Flex Uncensored - A Coworking Podcast

This week, we're revisiting one of our favorite episodes because the conversation is just as relevant today as when it first aired. Design matters—but not in the way most coworking operators think. After helping design more than 2 million square feet of flexible workspace around the world, Dean Connell has a unique perspective on what makes a coworking space successful. It's not about following tr...

What happens when someone leaves a career at the United Nations to open a coworking space in a small town? That's exactly what Alanna Imbach, Founder and CEO of Vibe Coworks, did. Alanna spent 17 years working around the world, including with the UN World Food Programme and WaterAid, before returning to her hometown of Poulsbo, Washington. What started as a search for a place where she and her hus...

If your goal is to create a coworking space that's profitable, purposeful, and packed with community-driven energy, this episode is required listening. This week, we're revisiting one of our favorite episodes of Flex Uncensored: our conversation with Gina Schreck, founder of The Village Work, Wellness & Event Center in the Denver suburbs. The lessons in this episode are just as relevant today as w...

AI is making it easier than ever to do more. The question is: should we? In this episode, Giovanni Palavicini and I ended up having one of those conversations that started with AI and somehow turned into business growth, health data, sleep, travel, expansion, productivity, and the challenge of keeping up with everything. What struck me most is that we're all having the same experience right now. A...

Most coworking operators are still using AI to write social posts. Shift Workspaces is using it to rethink operations, hospitality, renewals, sales strategy, dashboards, and member experience. This conversation with Travis Low completely changed the way I think about what's possible for coworking operators willing to go deeper with AI. A few things that stood out for me: Shift built AI systems tha...

What happens when a coworking operator stops thinking like a coworking operator… and starts thinking like a hospitality brand? That's exactly what Uri Isken and Gabriel Isken are building at HIT. And honestly, this conversation completely expanded my perspective on what enterprise flex space can become. HIT now operates 13 locations across Argentina, Chile, and Brazil with 94% occupancy, serving m...

What if the future of housing looks a lot more like coworking? We had the chance to sit down with Chris Moeller, founder of Pathway Communities, right after his GCUC keynote… and this conversation really stuck with me. Chris spent 20 years in commercial real estate before stepping away to build something entirely new. And what he's working on now feels like a natural extension of where our industr...

What percentage of your market is actually flexible office space… and does that number even matter? I loved this conversation with Jim Groves, founder of Rubberdesk, because he completely reframed how we think about supply, demand, and what tenants actually see when they're searching for space. Jim built Rubberdesk around one core idea: transparency. Not just more data, but better, usable data tha...

What does it look like when someone builds a coworking space entirely around people? I sat down with Rob Archer, CEO of Codebase Coworking, and this one stuck with me. Rob spent 8 years bringing this project to life. Not to maximize density. Not to cram in more offices. But to create a space that actually feels good to work in. And it shows. They have a waitlist for offices… and members joking abo...

What if the future of work isn't about better offices… but no offices at all? We had the chance to sit down with Amina Moreau, CEO and co-founder of Radious, and I'm still thinking about this conversation. Amina's journey is anything but linear. From a psych degree and a passion for photography… to building a storytelling company that won five Emmys… to now reimagining how and where work happens....

What do you do when you find a 60,000 square foot "mess" of a building… and see nothing but potential? That's exactly what Steve Kinder did. When Gio and John toured Good Coworking, I kept thinking about how rare it is to meet an operator who truly sees a space not just for what it is—but for what it could become. Steve didn't just open a coworking space. He reimagined an entire building, and hone...

What if the real KPI for your coworking space isn't occupancy… but connection? I had the absolute pleasure of sitting down with Brandon Houston, and this conversation stuck with me long after we hit stop. Brandon is quietly building something really special in a small town in Ontario. His space, The Foundry, is 7,000 square feet in a community of just 26,000 people… and it's thriving. Not because...

The coworking industry didn't become global overnight.
 People like Jean-Yves Huwart helped make it that way.
 Jean-Yves is the founder of Coworking Europe and one of the few people who has had a front-row seat to how flex workspace has evolved across dozens of countries over the last 15+ years.
 In this episode of Flex Uncensored, Liz Elam and I sit down with Jean-Yves to talk about what's happen...

