Coworking spaces seeing benefits of remote work
FISHERS, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — As the two-year mark of the pandemic quickly approaches, there is no question businesses of all sizes have taken a hit and Indiana’s coworking spaces are no different. However, in Hamilton County, signs point to a bright future. The state has seen a surge in entrepreneurs and startups as a result of the pandemic, and Launch Fishers founder John Wechsler says that accelerated the “work from anywhere” model, which brings benefits for coworking spaces.
Wechsler talked about the growth with Around INdiana Reporter Mary-Rachel Redman. View video
“We’re seeing opportunities for people that may work for a company that’s based in New York or California for the workers to be right here in Fishers or in Indianapolis and work right here from Launch Fishers or one of the state’s other coworking centers,” said Wechsler.
He says there was a period of time where everything was shut down, but they were able to adapt after a certain amount of time.
“As we returned back to work with measures in place to make sure that the environment was safe and everybody stayed healthy, what we found is a new comfort level as people have learned how to kind of work together and refill the space, we’re seeing levels of work that we haven’t seen in years,” said Wechsler. “At this point, the Launch Fishers location and [Indiana] IoT Lab, both here in Fishers, are full. So, we’re at the point where we’re really trying to make room.”
Additionally, while there is also no question the restaurant industry has perhaps been hit the hardest due to COVID-19 restrictions, Wechsler says the Fishers Test Kitchen is thriving.
“We walked right into the pandemic and we made it through that moment in time, and as of right now, they are at pre-pandemic levels in terms of revenue and business there at the test kitchen,” he said.
Launch Fishers is marking 10 years in operation this year after starting in the basement of the Hamilton East Public Library.
“You fast forward 10 years and we’ve seen thousands of jobs created, hundreds of millions of dollars invested in Fishers and our startup community. Really, this has kind of exceeded our wildest expectations after a decade of doing this.”