In a city that thrives on creativity and innovation, WeWork is making its mark. Started in 2010, the company aims to construct cooperative working communities by transforming buildings into beautiful, collaborative workspaces and supplementing them with the services, events, and technology needed to spur new knowledge and ideas. WeWork currently has twenty-seven locations in nine cities around the world, with plans for expansion to Amsterdam, Chicago, Miami, and other top destinations. Thirteen of their most popular sites are located right here in Manhattan.
The over 10,000 WeWork members consist of startups, small businesses, freelancers, writers, independent filmmakers, and every other form of creative you can imagine. Their attraction to the company’s mission is simple: they provide the ideas, and WeWork provides the space and motivation for them to focus on transforming their ideas into reality. The co-working atmosphere, with adjacent space rented to companies as different as Routehappy, a start-up with the aim to reduce the pains of flying coach, and Consmr, a Yelp-esque app that lets you rate and share grocery and drugstore products, allows creativity and innovation to flow freely and cooperate.
With the already large and growing amount of startups and artistic projects in New York City, it is no wonder WeWork found its own start here. Their Fulton Street headquarters—which also operate as rentable office space—are located only steps away from Platinum Properties’ prime location in the Financial District, with WeWork’s “Charging Bull” building just down the street. Its largest community workspace to date is located on Varick Street near the Holland Tunnel, with an awe-inducing number of 700 desks and amenities like scooters, pool tables, and video games. One of the company’s newest endeavors is to open a similar space in Brooklyn.
WeWork started as an idea to spur ideas and has grown into a community of creative entrepreneurs, catalyzing innovation every day. It is introducing the New York spirit of go-getting to cities everywhere, from its soon-to-be fine arts hub in Los Angeles to its two successful workspaces in Israel. In only a short matter of time, WeWork will be known as the ideal place for creators.