Most commercial real estate brokers don't start their careers playing 200 shows a year in dive bars. But that's exactly how Ward Richmond's career began. Before becoming Vice Chairman at Colliers and building a high-performing industrial brokerage team, Ward was a touring musician. When that chapter ended, he stepped into commercial real estate… and eventually built a business very intentionally a...

What if the real flex opportunity isn't about chasing every deal… but knowing exactly which ones to walk away from? I always love having Mark Burge, CEO and co-founder of Flex Workspace Solutions, back on the podcast. He's thoughtful, candid, and one of the few operators who will openly say, "Actually… this project doesn't make sense." And he means it. In this episode, Mark shares how 2025 was one...

What happens when the Queen of Coworking returns to share her vision for the industry's future—and announces a mission that could save lives? This week, Jamie and Gio sit down with Liz Elam, founder of GCUC and Link Coworking, for a conversation that spans everything from neurodiversity and AI to hospitality standards and why coworking should be the first industry to offer free mental health servi...

What happens when a passionate connector who's generated $2 million in new revenue decides to leave corporate life, launch his own consulting business, and move his family to Italy? This week, we sit down with Luke Wills for a conversation that spans AI-powered outbound sales, the importance of human connection, and a calling that's taking him across the Atlantic. Luke shares how he went from sell...

This week, Jamie Russo and Giovanni Palavicini sit down with Derek and Broyny Vitatoe, co-founders of Work at Wheel in Rock Hill, South Carolina, just days before their official opening. Derek and Broyny left Harlem, New York with no idea where they'd open their coworking space. They just knew they wanted to blend corporate wellness, HR leadership, and their passion for movement into a space where...

IWG doesn't give away free beer. And that's exactly why they're profitable. This week, Giovanni Palavicini and Kurt Patrick sit down with David Steyn, Senior Commercial Director at Anytime Mailbox and Anytime Postage, for a conversation about virtual offices, international coworking markets, and why adding revenue streams matters more than free perks. David spent years at IWG running their global...

What happens when a COO, a Director of Brand and Culture, and a Director of Sales sit down together—and you realize they're not just colleagues, but people who genuinely love working together? This week, Giovanni Palavicini sits down with three members of the 25N leadership team—Meagan Slavin (COO), Sari Lash (Director of Brand and Culture), and Mecca Shannon (Director of Sales and Launch)—for one...

What happens when someone who lived through the internet boom of the '90s starts seeing the same patterns with AI—and decides to map out exactly what it means for your coworking business? This week, we chat with Ben Wright, who's spent eight years in flexible workspace—first at Square Foot, then leading office space.com at Instant Group, and now helping operators understand how AI will actually im...

What happens when a VP of Operations becomes the translator between a founder's 3 a.m. ideas and the team that has to make them reality? Five years later, she's running the show. This week, we sit down with Carly Bedini, VP of Operations at iQ Offices, and her boss Kane Willmott for one of the most honest, hilarious, and heartfelt conversations we've had on this podcast. Carly came from nonprofits...

What happens when a single-location operator who knows her numbers inside and out decides to fill a gap in her city's small business ecosystem? This week, Jamie and Gio sit down with Kim Lee, founder and CEO of Forge in Birmingham, Alabama, for a conversation about strategic growth, mental health in our industry, and why she's launching a small business accelerator in January. Kim shares how she w...

What happens when two first-time GWA Immersive attendees walk into a room of 77 people and realize there's nowhere to hide? This week, Jamie and Gio are joined by Nicole Antolino from FireWorks Coworking in Marietta, Georgia, and Brittany Alavinejad from Essential Offices in Oklahoma City for a fresh take on what made the Atlanta immersive so different from the big conferences. With 44 out of 77 a...

What happens when you bring together operators and industry insiders who've just experienced the most eye-opening coworking conference in years? This week, Jamie and Gio are joined by Kane Willmott and Eyal Lasker for a deep dive into Coworking Europe— and the conversation is full of surprises, market insights, and real talk about where the flex industry is heading globally. Over 500 people gather...