CEO MONTHLY / Issue 7 / 2022

Josh Freed has been CEO of Colorado-based Proximity for five years, and alongside his team, built a platform designed to solve a common problem: the need for a solution to manage workspaces. As workspaces increasingly shift to hybrid models, organizations are tasked with managing the office experience for employees who may no longer have a dedicated office or desk where they work each day. 

Proximity’s flexible workplace technology has become critical for organizations looking to execute their return-to-work plans with today and tomorrow in mind.

“Where and how we work is becoming more flexible and more distributed,” says Josh. “In this evolving work world, technology is a crucial component to ease the burden workspace managers are facing as they struggle to allocate space and understand when, where, and what employees are actually showing up to an office.”

Back to the beginning

Josh and his team originally built the Proximity platform because they needed a solution to manage their coworking spaces. After more than a year of searching for a solution, Josh’s team came up dry. No platform offered an integrated solution with powerful features, or was easy to use – much less at an affordable price. So they set out to build their own system. That was the whole plan. But it didn’t quite work out the way they intended.

Other spaces started to hear about the platform (they hadn’t even named it yet) and the team realized that maybe they weren’t the only ones who needed a better way to manage their coworking spaces. So, the team got to work and launched the Proximity platform and quickly grew their network to over 400 connected coworking spaces.

Then, the pandemic hit

The pandemic resulted in a sudden acceleration of flexible and remote work practices for thousands of companies and millions of workers. As a result, companies started to seek long-term solutions to manage this unfamiliar mix of remote and in-office employees.

And while the rush to figure out “the new normal” was happening, and while the world was feeling less connected and more scattered than ever, Josh knew Proximity could provide a solution for businesses and offices that were trying to keep up.

“We had the technology, so we quickly made the decision to expand and help bridge the gap for the thousands of businesses attempting to navigate their distributed workforce during the pandemic,” says Josh.

So, with some research, a few adjustments, and a lot of coffee, Josh and his team opened up Proximity to businesses looking for easy-to-use technology to manage their flexible office space and hybrid workforce.

Proximity today

The Proximity network is exponentially growing and continues to help businesses and coworking spaces streamline their day-to-day operations. They also offer flex space software options for those who want to meet the inventory demands of an evolving workforce and turn their commercial real estate assets into flexible workspaces.

Beyond and behind the Proximity platform is a group of people who truly, genuinely care for the company’s customers. Josh says, “Our team has such a unique form of balance, patience, accountability, and kindness, and I cherish all of it. I’m not sure how I got so lucky every day to work alongside the amazing people behind Proximity. One common internal theme is how grateful we are for the people who make up this team. Proximity really is an incredible mix of something special.”

“We’re inclusive, we’re generous, we’re accessible, we’re genuine, we’re creators, we’re innovators. We are Proximity.”

He goes on to say, “The laughter you can have alongside the people you work with is truly an amazing gift. It has been such an honor to lead this company and cherish so many moments.”

Proximity is growing and hiring for a number of positions. And when it comes to recruiting new talent, Josh shares his promise: “You will be seen, valued, and respected by everyone at Proximity. We challenge and encourage and create runways for professional growth.”

Josh and his team now have their sights set on the future, where they have some exciting new partnerships in the works, as well as some really exciting new features that will be launched soon. Stay tuned!