Box Space has closed - Time to summarize a fantastic journey in the world of coworking
Box Space was opened in June 2017, building on the idea a friendly and inspiring workspace for freelancers, entrepreneurs and remote workers in the very heart of central Malmö. Within just two and a half years, Box Space went from opening its doors to being voted Best Coworking Space in Malmö twice, in 2018 and 2019, on Coworker.com. After some fantastic years, full of experiences and learnings from running a coworking space, I decided to take on new challenges and to close Box Space down.
Life is like a box..
From all the people that have visited Box Space, I’ve been asked many times about it’s name. I actually decided to call it “Box Space” for several reasons.
First of all, I thought the venue - a former textile and hat factory from the early 1900’s - looked a bit like a box with its’ shape and high ceilings, creating a light and inspiring atmosphere thanks to the large windows.
Second, I got the chance to rent the venue by coincidence and it reminded me of a quote from the movie Forest Gump: ”Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get”. See the clip from the movie here →
The third reason - and the most important one - was that for me, this was “a box” that I wanted to fill with a nice mix of people with different backgrounds and professions. A friendly coworking space for freelancers, entrepreneurs and remote workers to get inspired, to focus and to belong.
Looking back at this time, we’ve had a fantastic community of people from all corners of the world. Here are some of the highlights that I will remember:
June 1st, 2017: Official opening, the freelancing translator Spencer Walle from Boston becoming our first member. Thank you Spencer for joining, at that time, an empty coworking space and for believing in my vision! Read about Spencer and other former members here →
February 20th, 2018: A workspace and product development team from IKEA of Sweden visiting Box Space on inspirational trip. Read more about the visit here →
March 15th, 2018: The “Unboxing After-Work” took place with many people visiting to discover our space. We also launched our podcast studio and “Podcast in a Box”, a service helping people to start a podcast. Read more about the event here →
April 17th, 2018: Box Space was voted Best Coworking Space in Malmö on Coworker.com. Read more about it here →
June 1st, 2018: At the “First Year Birthday Party”, we gathered our members and friends to celebrate with a big party! Read more and see the pictures from the party here →
October 2nd, 2018: Photoshoot with Getty Images and photographer Drazen Lovric. Read more about the event here →
July 30th, 2019: Box Space voted Best Coworking Space in Malmö for the second consecutive year on Coworker.com. Read more about it here →
November 19th, 2019: Box Space featured in international online magazines such as Forbes Magazine and others. Read more and see the featured pictures here →
Time for “new chocolates”
These 2,5 years have been an amazing journey and a valuable experience for me in many ways. First of all, I have been lucky to meet and get to know so many inspiring and ambitious people.
I have also learned a lot from starting up a business “from scratch” and how to put it on the (google) map thanks to smart marketing with limited resources. At the end of 2019, Box Space was rated no 1 on Google for most coworking related keyword searches in the Malmö area, competing with considerably larger and more established coworking spaces.
However, just like all journeys, also this one had to come to an end. After careful consideration, I decided to take on new challenges. Therefore, Box Space was closed in December 2019.
Thank you to all the people I have got to know, all of you who have contributed and collaborated and all you members I’ve shared this experience with. I wish you all good luck and a great start of the new decade.
And who knows, a new Box Space might show up in the future, in Malmö or somewhere else in the world. Because if there is something I’ve learned, it’s that “life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get”.
Best wishes and see you around!
Martin Ericson, founder and manager
Email: martin@martinericson.se
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/marericson
You might also like:
Coworkingpodden, the podcast about the evolution of coworking in Sweden, hosted by Martin Ericson.
Best places to work from in Malmö, listed by Philip Bergqvist.
