Not too long ago, taking your laptop to the local café and “working remotely” while sipping a chai latte was considered the height of business hedonism. Image sharing platforms like Instagram and Tumblr were gaining traction, and the visual appeal of a nomadic, independent way of working gained huge popularity.

Fast forward a few years, and sitting in a cubicle 9-5 is no longer the corporate dream. An increasing number of people are leveraging the internet and technology to build something for themselves, and are shunning the traditional office space for a more autonomous way of working. Creatives, freelancers and entrepreneurs are a new generation of digital nomads, and world of co-working spaces is their oyster.

Landing Pad

The opportunity to connect with likeminded people in a beautiful space without the headache or commitment of an expensive lease has made co working spaces a hugely popular alternative to the isolation of the home office.

Just a short walk from the hub of Melbourne’s CBD, Landing Pad is a vibrant new space effortlessly blending the creature comforts of home with the must have tech demanded by savvy entrepreneurs. Boasting facilities such as bookable meeting rooms, event space, informal breakout areas, end-of-trip facilities and a roof terrace featuring a Traeger smoker (perfect for Friday drinks!), Landing Pad offer much more than just another co-working space.

The future of co-working is collaborative

The co-working movement is evolving; it’s core members are no longer limited to start-ups and freelancers. These days, shared spaces are considered a key resource for growing businesses and even larger corporations seeking a fresh approach to innovation.

The new face of this growing industry has been dubbed “The Mesh Economy” by the folks over at StartMesh. The premise behind it is the creation of a co-working ecosystem designed to give smaller enterprises access to a pool of resources to draw upon, enabling them to compete for opportunities at a level previously out of reach.

Pillars of the mesh economy:

• Individuals, small teams, small businesses, start-ups and larger enterprises collaborate, combine, share skills and capabilities; they deliver work of outstanding value, importance and relevance together.
• A single person or small entity can connect to win work that normally only be won by a much larger corporation.
• Connect, collaborate and access skills and experience required when needed.
• Well-networked small firms have the advantage; agility, shared basic overheads and access to expertise, shifting the balance in their advantage.
• The asymmetries favour small; shared capabilities and the ability to scale as needed provide the capacity to deliver far greater value to clients.

Edgelabs’ new space is pioneering this next wave of the co-working movement; a collaborative community of peers, partners and mentors working together in a creative space designed to connect entrepreneurs with thought leaders and larger enterprises to share skills, explore new possibilities, and succeed together.