Join Chris Cooley ’06, co-founder and chief innovation officer of Eveloagency.com for a Fireside Chat on Friday, March 1 at 4 p.m. over free pizza in the Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars in Bird Library. For more than ten years, Chris, a graduate of the College of Visual and Performing Arts with a degree in industrial design, has been a top voice and leader in the global coworking and flexible work industries. He has traveled the world and gained first-hand knowledge of many unique coworking models, and has co-created multiple, successful, sustainable flexible work spaces. Chris uses his knack for innovation, background in human design and unique collaborative approach to identify unique market opportunities while creating customized engagement techniques for specific personnel and target demographics.
Through his international travels, he has also connected with like-minded entrepreneurs, peers, colleagues and friends, which has shaped his perspective on the creation of successful, sustainable coworking communities. “It’s an absolute honor to be utilizing my knack for innovation and unique collaborative approach to empower others while generating customized, actionable processes that support progressive organizations,” says Chris. “My roles, when working with our clients, include, being the point of contact for coworking specific logistics, brand management, and community development. I also provide an external voice that guides, manages and supports internal and external cultures.”
As a flexible work expert, he co-founded the Evelo Agency with Billy Rue. Cooley, Rue and a team of specialists, work globally, assessing coworking plans, spaces, and communities, utilizing known data and best practices in coworking. The result is a customized plan for growth and sustainability of coworking sites from concept to launch and beyond. The Evelo Agency caters to innovative organizations that are looking to make a transition to flexible work practices and produces measurable results that minimize the risk of implementing coworking and flexible work concepts.
Coworking is the office of the future, and the number of coworking spaces around the globe are roughly doubling each year. As well as tech startups, coworking is becoming increasingly popular for creatives, new media ventures and digital nomads. Coworking spaces are exclusive to big cities, and many smaller communities — particularly university towns — and even rural areas are developing coworking spaces to attract and retain talent. If you are an innovator or entrepreneur, at some point you will likely be thinking about a coworking environment, and would like some insight into what to look for in a great collaborative space. If you are an innovation ecosystem organization, you will be designing coworking communities — either physical or virtual, and would like to know what tech and creative talent craves in both places and coworking communities. This is an amazing opportunity to meet one of the top thought leaders in this space, who has helped design some of the most innovative coworking communities around the world.
The event is open to the entire community. To help plan for food, please RSVP to the Blackstone LaunchPad at LaunchPad@syr.edu