Genius co-founder Clinton Selby discusses the importance of diverse co-working for an inspiring future.Â
When I started my first co-working space, I knew the type of environment I wanted to create. A thriving, diverse space where no two people were ever the same. Where creatives, entrepreneurs and inventors would cross paths, build a community and ultimately help each other to achieve their dreams.Â
Located in the Christchurch seaside suburb of Ferrymead, we wanted to avoid a situation where everyone was white, married and middle-aged with 2.4 kids, so we gave Genius Co-Working a Rock n Roll anti-establishment branding that told people, ‘If you want your workspace silent and stuffy, then maybe we are not for you.’Â
When YOUR ex’s editor joined that space, he told us that he was thrilled to see what a cross-section of society our co-working space housed – multicultural, gender diverse, with a wide age range. He told us he wasn’t expecting so many people to be unmarried or how wild Friday afternoon drinks could get. We explained that conservative Christchurch had crumbled with the earthquakes.Â
As we open our second co-working space in the beach suburb of New Brighton, I encourage all YOUR ex readers to consider trying out flexible co-working environments that break up the monotony of working from home.Â
Co-working spaces need to be diverse, welcoming environments so everyone can bring their authentic selves in and let unfiltered creativity flow. That’s when I have seen magic happen and ideas sparked that can only be described as ‘Genius.’Â
As we all hear more talk of polarising times and divided societies, real resistance is to come out and collaborate, disagree, disrupt and rebuild in the future of workspaces, where you can find your own Genius.Â
