Source: RNDMWRK
What do you get when you combine a need for coworking space and underutilized restaurants and bars with the subscription model? You get Random Works, or RNDMWRK, a Canadian startup launched by Toronto entrepreneur David King. He got the idea by bringing people together for random dinners at Toronto restaurants, explains TechCrunch. He found that many of his guests were more interested in coworking space than they were dinner companions.
Unlike other coworking spaces offered by companies like WeWork and Regus, RNDMWRK offers underutilized space in Toronto bars and restaurants. For members who freelance, gone are the days of cramped home offices and noisy coffee shops. Freelancers, creatives and other remote workers now have the opportunity to be part of a community and to work in an exclusive, quiet, dedicated workspace from 9 to 5 when the bars or restaurants are closed to the public.
“About 75 to 80 percent of the time that space is sitting empty,” King told TechCrunch in an interview. “It’s a great problem for tech to solve.”
Source: RNDMWRK
Another feature that differentiates RNDMWRK from other coworking spaces is that they are offered on a subscription basis. Members can subscribe month-to-month ($150/month), three-month minimum ($100/month) or annually. The membership includes free WiFi, free coffee and tea and all the coworking friends you can stand. For entrepreneurs who sometimes live paycheck-to-paycheck, offering affordable options makes RNDMWRK even more attractive.
Neither coworking nor subscriptions are new, but combining the two and offering exclusive access to amazing venues like West Queen West, are a great solution for remote workers and entrepreneurs. They not only get the social interaction, accountability and professional contacts they need from a coworking community, but they get to work in nontraditional work environments which can fuel creativity and productivity.
Insider Take:
Sign us up! This is an exciting opportunity for everyone involved. King is solving problems and presumably making money, restaurants and bars are getting additional revenue and exposure, and freelancers, entrepreneurs and other independent workers are getting coworking space on a budget without a commitment. This is a great example of how the subscription model helped facilitate an idea that might otherwise have been cost prohibitive to explore. We can’t wait until the idea makes its way to the U.S.!
