Coworking, the practice of sharing office space, might be a given if you're a lean startup or you're laying the groundwork for a new endeavor.
Canvas Co/work, a coworking space in Dupont Circle, was founded in May 2012 by Martin Ringlein and Alex Giron and has experienced terrific growth since its inception, expanding from 3,000 sq. ft. to 6,000 sq. ft. in March and quickly selling out its expanded dedicated desk space. So what drives people to cowork, and to Canvas in particular?
"Our real benefit is our community," explains Kallie Seniff, Canvas's community manager. "If you're [just] looking for office space, this isn't for you."
Canvas currently houses between 40 and 50 companies. Many of them are one-person operations; the largest company to call Canvas home has three people on staff. The 6,000-square-foot space is divided into dedicated desks and communal areas, including a conference room and the requisite bean-bag chairs and ping-pong table. "Ping-pong is an aggressive thing here," Seniff explains. "We had a five-hour tournament after hours [one day]."
In an ecosystem that is arguably dominated by incubators and accelerators ready to lend a hand for a piece of the startup pie, Canvas is cut from different cloth. "We're focused on creatives," Seniff says. "We started off being very tech-focused, but define ourselves as a community for creatives now."
The price for a dedicated desk at Canvas starts at $600 a month. That fee also buys 10 hours in the conference room per month. The rates are lower to work in the communal areas or to be at Canvas up to nine days per month.
Even with a coffeshop on every block and wifi in most libraries, Canvas doesn't have trouble filling its desks. "A lot of people here are just starting up and want to grow," Seniff says. "Or they don't want to work alone. They want to be with others and collaborate. Plus, it's a bit more professional to meet here, rather than at a Starbucks or in [their] apartment."
"There's a lot of cross pollination between startups," she explains. "Not officially, but people will work together and connect each other to the appropriate people."
Editor's note: A quote in this story contained a factual error. We have revised the story to more accurately reflect Affinity Lab's focus.