What does it take to build a truly magnetic coworking community in 2025, and how do you create it beyond the events we all know and love?
That’s the conversation we unpacked in our latest Optix webinar, featuring two community-first coworking leaders: Tessa McLaughlin, Founder and Director at KWENCH Coworking and Culture Club, and Chris Pereira, Community Manager at Suite Genius. Hosted by Optix’s very own Jenna Macken, the discussion explored what community really means in today’s coworking landscape and how to transform it from a buzzword into a strategic business advantage.
Keep reading to discover the five biggest takeaways when it comes to cultivating community from our conversation with Tessa and Chris!
If you’re interested in learning more about this conversation, you can watch the full webinar replay on the Optix YouTube channel.
But as Tessa and Chris emphasized, community isn’t just built through a calendar of social events. It’s a culture that is cultivated intentionally, a sense of connection and shared belonging that’s created through design, values, and the people you choose to bring into the space.
“You know, one of the things that I say all the time is that you can have a beautiful space and it can be immaculate and pristine and you know, it's just everything that everyone wants. But if you don't have a community inside that no one's gonna come.”
Aesthetics may get people through the door, but it’s the relationships they build and the people they meet that make them stay.
For both Suite Genius and KWENCH, the vibe is actively shaped by who’s in the community , how people are welcomed, and the tone set by staff and members alike. From the kitchen layout to onboarding rituals, every detail is a chance to reinforce community values.
Before you build community, you have to understand who you’re building it for. That begins with identifying your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), something both Tessa and Chris agreed is foundational to long-term success.
As suggested by Tessa, zoom out before leasing or designing a space. Who do you want to attract—creatives, entrepreneurs, parents, remote corporate workers? Your ICP will inform your neighborhood, amenities, event strategy, and even staffing model.
“I'll think of my community. They're my team and I'm trying to find people that's a good fit for my team, a good fit for the culture that we've created together.”
At Suite Genius, every member gets a tour before joining. Community managers are trained to evaluate both the practical needs of a prospective member, as well as their social fit and whether they’ll add to the space’s sense of camaraderie. This is what we call curating your community, and it was a big topic amongst our speakers and attendees.
A great community member doesn’t need to be extroverted, but they do need to be respectful, kind, and open to connecting—and it’s up to your community manager or the person giving the tour to determine if they’re a good fit. This level of curation plays a direct role in long-term member retention and culture.
When we asked our live audience what kind of event they are hosting, the answer that came out on top was Happy Hours.
But as Tessa and Chris pointed out, not all events are created equal. More importantly, not all events work the way they used to pre-COVID.
The trend they’re seeing? Members want intentional, convenient, and meaningful experiences. Late-night happy hours are waning in popularity, while morning and midday events—like “waffle Fridays,” charcuterie socials, and lunch-and-learns—are thriving. At Suite Genius for example, morning food-based events are crowd-pleasers, especially when members are already in the space.
“I noticed that when we provide drinks, for folks, most people reach for the non alcoholics. I'm like, okay, maybe this isn't everyone's jam. And so to get more numbers out, we introduced doing waffles on Fridays.”
Tessa added another important point to the conversation: internal and external events serve different purposes. At KWENCH, they generally see external events as generating revenue or attracting leads, while internal events deepen community and increase member retention. The key is to treat events like experiments, iterating on what works and adjusting for the rhythms of your specific community.
When it comes to community building, Tessa and Chris agreed that your digital community is just as valuable as the one you’ve built in your space. Three tips came out on top in terms of engaging your community digitally:
Implementing these tactics can help you create an online community that rivals that connection and cohesion you’ve built in-person. Learn how Optix can help you build your online community.
It’s tempting to treat community-building as an “extra” initiative and a nice-to-have. That couldn’t be further from the truth. According to both speakers, community is directly tied to growth, retention, and brand loyalty.
"We've all stayed in jobs that we hate because we love the people, but we've also all left jobs that we love because we don't like the people. So that's the thing for me, it doesn't matter how beautiful your space is, it's about the energy you bring."
Take Suite Genius for example. Here, community managers wear many hats: tour guide, matchmaker, concierge, host. When they’re empowered to build real relationships, they naturally create stickier, higher-value experiences. And when members feel known and supported, they stay longer, refer more often, and engage more deeply.
You can then measure the impact community is having on your business with defined KPIs, qualitative feedback, and long-term engagement. In the words of Tessa, their greatest community KPI is how many friends someone has made while being a member at KWENCH.
During the webinar, we received a range of questions from attendees on topics from retention to community curation. Below are a few of the questions we didn’t have a chance to answer, along with additional resources to explore.
At the end of the day it depends on the event. For example, morning gatherings like coffee meetups tend to draw more parents and caregivers, since they can drop in before school runs. Midday workshops such as “Lunch & Learns” see strong turnout from mid-career professionals (30s–40s) fitting something into their workday. Evening socials skew younger (20s–30s) or singles looking to network after hours. Tailoring both the timing and format to these life stages is key to maximizing engagement.
Member retention measures how successful you are at getting people to stay at your coworking space. While acquisition is about bringing people in, retention is about getting people to stay. When it comes to increasing member retention, here are a few places you can start:
For more, check out our blog on member retention.
It’s difficult to say exactly how long it will take to cultivate community in your space. That timeline depends on consistency, leadership, and the intentional design of your space and programming. Take, for example, Impact Brixton, which built a vibrant, mission-led community by focusing on values-first engagement and offering a range of flexible access points to participation.
When members are toggling between apps for access control, printing, bookings, and chat, it’s no wonder digital fatigue sets in. Instead of adding more tools, consider simplifying: centralize communications whether its through Slack, Whatsapp, or coworking software like Optix. Check out the video below to see how you can use a tool like Optix to centralize communication and prevent digital fatigue.
The secret is to build events around shared goals—not professional roles. From founder Q&As to themed roundtables to casual coworking jams, you can create formats where everyone contributes regardless of industry. Great community managers are facilitators who help bridge those boundaries. For more inspiration, explore our blog on coworking space event planning.
Ultimately, cultivating community takes strategy, design, great people, and a whole lot of heart.
Start with your ideal member, create connection on purpose, and let your people help you shape what comes next. And if you’re looking for a digital tool to help you achieve all of this, consider how Optix can help. Connect with a member of our team to explore the best community building tool in coworking.
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