COWORKING: STARTUP ACTIVITY LINKED TO COWORKING ABUNDANCE.

• Author: Caley, Nora
• Position: STATE OF THE STATE

Denver ranks 10th in the 2017 Kauffman Index of Startup Activity, and the metro area's high number of coworking spaces has something to do with that.

"There absolutely is a connection," says Jesse Shuler, assistant manager of The Commons on Champa, a coworking space that is a Downtown Denver Partnership Initiative. "The fact that there is so much coworking space popping up is an indicator of how entrepreneurs like to work." Starting a business can be isolating, Shuler says, so sharing office space, not to mention coffee and WiFi, can help improve the experience.

Entrepreneurs benefit from the short lease terms and low rents. They also get support, in a way that is different from the accelerator or business incubator model. "Companies involved in the incubator would share an accountant, a graphic designer, bookkeeper, secretary," says Craig Baute, city manager for DeskPass, a membership group that offers access to coworking spaces in various cities nationwide. "Co-working's goal is to provide a community and workspace for remote workers, startups and small teams. Knowledge sharing happens organically."

Baute says DeskPass' research indicates there are 45 coworking or new shared office spaces in Denver and an estimated 80 throughout Colorado. He is also founder of Creative Density, with locations in Uptown and Capitol Hill.

Coworking spaces are themselves entrepreneurial...