Release Date: November 30, 2018
CoSolve
CoSolve Coworking Space and Conference Center: Where Sharing is Succeeding
In today’s world of rapidly increasing telecommuting, nontraditional work practices and ever-evolving technologies for improved remote communications, alternative work spaces have proved themselves as popular, flexible opportunities and solutions. Downtown Longmont’s CoSolve, Your Coworking Community and Conference Center, takes the coworking model and goes one step further. No, make that miles of added rewards. With the CoSolve community, opportunities abound to enrich, enhance, develop and refine both professional and personal pursuits to whatever degree works for you.
CoSolve founders Dixon Dick, Kim Tucker and Darren Elven conceived the idea of transforming the former Times-Call building into a collaborative coworking space when they launched their company Archethought, which offers smart cities solutions for community cultures. “The building was just sitting there,” Dick says. “We approached the owners and asked, how do you feel about working with us to develop a coworking space? Things mobilized after that.”
Construction on is now the CoSolve space took some time. One might say it’s only appropriate the remodel was a collaborative effort, as Dick describes. The open building may have been a catalyst for development, but the inspiration came from Tinkermill. “Myself and about 99 of my closest friends were all founders of Tinkermill,” Dick says. “The word for co-solving came from my experience there, where you’re trying to create, but you don’t fully know what you’re doing. I’m trying to fix a power supply for example, and someone looks over your shoulder and says, ‘I know power supplies, you look stuck’.” Dick and his partners saw the magic of collaboration, the productive and inspired power of sharing through mere friendly connection and proximity.
At CoSolve, all are welcome to frequent public meetups. Social and networking opportunities with talented, forward-thinking, dynamic individuals foster connections that provide invaluable personal and business support. A recent meetup for World Visibility Day for example, led by Limina Co-Founder Jon Fukuda, guided participants through design-thinking models. “It was a riveting design sprint that gave examples of problems for people to chew on” Dick says. “I met two people I’d never worked with before, and I couldn’t have had a better time.”
Are you required to do anything? “Absolutely not,” Dick says. You can come in, put the headphones on, there will be no passive-aggressiveness around that.” Whether you could benefit from community, equipment, or merely desk space, at CoSolve you are welcome to make use of what you need, and be reassured that all can change as your needs evolve, just as the space will evolve. “We are a work-in-progress,” Dick says. “We’re constantly revving the space, eliciting feedback it to meet the needs of the community as it changes. For example, yesterday someone came in saying, ‘you should set up a permanent podcast space’. We talked, and before long I’m persuaded. We went to another room, and I asked, what do you think? He’s coming Monday, and we’re gonna build it out. That’s a CoSolve. We learn to listen, we don’t tell people how it should work. In a great community that’s what it’s about.”
Longmont’s Creative District Thrives!
A few of our many dynamic creatives offer some insight on what our vibrant Downtown Creative Community means to them.
Dixon Dick, Co-Founder, CoSolve; Co-Founder , Archethought
I’m all about finding creative, collaborative solutions. I’m not going to stand up and yell something in a forum. I’m going to create an environment where people can work together for forward solutions. That philosophy is mirrored by our Downtown. This is a great town. We all walk downtown together, we all come to lunch together. Connecting with Downtown is very important to us.
Jennifer Sage, Creative Director, Vis-a-vis Creative (CoSolve member)
As a creative director, pretty much every aspect of my job challenges me creatively. Starting with a blank piece of paper and creating something new is really what drew me to this field. Plus, I just love identifying and solving problems. Working at CoSolve has definitely been a plus for inspiration and productivity. It’s nice to be around other professionals of a similar mindset. It’s good to be surrounded by that buzz.
Melanie Hekkelman-Piazza, Founder/Executive Director, Family Village (CoSolve member partner)
Family Village is a highly complex business because it serves so many different needs of our parent community, but that’s what makes it so exciting and rewarding. Seeing the ways we intentionally, and sometimes unintentionally, ease stress, elicit inspiration and provide comfort to overwhelmed parents makes me feel so clear that we are needed and doing vital work for the community.
CoSolve has provided the most supportive and safe space to launch this innovative concept. Knowing Dixon and the CoSolve staff see the vision and importance of Family Village and provide insights, advice and other support helps make building this complicated business possible.
Jennifer Moriarty, Co-Owner of Moriarty-Moffitt School of Irish Dance (CoSolve building occupant)
Irish Dance is always changing. It has grown from being considered primarily an activity to a competitive sport for kids. With rapid development and consistently new trends, we’re always looking out for what’s new as we travel the world for competitions. We love taking on the vast creative challenges getting the just right balance of fun, skills, prep for competition, and performance for each individual in their goals.
We just celebrated our 3rd anniversary being part of the Downtown Longmont Creative District, and we are just thrilled to be here. This is a really great community to be a part of. There are always events offered, providing fabulous social and networking opportunities, as well as great exposure. We have been in other towns, and Longmont really stands out for the way it has come together. We feel really supported, and even better, it’s fun to be here.