5 Successful Companies That Started in a Coworking Space

5 companies that started in a coworking space

Establishing a business doesn’t have to be a difficult endeavor. One choice that has grown in favor recently is launching a company out of a coworking space. Coworking spaces are shared office spaces designed to foster collaboration and support among small business owners, freelancers, and entrepreneurs.

1.Instagram

Instagram, a social media platform that allows users to share photos and videos, began in a San Francisco coworking space. Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger founded the company in 2010 as a simple way to share photos with friends. Did you know it only took the couple 8 weeks to develop the app and release it on the Apple and Android app stores? As the platform grew in popularity, it quickly became a go-to destination for companies looking to connect with their customers and create a community around their brand.

Instagram now has over 1 billion monthly active users and is one of the world’s most popular social media platforms. Facebook paid $1 billion for the company in 2012.

2.indiegogo

ndiegogo is the largest crowdfunding website in the world. Danie Ringelmann, Eric Schell, and Slava Rubin founded it in 2008, initially using a coworking space in San Francisco. The platform was inspired by their own experiences of trying to bring their own ideas to life but failing to raise funds.

3.spotify

Spotify transformed how people listened to music. RocketSpace, a coworking space, was where it all started. Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon founded the company in 2006 with the goal of making it easier for people to discover and listen to music. The duo founded the company in response to widespread piracy. Artists and record labels protested the illegal practice because it meant lost potential earnings, so Shopify was born as a service that was better than piracy while also compensating the music industry.

4.uber

Ride-hailing services Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp founded Uber in 2009 as a way to make it easier for people to get a ride in San Francisco. However, as the company grew in size, it quickly expanded to other cities and became a worldwide phenomenon. Uber’s thought processes began in a coworking space, and with the assistance of the surrounding professional community, they were eventually able to devise a solution to this problem.

Uber is now worth more than $70 billion, making it one of the world’s most valuable private companies.

5.Hootsuite

Hootsuite, a social media management platform, was born in a coworking space as well. In 2008, Ryan Holmes of Vancouver, Canada, became frustrated because he needed to log into multiple social media accounts for his agency’s marketing campaigns. He eventually solved the problem by developing his own social media management platform, which he initially called BrightKit.

Hootsuite now has over 18 million users and is one of the world’s most popular social media management platforms, with users in almost every country and territory. The company has raised more than $250 million in funding, with a total value of more than $1 billion.

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