Migrating from Proximity to Optix with Gravitate Coworking

For years, Geoff Wood, founder of Gravitate Coworking, struggled with software that couldn’t keep up with his growing business. Managing four locations with Proximity became frustrating – limited automation, unreliable support, and a clunky interface were slowing his team down.

That’s when he made the switch to Optix, a platform built to scale with modern coworking spaces. Here’s why Geoff chooses Optix to power his multi-location coworking network in the midwest.

“We really wanted to plant a flag that's like, we'll help you find your way. Maybe that's being a Gravitate member, maybe it's not. But come here and we can introduce you to the people in town that you need to know to help build your business.”

Gravitate x Optix customer story - Coworking software

Meet Geoff

Like many coworking space operators, Geoff Wood’s journey to opening his first coworking space was unconventional.

After moving back to his hometown of Des Moines, Iowa, Geoff became involved in the local startup community, helping to champion the growth of local businesses. He quickly realized there was a strong need for affordable, high-density office space amongst entrepreneurs in the city.

In 2014, he opened a small coworking space as a side project to help address these needs and called it Gravitate Coworking – an entrepreneurial center of gravity. Fast-forward ten years later, Gravitate is an Iowa institution with four locations, and Geoff is a well-respected thought leader in the industry.

“For about 10 years, I did a lot of activities as a community builder or startup champion, helping draw attention to the companies that were being built here and solving problems so more companies could be built here – and one of those problems was workspace. That’s what brought us to coworking.”

Why Proximity wasn’t the right fit, and how Optix changed everything

With Proximity, Geoff constantly ran into limitations.
Managing multiple locations was cumbersome, automations were limited, and the software often felt outdated.
He chose Optix for its branded member experience, mobile-first approach, and easy multi-location management

Being an OG operator in the industry, Geoff had tried a number of different software platforms over the years to manage his space, from home-grown solutions to well-known providers like Nexudus and Proximity.

What first attracted Geoff to Optix was the branded white-labeled app. While previous software platforms felt like members were on a different company’s app, Optix felt like it was truly their own. It was modern, elegant, and reflective of his own brand.

He also appreciated that Optix was designed for coworking spaces of his size, unlike other platforms that either catered to enterprise-level operations or single-location spaces. Many platforms weren’t designed for use across multiple locations, but Optix felt like it could scale with him.

Finally, he appreciated the mobile-first approach of Optix. As a trail-blazer in his community, he saw the vision of a mobile-first platform to help his members move across different locations and access his space with ease.

“What drew me in first was just the elegance of it, and that it really looked like an app for our business, as opposed to previous platforms where you log in, and you're on the software company's app.”

Migrating from Proximity to Optix (without the headache)

Geoff wanted to ensure minimal impact to his members
The Optix team supported Geoff’s team through the migration process
It was “the easiest migration process they ever did”

Software migration can be a scary step for some operators. It’s a big commitment with a lot of unknowns that often keeps operators stuck using a platform they’re not happy with.

Geoff asked a number of questions during the sales process to ensure he was confident in taking the leap. He appreciated that the Optix team had answers to all his questions and helped guide him to make the right decision for his business.

One of his biggest concerns was avoiding disruption to members, particularly around billing and account setup. Luckily, the migration went off without a hitch.

The Optix team worked closely with Gravitate’s Operations Manager to ensure all of the data they had in Proximity mapped over to Optix correctly, making the transition as seamless as possible.

“From my recollection, this was the simplest of all the migrations that we’ve done. I didn’t want members to have to think about resetting up their accounts or moving their billing. And honestly, if it had been an issue, I would’ve known about it. It wasn’t an issue.”

How Optix helps Gravitate automate, optimize, and grow

Geoff automates his financial processes through Optix, Stripe, and Quickbooks
He’s increased the number of drop-in bookings via his website with Web Widgets
He’s making more data-driven insights with detailed analytics and reports

Today, Gravitate is using Optix at all four of their locations, automating their financial processes, driving more drop-in bookings, making clearer data-driven decisions with detailed analytics in Optix, and more. Here’s how Geoff is using Optix today.

Automating financial processes

Geoff created an integrated tech ecosystem to help automate key parts of his financial processes, from invoicing to reporting. Between Optix, Stripe, and Quickbooks, Geoff is able to share information seamlessly, simplifying work for his operations and accounting teams.

The team can also rest easy knowing recurring invoices are automatically generated for members based on their plan. New sign-ups and drop-in bookings are processed automatically, reducing manual admin work overall and ensuring consistent revenue month over month.

Increasing conversions through Web Widgets

Web Widgets are easy-to-use no-code tools that enable leads to book a tour, drop-in for the day, or sign-up for a new membership plan directly on your website. Today, Geoff uses the drop-in widget to allow new leads to book a room directly through the Gravitate website.

Since launching the drop-in widget, over 90 new users have come through the system, increasing the conversion rate of the website and Geoff’s ability to acquire new customers.

Making data-driven decisions with Analytics

One of the clear advantages of using software to run your coworking space is in the data and analytics you unlock.

Previously, the Gravitate team operated reactively without deep insights into long-term trends. Now, they’re using metrics and reports, including room utilization reports and churn tracking, to access real-time data on how their space is being used to make decisions.

“Many platforms aren’t built for multi-location spaces. Optix was solid enough that we felt comfortable moving forward, but also new enough that it felt very current. And I wanted our members to have the same experience at every location, without some messy, daisy-chained database.”

Automating access control with Optix and Kisi

Because access control is baked into the Proximity software system, switching to other software providers can prove difficult. It often means reinvesting in not only a new coworking software provider, but also a door access control system and completely new hardware system.

With Geoff’s migration to Optix came a new access control system, Kisi. Installation and set-up were straightforward for the team and with Kisi ‘s strong inventory, it was easier to source controllers across their locations.

Now, with Optix and Kisi working together, members can open the door to any of their four Gravitate locations with a tap of their phone. Members don’t even realize they are using Kisi, everything works through Optix, maintaining a seamless brand experience. Together, Optix and Kisi have automated over 22,000 check-ins at Gravitate locations!

“We actually lock our doors 24/7 at all our spaces, so everybody uses Kisi to access them. Probably 90% of our door access goes through Kisi. Every time we’ve opened a new space, we’ve had the door controllers ready immediately, which has been great.”

Proud to power the Gravitate team

Geoff needed a scalable, modern, and efficient platform to support his growing coworking business. Now, he has that as a partner in Optix.

With Optix, the Gravitate team enjoys stronger branding, a simplified member experience, and easy multi-location support. The best part is, Geoff no longer worries about his coworking software. He trusts Optix to run in the background allowing him to focus on growing the business and supporting his community.

Geoff’s advice for operators looking to make the switch? “Push vendors to answer your questions and make sure it’s the right fit.” Switching platforms is a big decision, but the right partner makes all the difference. Thinking about switching from Proximity? Our team is here to make it seamless – just like we did for Gravitate. Book a demo today.

We’re proud to partner with Geoff and the incredible Gravitate team! Thanks for being a part of our community.