Did you know five popular, massive companies were started by initially working out of shared, co-working space? It’s true. At this point, these companies have employees and customers across the world, but they all got started by saving money and resources by taking advantage of local co-working. Because these companies were able to keep their overhead low at the beginning, it was easier for them to flourish once the momentum was rolling. Let’s take a closer look at these industry giants.

Instagram

We’ve all heard it, “Follow us on Instagram!” or “use this hashtag on Instagram.” Well, turns out this popular social outlet began in a co-working space in San Francisco. The duo wanted to create a social network focused on imagery. Again, by keeping their start-up costs low, they were able to take off when the time was right. Facebook purchased Instagram a few years ago for $1 billion; pretty good for what started as a small startup.

Hootsuite

Like Instagram, Hootsuite began in a San Francisco co-working space. By networking and interacting with other startups and business owners, the founders were able to put all the right pieces in place in order to launch one of the most popular and successful social sharing and scheduling services, which is valued at more than $1 billion.

Uber

If you’ve not used the ride-sharing company Uber, chances are your friends or family have used it. This brand has become well known across the world, but started in New York in a co-working space. The initial team of 8 has launched Uber Eats, Uber Freight and Uber Help. Uber operates in more than 80 countries and over 800 large cities.

Spotify

Spotify is home to millions of songs, podcasts and more, which is available on desktops, tablets and mobile devices. So, no matter where someone is, they can take the story, news or music with them, and the best part is you can access most of the content for free! Spotify also started in a co-working space in New York and is now valued at more than $8 billion.

Charity:Water

Tech companies, social networks and ride sharing aren’t the only good things to get their start in co-working, but international nonprofit Charity:Water started with the idea to bring safe drinking water to millions of people across the world. Founded in New York, this nonprofit made the right connections, kept expenses low and has now funded nearly 60,000 water projects in 29 countries, and served more than 11 million people.

Remember, all it takes is one idea to change the world, but it takes a village to help make the dream a reality.

To Your Success,

Lisa Smith

The Offices at Spenryn