Liz Elam: ‘Community is the number one amenity in coworking spaces’

A household name in the global coworking industry, Liz Elam, is the founder of one of the world’s best coworking event series: GCUC. Liz’s coworking roots began in 2010, when she established Link Coworking – a welcoming, affordable, and professional coworking space – in her hometown of Austin, Texas. Link Coworking achieved incredible success, expanding across three locations and becoming the fourth-largest coworking brand in Austin. It was sold in 2019, making Liz the first woman globally to exit a coworking brand.  

Liz’s journey to establishing GCUC came in 2011, after an organisation hosting a half-day coworking unconference in Austin asked her to take over its events. Accepting this was a no-brainer – Liz understood the power of coworking events in bringing operators together and bouncing ideas off one another (which she experienced as an operator first-hand). Immediately rebranding the conference to become the Global Coworking Unconference, known as GCUC (pronounced ‘juicy’), Liz has built it into the world’s largest coworking conference.

Not only that, but Liz was also the first president of the League of Extraordinary Coworking Spaces (LEXC), obtained a recent graduate certificate in foresight from the University of Houston, and launched Bottle Rocket Search in 2023. 

Nexudus last spoke to Liz in 2019 about her fascinating career in coworking. Six years on, we caught up with Liz about all things coworking ahead of next month’s GCUC Boston (7-10th April), set to be one of the best coworking events of 2025, and one Nexudus is proudly sponsoring. 

Reflecting back to when you last spoke to Nexudus in 2019, do you think coworking has become more mainstream since then?

Liz: A lot has changed since 2019, but a lot has stayed the same. During the pandemic, people figured out they had a choice in where they worked – it’s something they didn’t have before. Before, employers said where to work from, and people went there, no matter what it was, and didn't question it. Now, we can choose whether to go into the office every day or every couple of days.

What I love about hybrid work is that it allows us to prioritise things we need to do for our family, health, and general well-being. I don’t need to be in my coworking space every day. Some days I can be at home, or do a workout, or I want to work from somewhere else, like when I'm traveling. What's changed is people figured out they have a choice. What's great about that is they're not going back. 

The days when an employer asks people to work in the office five days a week are effectively gone. The office is old and outdated, especially when people are being forced to go somewhere they don't want to go. But, it’s a big part of our culture – there are comic strips and sitcoms about the office. It will take some years for the term ‘office’ to fade. But I stand by the fact that it will. It's part of a culture that needs to evolve and change. 

The cowork season is what's next. The way forward is giving people choice and letting them self-select where they do their best work. The good news for the coworking industry is that this is frequently a coworking space, because they provide you with free beverages, often snacks, a place for food, to work, meet, be part of a committee, for social settings, and to collaborate with other people around you. Instead of your neighborhood coffee shop, where you’re isolated and alone, coworking is a place where you're welcomed and encouraged to talk and be part of what's going on in a space. 

What's really changed is the people, not the industry. We've seen a lot of growth in the coworking industry, and we'll continue to see more and more people choosing coworking. The problem in our industry is that very smart people still think coworking is an open space with a keg and foosball tables. They don’t realise that 98% of coworking spaces also have office space. 

Wellness-infused workspaces continue to grow in prominence, integrating design, sustainability, and social impact. How do you view this trend, and where do you see it heading over the next few years?

Liz: I got together with a couple of other women in foresight, and we produced an entire study on the future of the workplace and hospitality. We're looking all the way to 2050, so lately, I've looked at this very intensively.

Wellness will continue to be a huge trend, which we've been calling out for over 10 years at GCUC. Physical exercise, along with cold plunging, saunas, and all those things, is fantastic.  Of course, you should address physical health. If you can't afford a beautiful, amazing gym and facilities in your space, collaborate with your neighbour, or put your next coworking space next to a wellness space and work with others. 

But physical health is half to me, and the thing most people miss (that fascinates me and I keep bringing it up), is mental health. I'm not seeing enough on mental health. 

We'll also see a lot more emphasis on bringing nature into spaces, and biophilia. Nature will play a big part, so yes, the people are changing, but so are the buildings. Imagine if your building built itself through natural organisms and plants, flexing with the seasons and nature? What if seasonal plants took over at different times of the year? What if you weren't moving walls – the walls were moving themselves? 

You have to marry that with climate change, which is coming at us faster than ever. In my foresight research, one of the sad and depressing things I discovered was that we won't be able to effectively manage climate change until we – the global community – work together. Historically, the global community has never worked together. Somebody is always on the outside or has a problem. So, will health and wellness continue to be huge? Absolutely!

What are the must-have amenities in a coworking space, and do you think the majority of coworking spaces deliver on this?

Liz: The number one amenity that not everybody does great is: community. For me, your amenities don't matter, it’s how your staff treat other humans – that’s what makes all the difference. The key to community is the people, and it's the people who work for the coworking space. 

The best thing you can do to future-proof your coworking business is to hire fantastic people. Retain them, keep them happy, and encourage them, show them, and teach them how to build community. Amenities are great. Community is where it's at.

How do you think the rise of terms like 'flexible workspaces' and 'serviced offices' affects the coworking industry?

Liz: Here’s the deal – I hate the term ‘flexible workspace.’ It’s a terrible search term, and it’s really bad for the industry. It doesn't mean anything. I believe the real estate industry created it because they don't understand the concept of community. If you resonate with community, call yourself a coworking space. If you want to chop up space and sell it, you should identify as a flex operator. 

Pick your team: Flex operators, real estate. Coworking, hospitality. It’s really bad for the industry. If you’re reading this article and you want to be a community space, you need to identify as coworking, and there’s no hyphen in that word! 

As a cofounder of Bottle Rocket Search Co., how do you see AI and automation transforming the coworking landscape, and why should operators prioritise implementing software to manage their spaces?

