If your goal is to create a coworking space that’s profitable, purposeful, and packed with community-driven energy, this episode is required listening.

Gina Schreck didn’t just open a coworking space—she built a village. What started as a 10,000-square-foot coworking concept born from her marketing agency has grown into a 50,000-square-foot hybrid of workspace, event center, and community hub. In this conversation, Gina shares how she and her team doubled down during the pandemic, leaned into events when others pulled back, and built a culture that continues to thrive—even when she’s not in the building.

In this episode, we cover:

• How Gina expanded from 10K to 50K square feet (and why she nearly walked away from it)

• What makes her podcast studio actually get used (and how it supports her community)

• The role of events in sustaining revenue and attracting foot traffic—even weddings and church services

• How her space became a true community center, with a waitlist for offices and thriving nonprofit partnerships

• Why DIY coworking isn’t for divas—and how she leans into a high-touch, high-hospitality model

This one is packed with personality, insights, and the kind of energy that’s hard to bottle—and harder to scale. But somehow, Gina’s done both.

Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:

Gina on LinkedIn

The Village Workspace website

Connect with your Hosts:

Connect with Giovanni on LinkedIn

Connect with Jamie on LinkedIn

Find Jamie on the Everything Coworking Podcast

When a real estate problem turns into a business opportunity… and then scales across the West Coast. That’s the CENTRL Office origin story. In this episode, we sit down with Alex Hughes, co-founder of CENTRL Office, to hear how a “no man's land” office building in Portland led to a full-on flex brand with locations in Oregon, Washington, and California.

Alex shares how they’ve transitioned completely to true management agreements, the role of tenant experience, and why the “vibe” is more than just good coffee and nice design.

We cover:

• How CENTRL Office grew out of a leasing challenge and scaled with a flexible model that works for landlords.

• Why they moved from leases to fully aligned management agreement, and what that actually looks like.

• The types of buildings and partnerships that set the stage for long-term success (spoiler: they’re not looking for one-off deals).

• How enterprise demand is showing up in LA and why it’s reshaping what “coworking” means.

• The challenge and opportunity of bringing hospitality-level service to landlord portfolios through flex operations.

If you’re working on creative deal structures, supporting landlords through flex, or just trying to figure out how to scale your vibe, this one’s for you.

Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:

Alex on LinkedIn

CENTRL Office website

Connect with your Hosts:

Connect with Giovanni on LinkedIn

Connect with Jamie on LinkedIn

Find Jamie on the Everything Coworking Podcast

Ginger Dhaliwal didn’t plan to end up in coworking—or in tech at all. Her journey from social work to startup founder spans continents, industries, and a through-line of solving human-centered problems. As co-founder of Upflex, she’s now at the intersection of workplace experience, real estate tech, and the flex ecosystem.

In this episode, we cover:

• Ginger’s global path from social impact to launching R&D labs, tech startups, and eventually, Upflex.

• The core challenges of aggregating coworking inventory—and why brokers and operators have been slow to adapt.

• Upflex’s unique strategy: white-label partnerships with brokerages, airport lounge operators, and the U.S. government.

• How Ginger thinks AI will reduce booking friction, improve workspace recommendations, and drive industry-wide transformation.

• Why coworking is evolving from access-based models to experience-driven destinations—and what that means for operators.

Ginger shares her vision of a future where space is dynamically allocated, demand is driven by intelligent systems, and coworking plays a key role in restoring human connection.

Resources Mentioned in this Podcast:

Ginger on LinkedIn

Upflex website

Connect with your Hosts:

Connect with Giovanni on LinkedIn

Connect with Jamie on LinkedIn

Find Jamie on the Everything Coworking Podcast