We’re gearing up for a sensational Silicon Summer social, and we couldn’t be more excited to feature one of our partners, floe. This innovative community-centric coworking-as-a-service provider is redefining how and where we work.
In our latest conversation, we dive deep with Hamish Rutherford, the Founder and CEO of floe. Hamish shares insights on his business’s strategic pivot and the evolving landscape of work and offers a pearl of wisdom for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Interview with Hamish Rutherford, Founder & CEO at floe
Q: What is floe?
A: floe links people and spaces. Our goal is to create a platform to enable access to workspaces where our members need them, not just in city centres. We work exclusively with independent workspace operators focusing on underutilised spaces. Our membership allows you to book spaces all around the North East simply and efficiently whilst improving collaboration within communities.
Q: What inspired the creation of floe?
A: I fundamentally felt that society was too lonely, and we were spending too much time in our houses simply because we didn’t want to go into a traditional office. A huge amount of amazing space is currently being presented and marketed incorrectly for the new work model.
How we work has fundamentally changed, and floe’s mission is to champion a new work structure that champions well-being, productivity and fun.
Our members raised around £20m in investment
Q: Can you share some memorable moments or success stories from the floe coworking space?
A: Our biggest successes are seeing our members grow personally and professionally. During the first two years of floe opening, our members raised around £20 million in investment and had multiple Pre-Seed rounds, a Series A and an acquisition. It’s amazing to see these achievements by our incredible members.
Q: What motivated the transition from operating a physical coworking space to building a technology platform?
A: The original concept for floe was always the tech platform we are building now. I decided to open the physical coworking space because the opportunity was too good to pass up, and Newcastle didn’t have much coworking at the time.
The physical space provided us with a brilliant platform to build great partners and members, and now is the right time to launch the platform to connect the entire North East and expand our offer.
Q: Can you elaborate on what the new floe platform will offer?
A: The core offering of the tech platform is simple: easy access to the world of unique and innovative workspaces in the North East. By becoming a member of the platform, you’ll be able to find and book spaces yourself. You can also invite your team members to book the same space!
The platform aims to highlight the abundance of unique and high-quality spaces available in the North East that have been hard to access for coworking in the past. In the process the platform enables companies and their teams to make use of these spaces together.
Q: How do you envision the future of work in the North East, and what role will floe play?
A: I believe that most people will look to have a solid base of work in one location, where they spend 50% of their time. The remaining time could be spent anywhere fitting in around their life. 2 hours working from a gym, 1 hour working near where you pick up your kids or working in the Lake District on a Friday and when you’ve finished your day you are where you need to be for your weekend whilst avoiding all the traffic. floe will enable members to travel and book spaces easily allowing them to enjoy work from wherever is most suitable for them.
Focus!!!
Q: What advice would you give to entrepreneurs who are just starting?
A: Focus!!! This is something I struggle with. My mind has a thousand new shiny ideas daily. Have a place to put your lovely new ideas for a rainy day, but then leave them alone. You have to be focused on one problem and get everyone around you focusing on the same problem. If you start jumping all over the place, you’ll exhaust yourself and your team.
Q: What key message would you like to share with the readers?
A: We have an incredible opportunity to rethink and re-space the future of our work together. What future would you like to see? Is it a 4-day working week? Fully remote? Fully office-based? Hybrid?
Together, we get to choose what the future looks like, so let’s make it a great one!!!
Follow the floe journey here: https://thefloe.co.uk/
We’re grateful to Hamish and Alex for their invaluable support and insights. Be sure to connect with them and other inspiring folk at Silicon Summer on August 29th at The Grove in Byker.
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