I have witnessed someone who ultimately had to cease trading and leave the country being pursued in a way that I found disproportionate and deeply concerning. Watching how that situation was handled fundamentally changed my view of this business.
My concerns are not limited to that incident. In my experience, there have also been recurring practical problems with the day-to-day management of the building, including unreliable key-fob access, reception not always being available when needed, and generally inconsistent organisation. Furthermore, some members are lacking in self awareness, behave incredibly inconsiderately (along with their barking dog). Taken together, these issues have made the operation feel considerably less professional than expected, if it sounds like a farm in the background of a call, why not just stay in a coffee shop instead of being here.
What concerned me most, however, was seeing how matters were handled when things did not go according to plan for someone running a business there. Entrepreneurship inevitably involves risk, and sometimes businesses fail. I witnessed attempts being made in good faith to resolve the situation, but what followed left a lasting impression on me.
That matters because a workspace aimed at entrepreneurs is selling more than desks and office space. It is also selling an environment, a community and, implicitly, a culture in which people feel supported while taking the risks involved in building a business.
Based on what I witnessed, there seems to me to be a significant gap between that proposition and the reality when circumstances become difficult.
Riley Studios has considerable potential, but I think Spacemade needs to decide what it wants places like this to represent. If the proposition is community and entrepreneurship, that should be reflected not only when businesses are succeeding, but also in how people are treated when things go wrong.
Hopefully they try and figure out what their USP is soon, because as current, it isn’t great.
