The Club

Hello Simon, hello Philipp! You are the two founders of Office Club. How did the idea to set up a coworking club come about? 
Simon: We actually come from the world of online marketing and had basically nothing to do with coworking or office services. The idea simply arose from our own specific needs as founders. We discovered co-working on a business trip to the US – the concept interested us and we sat down straight after returning to start making our first plans. The approach was quite simple: we’ve got something here that’s incredibly interesting and, as a bonus, can solve many of the problems we ourselves have to deal with on a daily basis.

Where did you start?
Philipp: We worked partly from home and then for a while from a business centre here in Berlin, and quickly realised: this isn’t the environment that’s best for our company or for us personally.

What specifically did you miss there? 
Philipp: Working from home, we clearly lacked structure in our daily lives and a reasonably clear separation between work and private life. As founders, you’re always under pressure, trying to get as much done as possible straight away or to think everything through in advance. It helps, especially for your head, to be able to close an ‘office door’ behind you in the evening that isn’t also the living room door. That was of course possible at the business centre, but the sterile atmosphere put us off. In our experience, it’s very important for founders to communicate face-to-face and to soak up the atmosphere around them every now and then.

A lot has happened in the coworking sector since Office Club was founded. How have you experienced this development yourselves?
Simon: That’s true; since 2010, when we ventured into the Office Club concept and coworking in Europe was still in its infancy, an incredible amount has happened. We notice this above all in the fact that nowadays many people immediately recognise the term ‘coworking’. Either because they’ve had their own experiences with coworking or have at least heard about it from colleagues or the media. A few years ago, you often had to resort to descriptions like ‘something like a shared office, only bigger and better’ to somehow explain the concept to the person you were talking to. The boundaries are, of course, somewhat fluid. Today there is a very dynamic coworking market where virtually anyone interested can find a suitable coworking space to suit their needs – whether that’s a high-end design space or more of an artist community. That’s brilliant!

Today, a good fifteen years on – where does Office Club stand?
Simon: At 20 locations across three countries, with over 10,000 members and around 100 colleagues. That wasn’t the plan back in 2011. We had our hands full just getting the one location in Prenzlauer Berg off to a good start. What hasn’t changed: Office Club is still a labour of love, still rooted in Berlin and still closer to a boutique hotel than a corporate office chain. We want it to stay that way.

What’s next?
Philipp: We want to become one of Europe’s leading providers of flexible working. Not the biggest – we’re happy to leave that to others. But the one where you feel most at home. Three countries are a good start. Milan and Zurich have shown how quickly the concept can be adapted to a different environment without losing its soul. There’s still more to come.

As founders, what advice can you give to aspiring young entrepreneurs?
Simon: “Talk to people”! Most of our inspiration as entrepreneurs has come from personal conversations, direct contacts and regular exchanges with like-minded people.