Shaping the future of Co-learning and Co-working
We recently got a chance to speak with the multi-talented, future-of-work guru, Adam Greenwald. His company, LaunchableMedia, has two main projects. LaunchableMag is a thought leader in the entrepreneur blogosphere and connects startups around the world., Secondly, LaunchableLabs aims to become the go-to platform for coworking and colearning on the local level. Launch on!
Meet Adam!
What are you passionate about?
I’m passionate about creating a community that serves a greater purpose than all the parts that make it work. I’m on a personal (and professional) mission to help shape the future of how and where we work—especially at the local level. The way we work is rapidly changing. At it’s core—work does not have to happen in a “traditional" office setting. Because work is becoming more location independent, we are providing a service that will serve the needs of these remote workers so they can meet other like-minded professionals in workspaces where they feel most comfortable and most productive.
How did you come up with the idea behind Launchable Labs?
The idea of bringing people together stemmed from a previous company I started where we held monthly events to fundraise for local charitable causes. The notion of facilitating these connections combined with the way the workplace is changing completely led me to create LaunchableLabs. We realized that coworking outside of major urban areas is really non-existent—so we are providing a centralized platform to connect the growing freelance/remote workforce in these communities. Because we think the power of offline connections is so valuable—we are also combining a co-learning component to our platform—where teachers can list classes, workshops or discussions they want to teach in their local communities. Our goal with co-learning is to make great teachers more accessible and more affordable so workers can learn new skills, network and share ideas and resources in more comfortable settings.
What is your favorite place to get work done, and why?
My favorite place to get work done is in the growing number of local coworking spaces near my hometown of Montclair, NJ. I love talking to space operators and community managers to hear how they got started. Everyone’s story is so unique—so I see it as a great way to prepare myself to build upon what we have created with LaunchableLabs and to make sure we are creating a service that can attempt to ease their pain points.
What are your top tips for starting and growing an engaging blog?
My top tips for starting and growing a blog are as follows: 1) If you are creating a startup and thinking about adding a blog, don’t think about it. Do it! Right now, the content that you produce (both personal and at the company level) is so important because it’s all about relating to your community. This means that you want to become more open and transparent about your experiences and tell stories about what has worked for your company and what has not. You’re more likely to create a vibrant and trusted following if the content you produce gives both sides of the story. Trust me, your customers want to hear why your initial marketing campaign didn’t pan out as expected. The lessons you and your company learned will be far more valuable to your readers than all the success you had. Be open. Be transparent. Integrity always triumphs. Lastly, make sure you are producing content on a consistent basis and sharing it across multiple media platforms. It takes time to grow a viable community for your blog. Be it in for the long run.
What are your favorite types of blogs, books, or articles?
My favorite types of blogs/books are ones that mainly coincide within the world I’m living in. This means I love reading stuff that I can relate to on a personal level—from my favorite startup influencers such as Jason Zook and Chris Guillebeau to publications surrounding the future of work such as Work Design Magazine and New Worker Magazine. But if anyone is asking, my all-time favorite book is Start Something That Matters by Blake Mycoskie of TOM’s shoes. Read it and you’ll know why.
Can you share an unexpected thing that you’ve learned since being an entrepreneur?
This is something that I had heard before—but never really took to heart.
There is absolutely nothing like working for yourself. Nothing will ever compare to the countless hours of dedicated work to create your own company and see it through.
It’s tough, sometimes unforgiving and demoralizing—but in the end, I trust my gut and know that it will ALL be worth it. Leaving this world a better place than I found it is all that matters to me and the vision I have for my company.
Thanks for the gems, Adam! If you want to get in touch with Adam, he can be reached on Twitter at @agreenwaldHQ.