It may seem weird now, but coworking wasn’t always a thing. And it really didn’t get traction in Portland until the mortgage crisis. When a couple of spaces were testing the appetite for shared space environments. Only one of those original trendsetters survived and flourished over the last decade: NedSpace. And now, NedSpace is moving on to its next chapter with new owner Jorge Guzman, founder and CEO of Vive Northwest and Hispanicpros.
With more than 800 current and past members, NedSpace has created an entrepreneurial environment of transparency, diversity and inclusion through action and execution. NedSpace was one of the first coworking spaces in the U.S. to have a Code of Conduct for its members, guests, vendors and partners.
Startups launched and funded inside NedSpace have raised well over $250 million dollars include: Puppet, Bright.md, Streem, Second Porch, SweetSpot Diabetes, AppThwack, Gadgetrak, Paydici, JourneyGym, CarDelMar, Greenleaf Juicing Company, Portland Ten, WelVu and Top Level Design. Over two dozen startups launched at NedSpace have had exit events, including Second Porch, SweetSpot Diabetes, BrowserMob, CarDelMar, cc:Sync and Paydici.
Jorge, the new owner, has been a significant player in the small business and startup community — especially with Hispanic and Latinx entrepreneurs — for years, as the Portland Business Journal captures.
Vive Northwest is an organization that works to connect members of the Latinx population and others with the outdoors. Vive Northwest uses the gender-neutral word in describing whom it serves. Vive Northwest also has a program called Hispanicpros aimed at supporting Hispanic entrepreneurs and professionals.
In a statement, Guzman said, “Vive NW serves as a fully integrated multi-cultural communications firm able to deliver effective and culturally relevant educational and outreach campaigns, technology development, research and communication solutions for government, private and nonprofit organizations.”
For more information, read the Portland Business Journal coverage.
