A Tour of Mindspace's super cool Berlin coworking space

In October 2016 we visited Mindspace in Berlin.

Here is the interview with Dan Zakai, Co-Founder and CEO of Mindspace. Also, have a look at the team and office photos.

Please tell us something about your Company, when was your company founded, your location, in how many countries are you active:

MINDSPACE is an international coworking provider and was founded in 2013 in Tel Aviv by Dan Zakai and Yotam Alroy.

With our plug-and-play concept and stylish interior design, we want to bring coworking to a new level and disrupt the market.

Next to our two prime locations in Tel Aviv, we also opened branches in Berlin and Hamburg in April this year.

So currently we are active in Germany and Israel but we have big plans for Germany and other countries and wish to be represented in several more cities.

Your Business

What is your core business?

Broadly speaking: Coworking. But MINDSPACE goes way beyond your everyday coworking space and has set new standards.

MINDSPACE provides private office spaces, big and small, and open working spaces for teams of all sizes, from entrepreneurs to early-stage startups to small and medium-sized businesses.

The MINDSPACE concept reflects the lifestyle of its members and provides 24/7 access in an inspiring environment to build and grow your dreams.

Our members profit from a curated, stylish and high technological working surrounding, and our community is ignited by our community managers and IT teams to fully serve our members and lead our brand.

MINDSPACE members have countless opportunities to learn from the ecosystem’s best and brightest leaders, and are eligible for attractive benefits and handouts for their clients, e.g. own bicycles.

Our unbeatable locations, distinct suite of services, and our tight-knit international network allows us to be so much more than a working space- we’re a community.

How did you get to your business idea and when was your company established?

I have always been passionate about initiating and building meaningful businesses with a sense of creativity, design and innovation.

MINDSPACE, which was established in 2013, was the perfect platform to achieve all of those components. It is a growing market with great potential and ability to create something that is unique and within a global scale.

My co-partner Yotam and I go a long way back and have been best friends since the 2nd grade. For us, building MINDSPACE together to become a successful global brand is a dream come true.

Are you using Venture Capital? And if – who are your Venture Partners?

MINDSPACE is a capital-intensive and self-financed business. We invest great amounts into building and designing the spaces, just the way we want them – with no compromises.

In which countries are you active? Are you planning to expand your venture in other countries? And if – where?

Currently MINDSPACE is active in two countries: Israel and Germany. We count two well-situated locations in the center of Tel Aviv catering together almost 1.000 members.

Our coworking spaces have become a home for local and international companies, startups, designers and freelancers.

In April 2016 we opened two new spaces in Berlin and Hamburg. The Berlin office location is in the ultra-central “The Q”-building, Friedrichstraße 68.

In Hamburg the office is located in the stunning 100-year-old “Alten Klöpperhaus” (Rödingsmarkt 9). For Germany we have big plans and wish to be represented in several cities.

But we will announce those news only when we have signed a contract. At the same time we look for venues in other countries – mainly in Europe.

Where do you see the company in 5 years?

Our vision is to become one of the leading global players in this market. As time goes by more people realize that this is the future of offices and increasingly, more companies will seek this type of solution.

Recently, Barclays and Tech Stars joined our community of members when they decided to launch their innovation program with 200 workstations.

This shows the change in the industry and that coworking spaces are not just for freelancers but a viable alternative to the traditional office space.

Your Team

How many employees work at your company right now? Are you planning to expand?

The company has currently 35 employees and is constantly hiring new talent.

What is the average age of your team members?

MINDSPACE offers several job opportunities for people with almost no experience to positions that require high level of skills and experience.

This brings a variety of age groups with it but the average age of our team members is 32 years.

What kind of attitude should new employees have to have in order to work at your company?

Since MINDSPACE is offering a diversity of job opportunities of course they ask for different abilities.

But in general if you want to work for MINDSPACE you need a “can do attitude” and entrepreneurial approach, you need to be open minded, proactive, flexible, dynamic and last but not least you should be people and innovation oriented.

Why is it fun to work at your company? Do you offer any employee benefits?

In general it is fun to be part of a growing and developing company. It’s fascinating to see the company open new sites and hire new employees.

Overall there is a feeling of prosperity and success. More specifically, the style of management at MINDSPACE allows for new ideas from anyone in the team.

People are welcomed to share ideas and at many times they are executed. The management always wants to learn from its employees, they see them as part of the journey.

We like to find people we know can develop and grow in MINDSPACE over the years and try to provide the grounds to make that happen.

The perks at Mindspace include beautiful work space, weekly happy hours, quarterly company get togethers, travel, holiday parties, birthday and holiday gifts and some of our sites have gyms or discounts on gym membership.

Furthermore, all our employees benefit from the same great discounts as our members get on various services.

Do you offer new employees a relocation service or help to relocate?

Not in the moment. Currently we hire local people for each site. We may consider this in the future as the company grows and this becomes relevant.

Do you have a job board?

Of course, we have. On here you can find the free positions for the respective location.

Your Office

How big is your Office/Production Site?

MINDSPACE Berlin can host up to 850 members on 5.000m², and only a month after the grand opening, the branch was already almost fully occupied.

In Hamburg the space is slightly smaller 4.100m² in the beautiful “Altes Klöpperhaus” – a listed building in the center of the Hanseatic city.

Did you get help from an interior designer by designing the office? And if who did you work together with?

Our interior design team is extremely gifted and creative. They derive their inspiration for design from the streets, markets, bars and any place that’s not a work place.

Anything that catches their eyes can be interpreted into interior design. In addition, they spend a lot of time researching the local market, the building, local trends and local artists before starting to design a place.

The design team chooses young artists, with interesting portfolios that fit the overall look and feel of MINDSPACE.

They do not look for the known ones, but for artists at the start of their career.

While trying to create a distinction between each location – based on the local vibe, taste and culture – our team faces a constant challenge of securing the MINDSPACE look and feel so that no matter which location our members visit, they will feel the MINDSPACE spirit.

Lastly, our design team loves to collect ideas from their travel around the world and get inspired to design the next space.