UPDATED 17:45 EDT / MAY 19 2015

NEWS

Why Dallas is having a coworking boom

While technology may have freed many workers from the confines of the 9 to 5 office, there are still some things you just can’t do from the comfort of your own home. For one thing, even most tech nomads need human interaction, and entrepreneurs still need a place to meet with potential investors or clients.

The rapid spread of coworking spaces in the last few years proves that the virtual workforce still finds value in an office environment, but it takes more than a desk and wifi to get people out of their pajamas or coffee shops. Coworking is all about connections and community, with a little free coffee and access to conference rooms thrown in.

Dallas, Texas, has recently become a hotbed of new coworking spaces, with around two dozen or more popping up around the metroplex. I recently sat down with Oren Salomon, founder of Dallas Fort Work, to talk about why coworking has taken off in Dallas.

Why Dallas?

Salomon explained that after the closure of CoHabitat, one of Dallas’ oldest coworking sites, the city did not really have a good coworking space for a couple of years. Then several suddenly popped up within a few months of each other, including Fort Work.

“Everybody was kind of on the trail around the same time,” Salomon told me. “I think it really speaks to the fact that it’s the environment that’s producing these coworking spaces.”

He added, “We created something and it took, and the reason it took is Dallas was ready for it.”

Fort Work is located in the heart of downtown Dallas in Alto 211, a nearly 60-year-old building that is currently being redeveloped into what its owner calls a “Tech Mecca.” Besides Fort Work, the building houses several technology focused businesses such as Tech Wildcatters, a Dallas-based startup accelerator that has been ranked among the best in the nation by Forbes and others.

211 Alto

According to Salomon, the business environment in Dallas is perfect for fledgling startups and solopreneurs. He explained that getting a new venture up and running is much easier and cheaper in Dallas than it is in other large cities, especially high competition locations like Silicon Valley.

“Being a Bay Area startup does you nothing when you are trying to make a relationship with a San Francisco business owner,” he said. “Whereas in Dallas, if you have the exact same business model, even if you move the team from California to here last week and just went in and said ‘hey, we’re a Dallas-based company,’ Dallas business owners are immediately going to give you preferential treatment, and they’re immediately going to try to work with you if it in any way serves their need.”

While Salomon admits that Dallas currently suffers from a lack of experienced investors, he said that “for anybody who’s looking into the bootstrapping route or wants to tinker on stuff and wants a long runway to try to figure their stuff out, I think there’s no city better than Dallas.”

He added, “If you want to talk to the landlord of this building, you can get a meeting with him tomorrow. If you want to get a meeting with the person who runs Tech Wildcatters, you can get a meeting with her tomorrow. It just doesn’t work that way in other cities.”

Coworking gives the city’s mobile workforce a way to connect and collaborate, and Salomon explained that the tech startup community in Dallas has had a big impact on the success of coworking in the area.

“[Other cities] don’t really have that openness and accessibility that Dallas has,” he said. “And it doesn’t have the community that Dallas has that people want to connect each other. I don’t know what it is about Dallas, everyone just wants to help out.”

Coworking at Fort Work

For those living in the Dallas area who want to try out coworking, Fort Work offers a free trial day so you can check out the office and see if it is a good fit for you. The coworking space offers several membership plans ranging from part-time flex-desk access to your own private office.

The office is a very short walk away from a light-rail station, and there are multiple parking lots and garages in the area. The nearby Chase Tower is home to a food court with several counter service restaurants, and there are a few sit-down options in the area as well.

The flex-desk plans do not give you a reserved spot in the office, but there are plenty of open desks and places to set up for the day. Full time members get a mailbox and access to the conference room, and of course everyone gets free coffee.

For more info and pricing details, visit dallasfortwork.com.


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