Proximity is one of 50 companies recognized as a leader in the Colorado tech and startup ecosystem
2020 has undoubtedly been a year of challenges, adaptation and uncertainties for businesses around the world. Across our industry, many coworking spaces have been forced to close temporarily to comply with local COVID-19 precautions—and some of these closures are turning out to be permanent. Coworking membership numbers and activity dropped throughout the spring as workers lost jobs and many businesses lost sales and clients.
It’s a trying time for coworking and flexible workspaces, but one thing is for sure. More companies have adopted remote work than ever before. For some, remote work is a temporary response to the pandemic. For others, remote work opens up new opportunities for flexibility, cost savings and gains in productivity. This potential shift to long-term remote work presents a massive opportunity for coworking and flexible workspaces to meet the needs of employees who will no longer commute to company headquarters each day, but still need a productive, secure workspace that isn’t the kitchen table.
By releasing new features and developing new products to launch later this year, Proximity has worked incredibly hard to respond to the pandemic with solutions that help coworking spaces and remote workers.
We’re thrilled to be recognized for this work by Colorado Inno and proud to be named to the 2020 Inno on Fire list. This is the second year for the Inno on Fire award and Proximity’s first time to receive a nomination.
In less than a year, Proximity has experienced 50% growth in our customer base of coworking spaces. Headquartered in Montrose on the rural Western Slope, Proximity also became one of the first companies in the country to receive a qualified opportunity zone investment, and in the last year Proximity has received more than $1 million in total opportunity zone funding.
On the Western Slope, Proximity owns and operates three coworking spaces that serve as community hubs and a network for entrepreneurs, startups, small businesses and remote workers. 158 members who represent 57 companies work from Proximity coworking spaces. Through Proximity’s partnership with Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction as well as the City of Montrose, these resources were also used for community events including West Slope Startup Week, and for mentorship opportunities for CMU students. 94 events took place at Proximity coworking spaces in the last year, allowing opportunities for networking, recruiting and learning new skills from professionals in our community.
In twelve weeks, Proximity released more than a dozen new software features specifically to help coworking spaces more easily manage coronavirus challenges. We’ve also been able to quickly respond to the coming demand for more flexible workspace in the commercial real estate industry as more and more companies decide to adopt long-term remote work policies for their employees. We’re actively building new solutions to meet this demand with a planned release later this year.
In March 2019, Proximity was voted most investable startup in Colorado Inno’s Tech Madness bracket. We’re honored to receive a 2020 Inno on Fire nomination and we look forward to celebrating alongside some of Colorado’s top organizations in tech.
