The way we work has changed dramatically in the last 10 years and this has resulted in huge growth in coworking and shared workspaces.
“We built Coherent to provide an all-in-one platform that handles all administrative tasks”
Along with these new working spaces has come new working practices and multiple systems and processes that can be difficult to manage simultaneously. Coherent was set up by Gavin Eddy (pictured right), a serial entrepreneur and founder of Frome-based shared workspace operator, Forward Space, to simplify the unique challenge of managing flexible spaces.
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Often bogged down by a multitude of administrative tasks, from calendars and events to invoices and email management, the Coherent web application offers coworking spaces a more tailored and flexible solution when compared to expensive existing workspace management tools.
Success made simple
With its public launch expecting in the coming weeks, the startup has already proven its worth to the coworking community by making it through to the South West’s crowd-funding initiative, Crowd10 where it raised £132,070 – over 100% of its target – and was recently selected to attend Google Campus in London as a ‘Best of British’ startup.
Keen to find out more about what’s made this web app cause such a stir, we caught up with Gavin for the low-down on why he decided to create it and where he hopes it will take coworking spaces in the near future.
Gavin explains: “Existing workspace management software is designed for serviced offices, is expensive and not flexible enough to suit the demands of coworking spaces.
“Coherent allows members of the same workspace to easily find and connect with each other”
“As a result, most coworking spaces are using a collection of email, calendars and spreadsheets to manage everything. This is obviously very administratively demanding and becomes an issue as the workspace starts to scale.
“We built Coherent to solve these problems by providing an all-in-one platform that handles all administrative tasks, with an affordable and flexible pricing plan.”
Take a look at Coherent’s crowdfunding video below for a summary of the web app’s features:
One of the most time-consuming tasks that coworking space operators face is around billing; preparing and sending an invoice and then collecting payment from their members.
Gavin tells us: “With Coherent this entire process is automated. Bills are automatically generated and sent out every month, and payment is taken automatically. Notifications are sent to the operator in the event of any issues meaning they no longer have to chase failed or unpaid invoices.”
Connecting communities
As well as taking care of the more dull aspects of managing a working space, Coherent also focuses on the importance and culture of connecting with others in shared spaces. He explains: “Coherent allows members of the same workspace to easily find and connect with each other and beyond this.
“A lot of our beta users have been surprised at just how much Coherent does”
“Workspaces will even be able to join together to form their own networks allowing events and services to be cross-promoted between them. This really allows workspaces and their members to make the most of the community aspect of coworking.”
Simple and effective: Coherent has an easy-to-navigate
interface that simplifies all the essentials
As well as helping to better unite coworking communities, Coherent’s beta edition has been tested and approved by several South West coworking spaces.
Gavin says: “A lot of our beta users have been surprised at just how much Coherent does. The interface is clean and simple but there’s a lot of things working in the background that allows us to deal with minor issues and edge cases.”
“We aim to become the go-to software for coworking spaces around the country”
And now with the web app’s release anticipated this month, Gavin’s expecting big things from Coherent. He tells us: “We are currently building the third phase of Coherent and will be taking it out of beta and launching it to the public in October.
“We will continue to develop the product based on early adopter feedback and will continue to expand our reach from the South West to the rest of the UK. We aim to become the go-to software for coworking spaces around the country, before beginning our expansion into Europe. ”
“We’ve had a lot of workspace owners contact us asking when we will be launching. I think it’s been refreshing for them to find a powerful management tool that doesn’t break the bank.”
Keep an eye out on the Coherent website for details of the web app’s public release. You can also stay up to date with Coherent’s progress by following them on Twitter: @coherentcowork.
