CREAting Community with Pablo Gutfrajnd
By providing an elegant, personalized experiences, CREA Working Spaces have become many local entrepreneurs and freelancers go-to spot for coworking.
Mexico City is a hot spot for emerging entrepreneurs and freelancers. On one side, there is a community eager to adopt new solutions to solve their current problems. And on the other, there are innovative trailblazers ready to tackle these problems with a fresh approach.
Inevitably, coworking spaces have also begun sprouting up to accommodate the rise in entrepreneurs and freelancers. In the midst of the sea of coworking spaces, there are two that stand out: CREA Coyoacán and CREA Polanco, an elegant coworking duo setting the standard very high in the coworking community.
We were able to chat with CREA’s Marketing Directory, Pablo Gutfrajnd, about the future of coworking and what it really takes to be the best in the industry.
Tell us about CREA Working and how it’s leading the way for coworking in Mexico City.
CREA is very special. We offer something that our clients appreciate more than anything else. What is it? It's the human service, we know all of our clients by name, we notice if you’re out with the flu or if you’re getting married. We genuinely care for our community and keep in touch regularly.
We work together everyday to solve small problems like getting lunch in time for the meeting or big problems like how to get a monkey to an event.
We always offer a smile and as a rule we never say the word “NO”. It is an experience similar to a hotel, and in the cluttered Mexican market of coworking, we’re known as the most elegant, personable and friendly environment. That’s why our community members choose us. When companies want to set foot in Central and South America — or expand their business— they come to us for advice.
What’s the community like in Polanco and Coyoacán locations?
The CREA community is similar in both Coyacán and Polanco. They’re both in prime locations for business in the city “CDMX” witch attracts mostly medium to large companies looking for commercial space. Since we are an elegant space and we keep a professional, calm, and elegant area, you can see daily meetings taking place in different corners of CREA. Our members prefer to bring prospects and make business meeting in our work spaces or meeting rooms. It is not uncommon to see employees working together and helping each other out.
Can you tell us more about the tech/start-up scene in Mexico City?
Only two percent of Mexican companies make their own software, and yet the demand to create new helpful technology is bigger than ever. The success rate of tech/start-ups is very good, and Mexico is hungry for tech/startups that can solve longer problems with a fresh and tech-savvy approach.
What is your favorite part about being part of Crea Coworking?
For me CREA is a great place to meet new people and companies. At lunch time, everybody gets together, and I get to see talented people from different industries. So my favorite is lunch time and meeting new people.
Are there any favorite neighborhood hangouts for lunch or happy hour the CREA community loves?
In CREA Polanco, we’ve got a very special place next door it's called Hacienda Los Morales, a place where you can find everyone who's anyone. Presidents and congressmen, celebrities and models, businessmen and brokers…. it’s the place where you can find the biggest fish in the Mexican scene.
Tell us about some of the events CREA Workspace has hosted. What are some highlights?
CREA means to create, therefore we’ve got CREA events which gives recognition to our best creators in Mexico City, from web designers, programmers, and creatives.
What do you think of the future of coworking or the entrepreneur/freelancer culture in Mexico City will be in the next 5 years?
This culture is exploding in Mexico and yet it is considered to be new and many companies are yet to get in the trend. We consider that in 5 years the coworking market will get much bigger than today, giving much opportunities for entrepreneurs and freelancers to open new markets and mature the industry.
Because the coworking industry is expanding so rapidly these days, in 5 years we think the market will be better organised and that inefficient coworking will disappear. In other words, in 5 years, we will get to see what works and what doesn’t in the market.