Liz: Bottle Rocket Search Co. is a talent acquisition company helping people find good people in their coworking spaces. We’re using AI. We've also got a really fantastic panel around AI coming up at GCUC Boston. 

I saw something from Mark Cuban the other day, and he’s an entrepreneur I respect. He said: ‘If I were an entrepreneur right now, I would be spending every single waking moment of my time learning everything I possibly can about AI because it is fundamentally shifting business.’ Laura Kozelouzek, who runs Quest Workspace, has been doing that. But, it's a tough one, because there are so many things that coworking operators manage – running your space, managing humans. Now we're adding another thing. 

The difference is that this thing actually helps you be more efficient. My advice is you don't have to learn everything you can about AI. Hire the right people, and partner with the right people to help you with AI, because there is so much, and it’s literally changing by the second. But, if you’re not paying attention to AI, you’ll 100% be left behind.

Which regional markets are currently leading coworking’s growth?

Liz: Part of the reason we always go to London is that London is really far ahead, and the density there is phenomenal. The spaces are just next level. We really love the London market, and that's why we go there. 

I’m really watching India, which is absolutely exploding – WeWork India is doing some interesting things – so are parts of Eastern Europe, like Bulgaria, and Africa. As the world changes, and we continue to experience uncharted geopolitical upheaval, some interesting pockets are exploding. For instance, IWG plans to put 500 locations in Spain because it's become a hotbed for entrepreneurship, and hiring people.

We're in these really odd times, things are shifting and changing, and we've always got to be looking at what's next, what's interesting, and where things are changing. I'm constantly looking at the whole world. I don't look at one city. Somebody recently asked me how much I network in Austin, and the answer is very little. I'm always thinking and looking with a global perspective. 

What makes a coworking space exceptional for you, and do you have any favourite workplaces – why do they stand out?

Liz: Gosh, so many great coworking spaces come to mind. I really like what Chris Davies has done with Uncommon, and the Holborn location, that’s just beautiful and absolutely amazing. Cliff Ho has built some incredible spaces – The Commons in Australia (the word common is coming up a lot!). 

I also like super innovative spaces. There's a space in Chicago called Biân, they’re integrating wellness and coworking, even with medical. Here in Austin, there’s a space called MedtoMarket – an incubator space for testing medical devices. I recently connected to a group creating spaces for people with security clearance. There are just so many with more coming. That's what's so fun about coworking – it's constantly growing and evolving. New people are coming, and new players are rising up, and that will continue.

My work in the industry means I get to bounce around a lot of spaces. I recently worked at the brand-new Trick Hat Workway in Austin, Texas – I didn’t know them, but turns out I know the owner and he didn’t tell me he was opening a coworking space. So, I went by his space and I saw him, and it was fantastic. I'm going to The Malin this week, and I have a membership at Fuse Workspace. 

I also occasionally pop into Industrious. They’re opening a new space here called Indy, which I’ve helped bring to fruition. So, it’s just fascinating. There are so many spaces, and I like to pop around. Sometimes I work out of Soho House, or at my own house. I work from wherever I need to work.

GCUC is a global leader in coworking events. What are the most significant milestones in its expansion, and which events were particularly meaningful?

Liz: In the early days of GCUC, we decided to license it, and that’s allowed us to host conferences all over the world – in China, Australia, Taiwan, Brazil, Canada, and across the US. We're always talking to folks about expanding and licensing in other parts of the world. We never do it alone. We don't think we can go into a foreign country and know how to act. We always have a local company helping us in those areas – that's been fantastic. 

Many people bring up the 2014 GCUC in Kansas City. We were looking for a unique space, and ended up hosting GCUC in an airline history museum. We had a stage under a plane, and held breakout sessions on an old jetliner – it was wild and cool! For lunch, we had some food trucks pull up outside. It was really fun, very different, and a real standout event. A lot of people talk about that GCUC. 

People also talk about when Casper from the Harvard Divinity School came to talk about how people gather – that was an amazing, empowering talk. Most recently, Jamie Hodari’s talk in Chicago was a big deal for lots of people. Last year, Wayne Berger from IWG surprised many people. We’ve got some great surprises in store for GCUC Boston!

What are you looking forward to at GCUC Boston next month?

Liz: One of the things we do is bring in speakers who aren't just in coworking. At GCUC Boston, we've got a couple of speakers associated with Harvard coming because of our proximity to the university – I'm really excited about that. We’re flying Dean Connell over too, because his talk in London was so good and we felt he had to come out to Boston and do it again! 

WeWork is coming to GCUC Boston. They've been to GCUC a few times recently. This time, they're sponsoring it, and their Chief of Design is speaking. If you're in coworking, we need WeWork to win, that’ll be good for everybody. A long time ago, we figured out we’re not competitors, we’re collaborators.

So, at GCUC Boston, we've got a ton of great keynotes, great panels, and round tables. We have so much going on. As always, I'm just excited about seeing my people.

What's your vision for coworking over the next ten years, and how do you see it shaping the future of work?

Liz: That’s a big question! Coworking is going to continue and evolve. I’m hopeful that we can leave the office and flex office behind, and help individuals looking for a place to connect and be inspired. 

At the end of the day, the loneliness epidemic is getting worse, and where do we spend the majority of our days? At our workplaces. I believe that coworking spaces that prioritise connection will continue to thrive. 

After speaking to Liz, we’re even more excited for this year’s GCUC events. Get your ticket to GCUC Boston (7-10th April), and don’t forget to connect with Stephen Wood, Nexudus Regional Sales Manager (North America) when you’re there. We can’t wait to see what Liz has in store next!

Cover image source: GCUC (Global Coworking Unconference Conference).