Housemates: Why collaborative, shared work spaces are all the rage in the outdoor industry

The outdoor industry’s collaborative ethos is growing—and spurring a handful of groundbreaking work-space collaborations. Shared overhead, resources, consumer traffic, and synergy are all incentives for brands, retailers, and nonprofits to jump on board with the movement. 

Wayfinder, a co-working and community space that is member-owned, is opening doors in Denver, Colorado, in January 2018. The workspace is specifically tailored to outdoor-inspired entrepreneurs in order to encourage long-term partnerships, an overlap and growth of networks, and shared resources. Workspace options remain flexible, as a reflection of the work-travel variable that often coincides with outdoor and active lifestyle brands.

The concept is ideal for Wayfinder’s three co-founders. Britten Ferguson’s company, Revolucion Rides, is an outfitter that provides bike trips in Central and South America. Chris Baker’s Oneseed Expeditions similarly designs guided adventure trips all over the world including treks in the Andes and Himalayas. And Joe Ewing is about to launch Desta, a technology platform that will funnel such tour operators to clients without commission. 

“We wanted to find a house or shared workspace and the idea started snowballing over beers and pizza. We quickly realized that a lot more people in the area [were] interested,” said Ewing. In fact, the demand was so high that they upgraded the concept from a house to warehouse. To help businesses be nimble and cost-effective the tenant options include drop-ins, punch passes, flex desks, dedicated desks, team desks, and private offices.