Made with love in Berlin
Get to know Kristina Schneider, CPO at Cobot
During Latam Coworking Summit México 2019 we welcomed many special guests from the global coworking industry. One of them visited us from Berlin on behalf of her entire work team and shared her experience with collaborative spaces and her work as Chief Product Officer (CPO) at Cobot, a leading software designed for the management of coworkings and flexible work spaces around the world. We’re talking about Kristina Schneider, UX & Front End Consultant with experience in communication, design and workshops organization for the technological community of Berlin.
Cobot was founded in 2010 by Thilo Utke (current CEO) and Alexander Lang (current CTO); at that time, Kristina was participating as a consultant in the development of first version of the software, to then officially join as a co-founder. Today, the three of them work with an international team based in Berlin’s neighborhood Kreuzberg, where they run the operation of the software that is being used by hundreds of coworking spaces all over the world, useful in the automation and simplification of basic administration tasks such as payments, reservations, billing and membership subscription.
Cobot was one of the proud sponsors of #LCS19 and Kristina participated as a worthy representative of the brand at the event. In conjunction with Marc Navarro, speaker and content advisor, Cobot sponsored a live consultancy for one of the operators of the audience, with the aim of sharing the best advice and recommendations on the management of a coworking space.
During her visit we were able to have a little chat with Kristina and this is what she shared: from her beginning in the coworking world to the future plans of Cobot in Latin America latitudes.
How does your story with Cobot and coworking spaces start?
Cobot and coworking evolved together. Over 10 years ago, my co-founders and I were working as software developers and designers. At the time we shared a large office with other freelancers. Right around then, the coworking movement began to really take off; that’s when we decided to move into a bigger building and open our own coworking space.
We quickly realized that running a space is a lot of work — and developed software to help us manage it. That’s how Cobot began.
From your experience, how would you describe the evolution of the Cobot project since its beginning until now?
In the beginning, Cobot was a simple tool to automate the tasks that we had to do in our own space: sending invoices, keeping track of meeting room bookings, managing members, etc. But soon our friends from other coworking spaces expressed interest in our side project; we adapted and expanded the software to fit their needs as well. Soon, we decided to stop running our consultant businesses and focus on developing Cobot full-time.
Today, Cobot has customers in over 90 countries and is developed by an 18-person international team who work on building, designing, and supporting the software.
How is the Cobot team integrated and where are you located?
The Cobot office is located in Berlin, Germany. However, our team is quite international (originally from 8 different countries) and we often travel to attend conferences, meet clients, and explore coworking spaces around the world.
During your visit to Latam Coworking Summit, how did you perceive the coworking ecosystem and the collaborative work in general?
I was really impressed with the energy and entrepreneurial spirit of the coworking community I experienced at #LCS19! The local coworking market is growing rapidly, and during the conference you could feel the excitement in the air.
During my visit I also got to visit a few coworking spaces. Two things stood out most to me:
First, the high level of interior design. The spaces I saw were beautifully designed, starting with how well they were integrated in the existing architecture, all the way down to the small details like pleasant, well adjusted light at work stations, or custom individual door knobs and keys for every meeting room.
Second, the hospitality was outstanding. In every space we visited, we were greeted enthusiastically, taken on tours, and got to chat with our hosts about the details of our visit… the spaces here really know how to welcome you into their community!
What are the main differences you found between coworking in México and Berlín? What do you think is the future of this industry going to be like in both countries?
The coworking industry in Berlin has over a decade of history under its belt. The most renowned spaces today grew out of local initiatives, often tied to a scene of creatives, freelancers, and writers, who were seeking new ways of working and collaborating. Today, the scene in Berlin has matured and is a mix of first-wave spaces, big international coworking chains, and specialized, innovative newcomers.
The scene I interacted with in Mexico seem to be a bit younger, but they came right out of the gate with massive locations, large investments, and in general, a very powerful and professional approach to collaborative workspaces.
I believe in both countries, the market for coworking spaces — or more generally, new flexible forms of working — will keep growing. We’ll see both more niche spaces that focus heavily on the particular needs of a specific audience, as well as big players that offer a consistent work experience across various locations, or even cities!
We know you collaborate closely with great teams like Coworking Spain, what other teams do you have a close collaboration with?
We’re indeed good friends and partners with Marc and Coworking Spain Conference, they’re both great partners and we’re in constant contact! Collaboration is at the heart of Cobot and coworking — so we have close relationships to many events, initiatives, and projects like the European Coworking Assembly, the German Coworking Federation, Coworking Brasil, the Coworking Library, coworking consultant Eddy Ezban, and many more. On the software side, we’re in close collaboration with our many tools and integration partners as well.
What are Cobot’s short and medium term plans in Latin America?
We have been happily serving customers in Latin America for years, and we plan to help even more spaces as the industry expands and develops. Our software is available in Spanish, and we’re currently working on a Portuguese translation. The Cobot support team speaks Spanish and Portuguese, and last year we began publishing coworking content in Spanish (*Cobot publishes frequently interesting articles about coworking in Latin American, as well as useful posts like this: https://blog.cobot.me/ahorra-tiempo-y-dinero-con-cobot-el-software-para-coworking-6f90eebf52e4). It’s very important to us that we understand what makes the Latin American coworking community special, and to learn about the specific challenges of running a coworking space there. That’s why we plan to attend and support events like Latam Coworking Summit México 2019 or the upcoming Cumbre de Coworking in Chile. We hope to develop close relationships with the Latin American community so that we can create the best possible Cobot experience for spaces there and help them to succeed. And, to be perfectly honest: we’re always happy to have an excuse to visit beautiful Latin America ;)
We appreciate the commitment and willingness of Kristina, Sam and the entire Cobot team to make their presence as sponsors at Latam Coworking Summit Mexico 2019 a reality. If you are interested in knowing more about Cobot, do not hesitate to contact them to start with a free software trial and even receive a 50% discount on the regular subscription price if you are an operator of a coworking space in Mexico.
