Philip Rosedale's WorkClub a Great Space for Remote Workers (Suck It, Starbucks)

I don't know if Philip Rosedale's new startup will work, but I do know his open office space is a great place in San Francisco for remote workers to work. As opposed to, say, fighting to get some projects done in your local Starbucks next to a woman in her 60s wearing a skintight body stocking and watching loudly blaring YouTube videos. (Been there, done that.)

Centrally located on 1825 Market Street between Octavia and Laguna (Google Maps link here), the "office" for Philip's LoveMachine Inc. and his latest project, Coffee and Power, which connects real world work to virtual currency, is also open to freelance coders, web developers, and other folks who often work remotely who want to stop by and spend a few hours in a place with a great view of Market, free coffee and wireless. Regular visitors are encouraged to bring a gift for everyone else there, with food to share being highly prized.

Anyway, after visiting Linden Lab with my friend Ana a couple Fridays ago, we took the BART down to Civic Center and walked a few blocks up to the WorkClub. Philip wasn't in the office at the time, but as it happened, Linden's first and longest-lasting employee, Andrew Meadows, was there, hanging out there during a day off. That's him with Ana beneath the big monitors on the wall which display all the outstanding Coffee and Power requests around the city.

One more pic of the view from upstairs, presumably where Philip surveys his new domain. After getting the tour, I'm seriously interested in dropping by every now and then. Working at home like I do has its advantages, but one goes a bit crazy when you're only co-worker is your cat.

Ana upstairs at the WorkClub.

Comments

[Osprey]

Ana has a lovely smile.
/me waves to Andrew.

[Jakben Blog]

Great Job. I also wish to have a business like that in the first place.

[IEEEVirtual]

It's good to see Phillip still has great visions!

[Valentina Kendal]

You wore a skintight body stocking Hamlet? We want to see the pictures!

[Jupiter Firelyte]

I love this idea. I work from home and as great as it is, sometimes I really want to get out, but Starbucks doesn't quite cut it. An environment like this sounds great. I'd love to see this expand.

[Nathaniel Flores]

Cool idea but sounds like it depends on the patronage of an already existing business to grant the space. As I read it, it's free use, free coffee, free wireless... I don't see any profitability for offering the service, standalone. Nice that Philip can offer it, but doesn't seem like a viable business to expand on/from.

I have seen a few 'rent-an-office' services pop up recently that might be similar. Would be interesting to see how this works out.

[Chenin Anabuki]

I would definitely use this space next time I'm in the city. It is surprising that it is offered free. Not sure if that is sustainable because it can get really crowded when the huddled masses of office-less freelance workers find out about it. I remember this co-working site in Silverlake that was charging $200 memberships per month (Meet, Mix, Mogul). But, it was not successful and had to close down after a year.

[Andrew Meadows]

(Hi @Osprey.)

Coffee + Power are hoping to turn their office space into a free or low-cost hangout for people who are trying to network (find work or find workers) through the C+P transaction system.

I've seen some other shared workspaces in and around the city. Most are only successful when they have desks rented out to regulars for $200 - $400 per month. Some allow drop-ins by non-memebers and usually ask for a donation. I once had a friend visiting San Francisco with his family who was working part-time while everybody else was vacationing full-time. We decided to work together at a shared office space that allowed drop-ins and we each donated $20 for the privilege.

[makati office space]

I agree, while remote workers will certainly love this service, I don't see how the setup will be profitable for the business owner. Starbucks recently imposed actions that discouraged the said "behavior" in their customers.