Digital 52 2️⃣7️⃣ - Educating a market to coworking, Doing it with sustainability and inclusion in mind: the story of NOI.
Today’s story will take you to Colombia, more precisely to Medellin. What’s there? An amazing coworking space that has been contributing to the local market education of coworking since they started: NOI.
Inclusivity and Diversity - Started by a family - Sustainability
You can discover the story of NOI on page 300 of “Around The World in 250 Coworking Spaces”.
If we want coworking to grow in size, we need to actively educate ourselves and the people around us about what coworking is and what its positive impact can look like on people and cities. Coworking education is something we’ve been doing since we started our own coworking journey, and this email you are currently reading now is one of the tools we use to educate our extended community on the topic. But, we are obviously not the only ones. In Medellin, a city located in Colombia, there is a coworking space that started with the intention of educating its inhabitants about a new kind of approach to coworking in the city. One that mixes sustainability, inclusivity, and impact. And while it all started from being inspired while traveling, the story quickly grew into creating a space for everyone. After all, the brand carries it in its name NOI. But let’s not say too much, keep scrolling down to discover the incredible story of NOI Co-Creative Space.
➡️ A little refresher
Who’s behind the featured space?
Manuela and Diego Granados, brother, and sister as well as co/founders of NOI.
“In 2016, my brother and I visited the campus of Facebook and other Silicon Valley startups. For those who haven't been there, it's like a small world, where you feel like you want to create all the time! When we returned home, he came up with the idea of creating our own mini world in Medellín.”
➡️ Key Figures
- Opening year: 2019
- Size when they started: 2,200 sqm
- Size today: Same
➡️ A little tour around NOI
➡️ Behind-the-scenes
Things you didn't read in aw250cs
When we started, it felt like the odds were stacked against us. We had to put in a lot of effort to explain to people the difference between a coworking space and a traditional office lease.
Manuela Granados, Co/Founder, and Managing Director at NOI
➡️ NOI Today
As you might remember from the beginning of this article, NOI opened in April 2019. If you put their timeline in perspective with the world’s timeline, it means the space has existed longer during COVID times than not. What has it meant for the development of the brand? How did Manuela and her brother Diego manage to keep things running and growing despite all the restrictions? We recently got the chance to chat with Manuela, who, for the record, gave birth in the middle of it all. Through our chat with her, we understood that although the journey has been a challenging one, the entire team never lost sight of their end goal: to create a place that gathers all the values they strongly believe in. What are those, you wonder? Keep reading, the answer is near.
💫 Towards more even sustainable efforts
Ever since its inception, NOI has been dedicated to building a sustainable space, and this has been an ongoing and constantly evolving process. The NOI team is committed to seeking continuous improvement and implementing innovative sustainability measures. So, what do the latest sustainable efforts look like? Keep scrolling down to find out.
“Beyond creating a sustainable space, NOI also strives to operate in a sustainable manner. What does ”sustainable“ mean in this context? It means accepting that things take time to develop. From gaining a deep understanding of the market to building the right memberships for its members, NOI has learned at its own pace how to shape the space it envisioned.
I’d like to start by asking you: what’s new at NOI since September 2021?
(the month the book was released)
We started working with solar energy in June 2021, which now provides about 50% of the energy we consume. The project actually started before we opened, but due to the pandemic and other factors, it took us two years longer to begin producing solar energy.
Can you tell us more about why it was important for you to have solar panels?
As a family business, we believe in caring for the environment and promoting responsible practices as a way of living respectfully and interacting with our surroundings. This is one of our core principles.
In fact, we used containers for our construction and chose this location as it was less invasive to the environment. Although it's now situated in an industrial area, we wanted to minimize our impact by using recycled containers, solar energy, and a water recycling system to collect and utilize rainwater for plants and toilets.
What’s the biggest change the pandemic has brought to you guys?
The biggest change we experienced was our need to be even more flexible than before, in response to the pandemic and the new reality. We noticed that our clients and users were hesitant to make long-term commitments to office spaces due to the uncertainty caused by lockdowns and other crises.
To address this, we became more creative and started offering flexible plans such as day passes, ranging from one to a hundred and five hundred passes. This allowed people to gradually return to the office while also having the option to work from home or elsewhere on other days.
Although we still offer day passes, most of our clients and users who previously purchased these plans have since upgraded to private offices or longer-term spaces. This transition period was necessary as many employees were hesitant to return to crowded office spaces due to public transportation concerns and other pandemic-related fears, while managers and business owners were concerned about productivity losses and the need for in-person work.
The interior design of the space is quite special, what was the building before and how did you transform it? What was the intention behind it?
When we first started designing this space, our aim was to create a unique and immersive environment that would transport our members to a different world. Despite being located in an industrial area that was once used to assemble elevators, we wanted to make it feel like a small, distinct universe where people could escape from the mundane. This is something we hear often from visitors - they're amazed by how much space we have and how different it feels from the outside world.
