and sell my new product to get my

startup off the ground

I could work from home

I could rent a small office

or there's a third option.

And if it takes a village to raise a child,

maybe it takes a coworking space

to grow a startup.

You can see why it's appealing.

I have my morning cup of coffee ready

for me when I walk in the door.

I'm part of a community that

helps serve my needs.

I can serendipitously bump

into my PR agency,

meet my graphic designer through referral

and meet my web developer

by sitting right next to him.

Take 24-year-old Maria Trujillo.

She started her own graphic design firm in 2016.

By choosing a coworking space, she pays

$315 per month for her membership.

One year after starting out,

most of her clients

are coworking peers that she's met entirely

through the space, referrals

or just near the beer tap.

Then there's Erin Padilla.

She expanded a consulting business into a

new market in 2007.

To set up the office at the time, she had

to go through the process of searching for

real estate, signing a lease, buying furniture,

hiring someone to do her I.T. and that's just

the upfront cost.

She then had to pay extra for things like

insurance, cleaning, pantry supplies and utilities.

That means in their first year of business,

Erin spent tens of thousands of dollars more

than Maria, than she would have today had

she used a coworking space.

Different types of spaces are popping up around

the world and they range from minimal and

boot-strapped to high-end and luxurious.

WeWork's explosive growth is one key

example of the demand.

The American company opened its first location

in 2010 and it's still growing fast.

In February 2017, it had 125 locations.

By August, that shot up to 163 locations.

And now, the company is valued at $20 billion,

making it the seventh most valuable privately

held company in the world.

It now has its eyes on Asia for a large part

of its future growth and for good reason.

The demand in the region for coworking spaces

is expected to grow at an average rate of

10 to 15% annually.

WeWork is putting $500 million into expanding

in Southeast Asia and South Korea.

Meanwhile, in China, the company announced

a standalone WeWork China business

which will aggressively expand its locations

beyond Shanghai and Beijing

after it received a $500 million backing.

WeWork's CEO Adam Neumman says

it now generates one billion dollars

a year in revenue and will eventually

launch an initial public offering.

A growing number of corporations are also

getting into the game.

At WeWork alone, Deutsche Bank,

Bank of America, Dell, IBM and Microsoft

have all set up in some capacity.

Take HSBC, which is, like other banks,

increasingly having to compete

with tech companies to recruit top talent.

It recently signed a major deal

to house three floors

of its staff at a WeWork in Hong Kong.

And it makes sense.

Companies want to promote entrepreneurial

and innovative thinking.

They need to attract top talent

in an increasingly competitive market.

They want to keep an ear to the ground

when it comes to potential disruptions

in their industry.

And they also need to closely monitor

potential acquisition targets.

Coworking spaces help them tick all of those boxes.

But while these corporates are going into

coworking spaces, one is creating its very own.

Take a look at global consumer goods

conglomerate, Unilever.

Inside their corporate office,

they've created their very own coworking space,

called Level 3.

It's not an incubator but a coworking space

which is open to entrepreneurs

outside of the company

to apply and pay for their own workspace.

It can provide a huge opportunity for a startup

wanting to get noticed by a major company.

And in turn, Unilever has sprinkled some of

its portfolio brands throughout the space

like Ben & Jerry's, so its own employees

can be exposed to disruptive thinkers.

It's a win for Unilever, which suddenly

has access to entrepreneurs

and for minimal cost.

While the growth of coworking spaces have

proven their benefits, critics argue an inherent

downside of working in the same space as a

potential competitor.

And of course, many offices and coworking spaces

are now being designed as open office environments.

But studies are showing that it's actually

awful for productivity.

One study showed open office environments

create a 32% drop in workers' well-being

and a 15% reduction in productivity.

And another found office workers are losing

86 minutes a day due to distractions.

These factors, though, are hardly slowing

down the fast-moving trend.

So for now, forget the stuffy suit and cubicle,

show me the bean bag and beer.

Hey guys, thanks for watching.

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