Swindon is to get its first – and much needed – creative co-working space when Desk Cowork opens in Old Town next month.
The 100 sq m (1,076 sq ft) open plan office will offer flexible, ad-hoc or monthly desk space for entrepreneurs above The Core on Devizes Road. 
Desk Cowork’s founder Matt Greenwood wants to create an entrepreneurial hub for Swindon in the similar way to successful centres in other towns and cities.
Co-working has become extremely popular with small businesses in the creative and tech sectors with centres such as Bristol’s Engine Shed and DeskLodge and The Guild in Bath bringing entrepreneurs together in inspirational, informal spaces.
Matt, who is also a director of premium door and window firm Instadoor, wants Desk Cowork to become Swindon’s creative business hub, helping to bring entrepreneurs of all industries, age groups and backgrounds together in one place.
He said: “It’s not easy working from home when you’re setting up a new business, but many micro or small business owners don’t have the budget to rent their own office.
“When I first set up my business, I worked between home and a coffee shop – both of which were a struggle. At home, there are many distractions and coffee shops are very expensive. I’d spend nearly £10 a day on food and coffee.
“I found that although there are a lot of office spaces available in Swindon, they all feel like soul crushing corporate environments, limiting the capacity to think creatively and engage with new ideas and ventures.
“Blue carpets, monotonous office furniture and enclosing low ceilings are something that I cannot stand. When I spent a few days at Google HQ in Dublin last year the offices were full of grass, swings, sofas and pool tables. That ‘Google-y’ feel is what we are going for.
“We want to build a fun community, we’re not only about ‘hot-desking’.”
Members will be invited to weekly events with guest entrepreneurs putting on workshops and talks.
“It’ll have a social buzz too,” said Matt, “with Cowork users eating pizza and drinking beer while relaxing on bean bags pondering over their next big ideas”.
He is also looking to include yoga and healthy living workshops.
“It’s no longer about a work-life balance. Work is life for entrepreneurs and this should be fun in a world where a 40-hour working week takes up over 20% of your waking life.
“Swindon has so much potential that I want to see come together”.
