Comments on: How Coworking Is Working in Portland

By: Celeste LeCompte

Celeste LeCompte — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:37:28 +0000

Julie, glad to hear that things are going strong. My interview notes said memberships were flat and events were down after breaking even last year, implying a slip into the red. Thanks for clarifying here!

By: Julie Duryea

Julie Duryea — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:47:26 +0000

Celeste,

I enjoyed speaking with and thought you wrote a good article here. Just to be clear, though I did say our meeting revs were down slightly (with an upswing in the past few months), I certainly didn’t say we’d slip back into the red this year – mostly because we don’t expect that at all. Because membership is up, and meetings are back on track, we expect to be break even, to in the black.

And to Rick Turoczy’s point about the city recognition, I think I can speak for all the spaces when I say, “Yes! These spaces are important economic development vehicles. We look forward to working with you (the city). Give us a call.”

Thank you.

Julie Duryea
owner, souk

By: Steven

Steven — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 08:31:17 +0000

Sounds like Portland is the up-and-coming place to be right now. Shame it’s about 8 time-zones away from where I live!

By: Simon Mackie

Simon Mackie — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 08:28:14 +0000

@Rick – actually, I think that is a very big deal, and very shrewd on the part of the people behind the strategy. Coworking spaces can drive economic development by fostering an innovative environment that helps startups to germinate.

By: Adventures in Portland « revolutionary grammar

Adventures in Portland « revolutionary grammar — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 06:51:36 +0000

[...] How Co-working is Working in Portland Portland, Ore., has had more than its fair share of trouble from the current recession. It has seen the biggest drop in employment of any metro area in the country, with the jobless rate a dismal 12.2% in June. Mixed with that gloom, though, are some sunny spots—notably the city’s co-working spaces, or shared offices. Read more [...]

By: Rick Turoczy

Rick Turoczy — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 05:24:09 +0000

Thanks for covering the Portland coworking scene. As you’ve detailed, it’s a vital component of the startup scene around here.

Also important to note, these coworking spaces have just been formally recognized by the City of Portland as critical components of economic development, being named in the economic development strategy the City just passed.

That might not seem like a big deal–until you realized that this is the first such strategy for Portland in 15 years.