Baute
Craig uses his solid business background in his
approach to coworking – at the end of the day, we’re all
running businesses we want to succeed, and he a
forward-thinker who can help get there.
“ ”
13. Company: OpenWork
Location: Austin
Website: www.openwork.agency
Twitter: @openworkagency
Drew Jones
He has an intuition for where the future of work is
heading not just within coworking, but within the entire
corporate working industry as a whole.
“ ”
14. Company: Google
Location: San Francisco
Website: www.nextspace.us
Twitter: @jjneuner
Jeremy Neuner
He’s proven time and time again that he’s a builder and
curator of great communities.
“ ”
15. Company: Sharers.co
Location: San Francisco
Website: www.rustrum.com
Twitter: @chelsearustrum
Chelsea Rustrum
She has a true vision when it comes to the sharing
economy, and has helped the coworking understand
where it fits into this new revolution.
“ ”
16. Company: NextSpace
Location: San Francisco
Website: www.iriskavanagh.com
Twitter: @iriskavanagh
Iris Kavanagh
She’s the community expert – she knows how to build,
foster, and optimize growth for communities of all sizes
and types. Most importantly, she’s a pleasure to work
with!
“ ”
18. Company: WeWork
Location: New York City
Website: www.wework.com
Twitter: @weworkadam
Adam Neumann
Adam built the biggest coworking space chain in the
United States. It’s hard to argue with that success!
“ ”
19. Company: Neuehouse
Location: New York City
Website: www.neuehouse.com
Twitter: @joshuaabram
Joshua Abram
With Neuehouse, Joshua shows a serious coworking
model of how work collective will look like in the future.
“ ”
20. Company: Soho House
Location: London, UK
Website: www.sohohouse.com
Twitter: @sohohouse
Nick Jones
Nick successfully built the most loyal, high-end
worldwide coworking and travel community.
“ ”
21. Company: TechShop
Location: Menlo Park
Website: www.techshop.ws
Twitter: @techshopjim
Jim Newton
Jim started techshop in 2006, way before anyone
thought about hardware startups. Now, he provides the
world with a community garage full of tools to build their
dreams.
“ ”
23. MOST ACTIVE COMMUNITY BUILDERS
JEROME
CHANG
ALEX
HILLMAN
BOB
SUMMERS
JERED
KENNA
JACOB
SAYLES
24. Company: BLANKSPACES
Location: Los Angeles
Website: www.blankspaces.com
Twitter: @blankspaces
Jerome Chang
Jerome is always contributing to help fellow coworking
space owners. He also opened the the first coworking
space in SoCal and SF, long before anyone else.
“ ”
25. Company: Indy Hall
Location: Philadelphia
Website: www.indyhall.com
Twitter: @alexhillman
Alex Hillman
He’s been a community builder since the start and runs
the most popular coworking podcast.
“ ”
26. Company: TechPad
Location: San Francisco
Website: www.techpad.org
Twitter: @bobs
Bob Summers
He’s a true entrepreneur, and is the perfect example of
someone who can use passion to drive community.
“ ”
27. Company: 20Mission
Location: San Francisco
Website: www.20mission.com
Twitter: @jeredkenna
Jered Kenna
Jered’s created the landing hub for every entrepreneur
arriving in San Francisco.
“ ”
28. Company: Office Nomads
Location: Seattle
Website: www.officenomads.com
Twitter: @jacobsayles
Jacob Sayles
Community runs in through his veins: he’s a builder and
contributor to Open Coworking, the coworking wiki,
coworking visa, and Coworking Seattle.
“ ”
30. Company: Enerspace
Location: San Francisco
Website: www.globalworkspace.org
Twitter: @evrythingcowork
Jamie Russo
Jamie’s always willing to share her experience when
pioneering spaces in Chicago and Palo Alto.
“ ”
31. Company: Jelly
Location: Portland
Website: www.workatjelly.com
Twitter: @superamit
Amit Gupta
He introduced coworking to NYC [one of the industry’s
biggest hubs] with Jelly.
“ ”
32. Company: Projective Space
Location: New York City
Website: www.projective.co
Twitter: @jameswahba
James Wahba
James and his brothers stay true to community
coworking in NYC and constantly experiment to bring
the best experience to their members.
“ ”
33. Company: Friends
Location: Brooklyn
Website: www.friendsworkhere.com
Twitter: @swissmiss
Tina Roth Eisenberg
For Tina, coworking is and has been a natural lifestyle
and source of inspiration.
“ ”
34. Company: Collective Agency
Location: Portland
Website: www.collectiveagency.co
Twitter: @alexlinsker
Alex Linsker
Alex is one of the most consistent shapers of the
coworking culture.
“ ”
36. Company: New Lab
Location: Brooklyn
Website: www.newlab.com
Twitter: @scottbcohen
Scott Cohen
Scott shows how an interdisciplinary, creative work
facility can lift up and position an entire borough.
“ ”
37. Company: Beauty Shoppe
Location: Pittsburgh
Website: www.thebeautyshoppe.org
Twitter: @rhelou
Rabih Helou
Rabih built the biggest coworking space in Pittsburgh
and is a role model space for up-and-coming cities.
“ ”
39. Company: Croissant
Location: New York City
Website: www.getcroissant.com
Twitter: @thezoltan
Zoltan Szalas
Zoltan made what many have waited a long time for – a
space on demand from your phone.
“ ”
40. Company: HQ Raleigh
Location: Raleigh
Website: www.hqraleigh.com
Twitter: @jasonwiden
Jason Widen
Jason proves that the entrepreneurial spirit is what
drives thriving coworking communities.
“ ”
41. To learn more about the
30 Most Influential People in Coworking 2016,
visit https://blog.getkisi.com/30-influential-people-coworking-
2016/