At the time, there weren't many options for coworking spaces, especially ones intentionally designed to promote interaction and collaboration. Many were simply old houses or small buildings that were converted into coworking spaces.
That's why we set out to create a place where people could connect, collaborate, and work in a way that was both productive and enjoyable.
We have private areas for concentration and focus, as well as shared spaces for meetings and socializing.
How did you manage to educate people about coworking when there were no big brands yet and it was more difficult to raise awareness?
It was incredibly difficult for us, especially before the pandemic hit - or what I like to call the end of the world period. It felt like the odds were stacked against us. We had to put in a lot of effort to explain to people the difference between a coworking space and a traditional office lease.
Many people compared the prices and didn't see the value in paying more to work in a shared space.
They would say things like, 'But I have my own office with parking and a meeting room, and I only pay for one person. Why should I pay for five here?'
We had to explain that coworking is like a hotel for people who work. We had to educate them on the hiring costs, the expenses associated with managing a physical space, such as energy, internet, and security, and the time it takes to manage all these things.
These are things that people don't always notice, but they can be a huge distraction from focusing on one's core business and being productive. Our main purpose is to connect people and companies to help them be more productive without having to worry about managing their physical space.
Medellin is a popular city for digital nomads. Are they a part of your community? How do you integrate them without your existing community?
Yes, we have recently started noticing an increase in the number of digital nomads coming to our country. Since January, we have seen a surge in digital nomads coming from countries that don't require visas. For those who do require visas, our government has launched a digital nomad visa program.
In fact, we are now ranked in the top 10 countries for digital nomads worldwide and in the top 3 in Latin America. Here in Norway, we are also seeing an increase in demand for digital nomad services. For example, last month, 25% of the day passes we sold were purchased by digital nomads.
We are currently in talks with various services and places to create an ecosystem that provides everything a digital nomad would need, including messaging kits and opportunities to interact with local people. We have noticed that digital nomads want to connect with not just other digital nomads but also with locals. Thus, we are promoting local spaces to help them connect with the local community.
How have you seen NOI grow over the years?
Surprisingly, even though we haven't been very active in promoting our brand and positioning ourselves in the market, we've become a recognized reference in the city among our community.
We're now seen as a benchmark for other coworking spaces and for people who visit from other cities as well as locals.
When people talk about us, they mention our name and our location near Del Rio, and they comment on how beautiful our space is. We've become recognized not only for our space but also for our operations.
As a result, we're now receiving proposals to operate other spaces and expand our business. It seems that people have taken notice of our success and perceive that we are doing well.
Have you ever thought about growing NOI in size?
We are considering growing through that model. We would leverage our knowledge, experience, and brand, if possible, and seek out individuals or entities who are interested in investing in coworking spaces or buildings. We are actively exploring expansion opportunities and hope to have more news soon.
➡️ Reflections on building NOI
What has been your biggest learning out of bringing to life AND growing NOI?
I've learned a lot about bringing ideas to life, especially as a family business. One of the biggest lessons is that we often underestimate our own capabilities. We tend to move slowly and analyze every step, but in a fast-paced business like this, sometimes you just have to take the leap and see what happens. It's important to be a doer and not just a planner.
This startup mentality has taught me to not spend too much time analyzing and planning but rather to jump in and start doing. Along the way, we'll make mistakes and face challenges, but we learn and adjust as we go. This has been a valuable lesson for us and has helped us grow and expand our business.
What would be your best advice to someone thinking about opening a coworking space?
My number one piece of advice would be to build an exceptional team and identify the strengths and weaknesses of each team member. This business is like a rollercoaster ride, and we work 24/7. The challenges are even harder because when something happens, everything happens at once. It's like being in the middle of the ocean, where everything is calm, but when a storm hits, it hits hard.
It's like working in a fire station. When something goes wrong, a lot of things go wrong, and you have to be able to handle the pressure and solve problems quickly while dealing with upset customers. But it's also an exciting business because you're helping people and companies grow and become more productive.
The reward of making a difference in people's lives makes it all worthwhile.
If you could chat with coworking operators now, what would you like to ask them?
And if you could chat with coworking members?
I would ask them, 'What else can we do for you? How can we add value to your experience here?' For me, this is the most important question to consider from a member's perspective. As someone who runs a coworking space, it's crucial to understand our members' needs and to make sure we are providing them with everything they require to be productive and successful.
Last but not least, where do you want to bring NOI next?
We have a project that we are proposing to the board, although we are not sure if it will be accepted. We are currently exploring ways to make our space even more sustainable and efficient, using AI and other technologies. Specifically, we are looking to implement a system that will maintain the efficiency of our air conditioning, lighting, and even the doors. We hope to transform these systems into an AI-powered network that will help us optimize energy usage while enhancing the experience for our members.
This is an ongoing project, and we are continuously working on it to improve the user experience.