When it comes to leading a healthy and fulfilling life, it's not just about hitting the gym and eating your veggies. Studies have shown that community and connection play a vital role in our overall well-being, both mentally and physically.
Joining a coworking community can do wonders for your mental well-being by providing a space that fosters and strengthens social connections. It's not just about the physical amenities like a desk, coffee, and Wi-Fi, but rather the built-in network of individuals who can become your friends, support system, or even your future partner (we've seen it happen!).
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Grand Opening Celebration and Ribbon Cutting last week. It was a pretty special event and I’m glad that you were a part of it. Attendance was far bigger than we expected but thankfully we bought enough beer, wine and snacks.
We’re really proud of the new Gravitate Coworking—Downtown space and the community that gives it life every day. We couldn’t wait for the event to be able to share it with all of you.
As the holiday season approaches, it’s important to take time to reflect and remember all the reasons we have to give thanks. At Gravitate, we’re thankful to be part of Des Moines’ strong, vibrant entrepreneurial community. We’re thankful for innovative ideas, supportive community partners, and a diverse collection of passionate members. So as Americans prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, we’d like to introduce you to some Gravitate members who originally hail from outside of the United States.
On a recent episode of the Rocketship podcast, Jay Chernikoff of DeskHub talks about how coworking spaces are an important part of building entrepreneurial communities in secondary and tertiary markets (not San Francisco, New York, Austin, etc). As startup community builder in such a market, who operates a coworking community, I found their entire episode interesting and valuable but here are two ideas that I wanted to share here.
A few weeks ago Mark Suster, startup founder and venture capitalist based in Los Angeles, wrote about a post about the components of an entrepreneurial community: How to Kick Start Your Community’s Startup Scene. It made the rounds in my social circles in particular for a shoutout to our friends at Dwolla.
I think and write a lot about this topic and was encouraged by Mark’s take. A few of the components he pointed out are particularly apropos as we’re working to establish Gravitate — an entrepreneurial center of gravity — here in the core of downtown Des Moines.
