Coworking on Cloud Nine
Ask people where they work here in Barcelona and increasingly more often their reply is “a coworking space.” You can practically guarantee that will be their answer if they’re foreigners or under 40. Sometimes it’s abbreviated to “a coworking,” turning the word into a noun in its own right.
For those unfamiliar with the concept, coworking brings various companies, independent contractors and entrepreneurs under one roof. In other words, they all work together in various custom office arrangements, but they don’t necessarily work with each other. In one coworking, you might have a tech startup, a self-employed consultant, maybe even a satellite team for a large multinational company and up to dozens more.
Commercial leases for small companies can be a hefty cost in an increasingly expensive city like Barcelona. Coworking spaces offer a flat fee that covers work stations and resources like printers, scanners and conference rooms, as well as amenities like a shared kitchen and recreation space. And they’ve been a lifesaver, especially to individuals or startups that are just getting their feet wet.
Many have taken a nod from notoriously progressive companies like Google, offering free coffee and snacks, as well lots of natural light and Instagram-worthy terraces to enjoy the outdoors, a perk to working in Barcelona. For example, OneCoWork’s Marina Port Vell location in Barceloneta has prime views of the port and the city, and BIPP HUB, the coworking space of the Barcelona International Public Policy Hub, has prime real estate in the middle of Sant Pau Recinte Modernista, a gorgeous UNESCO World Heritage site.
Another important feature that coworking spaces offer is the opportunity for face-to-face interaction. Basic as it sounds, humans are social creatures. Too much isolation (working from home, in quiet libraries, etc.) and we often become stir crazy. As Melanie Pinola notes in Lifewire, “I definitely sometimes feel like I’m missing out on the camaraderie others experience when they have a regular office to go to and coworkers to bond with — even from simple acts like greeting each other at the start of the day or sharing a coffee break.”
Coworking builds relationships among officemates and some offices throw all-inclusive events such as happy hours, holiday parties and workshops. While certainly not a priority, if actual business relationships result from coworking contacts all the better.
That said, people in coworking spaces often report feeling more comfortable because they don’t share business. According to an article in Harvard Business Review, “Because there is little direct competition or internal politics, they don’t feel they have to put on a work persona to fit in.” In other words, unlike in large offices shared by one singular company, you’re less likely in coworking spaces to have awkward water cooler conversations among people with whom you’re currently in a heated work-related email exchange. (For a great comedy on workplace drama, watch the 1999 film Office Space.)
The same article in Harvard Business Review notes that “working amidst people doing different kinds of work can also make one’s own work identity stronger.” Their argument is that coworking provides more flexibility over workstyle and schedule, carefully straddling the line between autonomy and collaboration, and their advice is “to give people the space and support to be their authentic best selves.”
That’s precisely the goal of Cloudworks (formerly Cloud Coworking), which opened in 2015 as a half-attic space near Sagrada Família, with a terrace and views of Gaudí’s masterpiece cathedral. Due to popular demand, Cloudworks quickly expanded to the rest of the floor and beyond, opening more coworking spaces on other floors of that same building and then around the city. Cloudworks’s other locations currently include Sant Antoni, Passeig Sant Joan and Urquinaona.
We sat down with Cloudworks cofounder Sergi Tarragona Fenosa, who is originally from Barcelona, as well as Verónica González Jöhnk, Communications & Community Manager, to learn more about Cloudworks and about the coworking movement that’s taken Barcelona by storm.
Tell us a bit about your backgrounds and how you broke into the coworking business?
Sergi: While I was studying international business here in Barcelona [at Universitat Pompeu Fabra], I did a year abroad in the Copenhagen Business School and then I moved to Singapore for half a year. When I moved back to Barcelona, I worked for for a couple of startups, mainly AirBNB, where I worked at a coworking space and learned what coworking was. Most people in the space were freelancers. I learned all the pros that space had, mostly in the community aspect, and I think they were really good at creating the synergies between the other companies [in the same space]. I thought that in the future, after the crisis would finish in Spain, there would also be companies interested in moving into this [kind of] space. So I saw this opportunity and created Cloudworks, which is a freelance space but also accepts larger communities and private companies.
Verónica: I’m from Venezuela, where the situation is really complicated. I wanted to come to Barcelona because my sister had lived here for a very long time and I have dual citizenship. When I moved here four years ago, I worked previously in another coworking that was just starting. One of my family members was actually working at Cloudworks and he introduced me to Sergi, who said he was looking for someone to join the team. I have around five years of experience in the media production industry and communications, so Cloudworks has been so interesting for me because I get to see how a community actually works and how to create and build relationships in person, which is not totally different than in the digital world but it makes me humanize my work a lot.
