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What are people's thoughts about a franchise model co-working space where the core company develops all of the technology, infrastructure, etc and then they are

What are people's thoughts about a franchise model co-working space where the core company develops all of the technology, infrastructure, etc and then they are all independently owned and operated paying a franchise fee? I see a lot of people that want to start a co-working space and spin their wheels trying to figure out how to do it right. If there was a blueprint and turnkey solution to manage users, website presence and you could open one in a strip mall, would people use it? One problem I see is that people compete to make it THE place to work as opposed to A place to work. Imagine if your town had almost as many co-working hubs as mattress firm stores. I know that's a lot but a guy can dream, right? Edit: Not to mention, you could have a membership that could be regional, national, international and interplanetary.

cmonfeat 8y ago
Are you thinking a traditional franchise (like a gym) or a platform that independent landlords can list their co-working spacaces on (i.e. Airbnb for coworking spaces)? They both seem like less risky and more traditional tech plays than WeWork's current business model.
- cityzen 8y ago
  Years ago (before airbnb) I was working on that independent landlord idea and got cold feet when people I was interviewing seemed mostly concerned with insurance liability of having strangers in their space. LiquidSpace came along and did the same thing but they were funded so better equipped to navigate the liability issues. That's when I started thinking about smaller co-working spots in strip malls and similar locations. Focus more on the details around managing co-working (member management, access management, etc) and franchise it out. I have never gotten deep into the details so there are likely many reasons why it wouldn't work but as a work from home guy, it's something I'd love to have near me.

cmonfeat 8y ago

Are you thinking a traditional franchise (like a gym) or a platform that independent landlords can list their co-working spacaces on (i.e. Airbnb for coworking spaces)? They both seem like less risky and more traditional tech plays than WeWork's current business model.

cityzen 8y ago
Years ago (before airbnb) I was working on that independent landlord idea and got cold feet when people I was interviewing seemed mostly concerned with insurance liability of having strangers in their space. LiquidSpace came along and did the same thing but they were funded so better equipped to navigate the liability issues. That's when I started thinking about smaller co-working spots in strip malls and similar locations. Focus more on the details around managing co-working (member management, access management, etc) and franchise it out. I have never gotten deep into the details so there are likely many reasons why it wouldn't work but as a work from home guy, it's something I'd love to have near me.