We’re still smiling over the fact that RISE Collaborative Workspace has joined the Proximity Network! With their original coworking space based in Saint Louis, this female-focused group has just recently celebrated the grand opening of their new Denver location! RISE gives women an opportunity to be involved in community and business. It’s a true hub for female empowerment and we can’t wait to see all of the amazing things they’ll do. We recently talked with general manager, Sara Butler, to learn more!

When did you open your coworking space and what enticed you to do so?
RISE Collaborative opened in St. Louis in January of 2017 and in Denver on April 1! We opened RISE Collaborative to give impressive women a place to build community, conduct business, and grow personally and professionally. Our mission is to create a pipeline for success, increase women’s social capital, and help them level up their game with professional polish.

Tell us about your space. How big is it? What kinds of amenities do you have? What sort of quirks make it special?
RISE Collaborative Denver is approximately 11,000 sq/ft with 14 offices, 10 dedicated desks, and a variety of open workspace and meeting rooms. One of our core values is professional polish so you will see beautiful decor and furniture all around our space.

What is your favorite thing about operating a coworking space?
Getting to know the members and building community. Our members are some of the most interesting, supportive, and inspiring professionals we’ve ever known. It’s amazing to watch them come together, support one another, and help others grow personally and professionally.

What has been the most surprising/unexpected thing about operating a coworking space?
Stacy was really surprised by the similarities of building community and creating a productive environment in our workspace to being a teacher in a classroom (her former role!)

What’s your favorite story about one of your members?
We have two favorite stories. Members who have an office in our space have seen tremendous revenue increases (i.e. 200%!) and doubled their client list along with astronomical confidence improvements that they attribute to working from our space. A member who threw a big event and exclusively used RISE Collaborative members as their vendors – they were really living out the vision of RISE members supporting each other.

What is your biggest piece of advice for someone wanting to open a space?
The best advice we ever received was from TechArtista before we opened – if you don’t define your community, your community will define you.