What makes Cloudworks different than other coworking spaces in Barcelona?
S: [By the time I founded my business] Barcelona was one of the most popular cities in Europe for coworking spaces. But they were smaller, only like 300m2 and down in a basement. They were not offering what the customers wanted, which was a more professional space that combined common areas with space to fit a group of people, like a company or a team, and private offices that are more intimate. Some of the spaces that have come about lately are more like the “Starbucks” type [in that] they all look so similar, whereas all of our centers have something different.
V: Diversity is one of the key factors, and it not only comes from the multiculturality of the people but also from the professional side: from the freelancer and the entrepreneur, to the smaller startups and bigger companies like Airbnb [which is currently located in Cloudwork’s Sant Antoni space]. In terms of design, each space has its own style in a way but then there’s the signature style, which is the natural light of [an upper] floor. That’s why you see a lot of glass walls. I think we create a really special place that is well designed and looks good. When people come into each one of our centers, they say something special about Cloudworks. They feel comfortable; they feel calm.
S: The name “Cloud” came out of that idea because we started in the attic and we wanted coworkers to feel they were “closer to the clouds.” But also the combination with [“cloud”] technology. We are not tech-based coworking space, but it is true that a big percentage of our customers are related with tech.
Very cool. So what kinds of diverse customers do you have and what does Cloudworks offer them?
S: There are actually a couple of coworkers that have been here since the first day. Aquells nois tan simpatics, for instance, are designers. And then Alex Carro, a skin care product, was the second or third.
V: Hotels Combined, a hotels search company, was recently acquired by Booking Holdings. They have been here for more than two years and grown exponentially within a few months. It’s great to see how companies and teams like that can grow and learn in Cloudworks.
S: A great example of that is Cien, which is a tech company based in Miami and Barcelona. There were only three members when they started and now there are like 25 people after a year and a half. Cloudworks has been able to provide them with different space as they’ve moved a couple of times.
V: Especially when teams grow so fast, we offer the option to combine plans. So you could get an office or multiple offices and a couple of spots in the fixed area — to fit the dynamic of the team.
As Cloudworks itself has continued to grow, what’s something that’s surprised you about the coworking industry, specifically here in Barcelona?
S: When I created this project, I was mostly thinking about local members. I was not expecting Cloudworks to be a reference in the international community in Barcelona. What I found out is that nowadays more than 60 percent of all members are actually international. There are so many companies that have set up their office space, their headquarters or a second office, a satellite office here. It’s very friendly in that sense and it’s really good for the city because then these people live and spend their income here.
V: I think I can identify with a lot of the people that work in Cloudworks in that manner. Barcelona to me is so special and I’ve kind of taken the responsibility with the expat community to make them feel at home. For most of them, their first impression of the city is Cloud. So we have a responsibility to make a soft landing when they come here and also to learn about the local culture and how to integrate easily.
So how do you go about integrating new companies and building a community in coworking spaces?
V: The social factors are really important. We’ve created events around local traditions, like Sant Jordi, Carnaval, Christmas… And a lot of [the event suggestions] come from our coworkers. We are really open and there’s always something going on. That’s the thing about coworking: you expect people to be open to ideas and have a safe environment to suggest things. We also have monthly breakfasts and “Cloud Beers” on the terrace, as well as workshops and classes so people can learn Spanish, Catalan, English or any kind of language. It’s a mix between the international part of Cloudworks and the local culture as well. We even make paella for everyone too!
How do you think coworking will evolve in the years to come?
S: The future of coworking space seems very interesting because I think it’s only the start. You go to markets like London and about 15 to 20 percent of office space is actually coworking space. It’s not just traditional office space anymore. In Barcelona and Madrid, the figure is like 1-2 percent and I think it will definitely increase to 10 percent. There was a report that suggested real estate promoters — the ones who make the deal — should keep 20 to 30 percent of the building for coworking space solutions. We’re planning on opening a couple more Cloudworks locations in Barcelona, as well as in the rest of Spain.
CLOUDWORKS' OFFERINGS:
FLEX DESKS = “Hot desking,” aka temporary spots at a community desk whenever you need them
FIXED DESKS = Permanent spots at a community desk
PRIVATE OFFICES = Glass enclosed offices for
private teams of 1-15 people
SERVICE OFFICES = Dedicated private spaces
for teams of 15+ people.
Mix and match to find your perfect solution!
You can follow Cloudworks on:
Twitter: @hi_cloudworks
Instagram: wearecloudworks
Facebook: @wearecloudworks
LinkedIn: Cloudworks