The Cure for Coworking Space Imposter Syndrome with Jerome Chang & Jackie Latragna

Описание: “For an industry that professes to be about community, that’s the co-part of coworking, it sure doesn’t include the entire community. We owe it to ourselves, practise what we preach...”


Jerome Chang


Tired of running yourself into the ground?


Then stop running alone.


On February 24th, the London Coworking Assembly presents Unreasonable Connection Goes Live!—a one-day working session for the people running London’s most vital neighbourhood spaces and the public sector allies working to help them thrive. It’s a day to share the load, find real solutions, and build a new playbook, together.


Jerome Chang started coworking in 2008.


He runs the oldest coworking brand in America. He’s a licensed architect. He also plays aggressive adult slow-pitch softball.


That last part surprised Bernie, too.


Here’s what didn’t surprise him: Jerome stopped going to the big conferences.


In London, over 51% of coworking spaces are owned by operators with one to five locations. Jerome calls them “people in the trenches.” But walk into a major industry conference, and you’ll hear the National President of WeWork talking about strategies for hundreds of sites.


After the top three or four brands—WeWork with around 200 locations, Regus with 1,000, and Premier with 120—everyone else drops to fewer than four locations.


That’s the actual industry.


Nobody was building events for them.


So Jerome built one. The Coworking Operators Weekend. Now in its second year. Rotating through secondary cities: Los Angeles, then Raleigh, then Detroit in 2027, Denver in 2028.


Jackie Latragna handles marketing for Pacific Workplaces and helps organise the event. She came from logistics two years ago and is still shocked at how genuinely helpful people are in this industry. Her takeaway from last year: “You walk away from an event, and you know every single person’s name.”


The conversation goes somewhere uncomfortable too.


Jerome points out that Biznow—a traditional real estate publication serving one of the most conservative industries in America—manages diverse speaker lineups at every event. Coworking, built on community, does worse.


Bernie shares his own awkward moment: telling a conference organiser that 70% of their lineup was men. The response: “The women just don’t call me back.”


Bernie’s answer: “You have to call them more. They’re not hanging around waiting for you to call.”


One attendee last year opened her space within the previous twelve months. She came to confirm she wasn’t doing everything wrong. She brought her dog.


She left knowing she belonged.


⏱ Timeline Highlights


[00:00] Bernie opens with the stat that frames everything: 51% of London coworking is owned by operators with one to five locations


[01:27] Jackie’s introduction: marketing at Pacific Workplaces, wants to be known as an epic baker, got a KitchenAid mixer for Christmas


[01:58] Jerome: started in 2008, oldest coworking brand in America, licensed architect, and “a very greedy bass runner” in adult softball


[02:50] Bernie: “It’s the aggressive part in that sentence that threw me off.”


[03:28] Why Jerome created the summit: big conferences shifted toward macro topics, leaving operators in the trenches


[05:40] Jackie on connexion: “You walk away from an event, and you know every single person’s name.”


[07:25] Jerome: Smaller rooms mean every conversation is accessible, even if you know no one


[09:21] The industry reality: after the top three or four brands, “everyone’s under three or four locations.”


[10:56] Jackie’s most anticipated session: using your space for events as revenue—” I haven’t seen this topic anywhere else.”


[13:07] A new operator came to confirm she was on the right path. She brought her dog. She left knowing she belonged.


[14:13] Jackie on why this industry is different: “Somebody in the room is going to help you, and they’re going to help you genuinely.”


[17:03] Bernie’s COVID memory: the daily Zoom calls where the peacocking operators finally asked for help


[19:13] Jerome’s sharp comparison: Biznow does diversity better than most coworking conferences


[22:15] Bernie’s confrontation with a conference organiser: “The women just don’t call me back.” His response: “You have to call them more.”


[23:16] Jackie: “Maybe they’re just scared to be the first one.”


[24:14] Event details: February 6-7, 2026, Raleigh, North Carolina


The Actual Industry


After the top three or four brands, everyone’s under four locations.


Jerome lays this out plainly. WeWork has around 200 sites. Regus has 1,000. Premier has 120. Then there’s a cliff.


The majority of people running one, two, three spaces are. Bernie adds London data: over 51% of coworking spaces there are owned by operators with one to five locations.


These aren’t hobbyists.


They’re the actual industry—but they’ve become invisible at events designed to attract sponsors and impress investors.


The Operators Weekend exists because someone fina...