Tony Bacigalupo hosted another episode of GCUC Radio.  In this episode, he talked to Anniken Fjelberg from Oslo, Norway.

How They Got Started

Anniken wanted to work with creativity and utilize her skills and experience in the field.

When she and her husband decided to make a coworking space, it was designed to be for people in the creative industry.  They rented a space that was 657 square meters — which is where the name came from. They told their friends to join them because they had more space than they knew what to do with.

When they opened, they did not understand what coworking really was.  However, their understanding of the industry grew with their business.  They have expanded to about 2,500 square meters with about 200 coworkers in 85 different companies.  Additionally, Superblaise, their creative agency, started to take off. Anniken and her husband failed to divide 657, the coworking space, and Superblaise, the creative agency, in a very clear way.  As a result, the two began to intertwine.

Start-Up to Success

Many clients in Superblaise have events in their space, 657, or join projects that are going on within the space.  Anniken and her husband noticed how building a structure like that has actually been a huge success. It made their business stronger.  They have built a system that is strengthening them, the founders, as well as the members of their space. What they developed is not just a workspace, but an integrated ecosystem as well.

Another aspect of their coworking space that has helped with success is that Anniken and ther husband are not just operators, but coworkers as well.  They are working actively with companies within the space.

They have a saying, “collaboration is the new competition”.  Part of their success comes from the fact that they have been emphasizing community since day one.  That way, everyone knows that they are expected to be a part of the culture of sharing that takes place within the space.  Anniken told Tony that they ask all coworkers three questions before they are allowed into their space: Are you willing to share?  Do you come here to collaborate? What will be your contribution?

The commitment to sharing that is set from the beginning helps to form that expectation that your are going to be a part of something that depends on your willingness to contribute and participate.  It is not okay to just do your own thing and then leave without interacting with the greater community. Setting that standard of expectation early on is important.