One of the best parts of being a long-time member of a coworking office is meeting new colleagues and bearing witness to fellow coworkers bootstrap a brand new business and watch it take off. We’ve seen it much more than a few times at Createscape. Here are some of the folks we’ve watched launch a business from scratch and while some may have outgrown their designated desks or small private offices here, we’re still very much connected with them through Austin’s professional community.

Trusty Oak

Trusty Oak is a virtual assistant company launched by founder, CEO, and longtime friend of Createscape, Amber Gray. Trusty Oak provides dependable and affordable admin and marketing support to small businesses. Amber joined our coworking space in 2018. In 2021, Amber was named Austin Business Woman of the Year by Austin Business Woman. That same year, and in 2022, Trusty Oak was named Freelancer Hiring Platform of the Year by Remote Tech Breakthrough Awards Program, which aims to identify and evaluate top remote tech companies, products and solutions. And here’s the member Q&A we did with Amber back in June 2021

SUAVS

SUAVS is a shoe company founded right here in Createscape’s Howdy Room by Monxi Garza. As a student studying abroad, Monxi aspired to design a comfortable, stylish and aesthetically-versatile slip-on shoe for men and women. In a stellar product review, Austinot.com tested the shoes for three weeks and then wrote, “...two standard elements were missing: sweaty, swollen feet and backaches.” Honestly, the coolest part for us wasn’t watching Garza’s small business take growth, but rather, when we began seeing SUAV shoes appear on The Daily Beast’s Scouted page, more than once. I mean, how cool is that?

Malk

You've probably seen Malk products at Whole Foods, HEB, Wheatsville and other grocery stores around Austin. What you may not know is that Malk was a small startup at Createscape in 2017. Today, you can see their "clean" plant-based milk drinks at markets from coast to coast. When we see their products on store shelves, especially when out of state, we can't help thinking, "We knew you guys back when!"

The Little Gay Shop

While we love watching members succeed after they grow out of our coworking facilities, there are tons of incredibly successful businesses and consultants currently working at Createscape right now. We featured The Little Gay Shop in our August newsletter, co-owners and spouses, Kirt Reynolds and Justin Galicz moved to Austin to open their queer art, books, and apparel store on Airport Blvd. Today, it’s one of the pillars of Austin’s professional LGBTQIA+ community. And we couldn’t be more thrilled to see the smiling faces of TLGS employees show up to their private Howdy Room office each day.

Squatch Frontier Fitness

Just before the start of the pandemic, in December 2019, a new business popped up on our Tillery Street campus. It was a new gym called Squatch Frontier Fitness. While the business wasn’t new — the parent company owns the popular Buzz Mill coffee shop near Riverside Dr. — the gym was brand spanking new. Since then, we have watched the partially-outdoor space explode with new memberships. Less than a year ago, Squatch and Createscape forged a partnership. Members of the coworking space can get a $10 discount on a Squatch membership and gym members can get a 10% discount on coworking memberships at Createscape. Check out our Q&A in Feburary 2022 with Squatch operations manager, Joe Lucky.

We Love Our Contractors Too

Not all of the successful businesses at Createscape are tech companies or develop and sell consumer products. We have longtime members like Jerry Elmas who has been selling computer doohickies for decades. He’s been a full-time member at Createscape for seven years, but if you blink, you may miss him. Being a salesman means he’s on the road a lot. And an avid traveler, Jerry is always visiting some faraway offbeat locations like Turkey, Jordan and Japan. Jerry was one of the first members we interviewed for our blog back in 2019. While he’s changed jobs since then, he’s still in the same industry and enjoys all the same hobbies in and away from ATX. Check out Jerry's member Q&A from June 2019!

Pablo Serna is one of our designated desk members. The residential architect typically snags a desk at Createscape when he has a client located nearby. So we see him about once a year or once every two years. That means we always get a chance to check in with another old friend and longtime Createscape member. Here’s an interview we did with Pablo in October 2019.