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It has been five years already. I can’t hardly believe it. Thankfully, there are pictures that showcase the evolution and the passing of time, where I’ve grown larger and larger, just as Betacowork membership has…
 
3 years of Ramon Suarez at Betacowork Coworking Brussels: the Garcia Madrid photo
Beyond age and weight, a lot of things have changed. Betacowork has grown to have its second employee (Sara), who came as a trainee with one of our European programs (just like Stefania did right before her). We’ve continued to grow and to meet new and interesting coworkers, strong until June an now catching up after the summer vacation lull. We’ve gotten to increase a lot the number of women in the space (our record 24%), but we have to increase it even more 🙂 We’ve had to expand the seating in Betacowork a bit, which did not even enter my mind when I opened the business with a single long desk, eight chairs and a big empty room.
We have activated ourselves even more in the organization of events, namely internal workshops for our members. Our record month was June, where we organized 34 events. That’s a lot of events! This is being managed by Sara who deserves credit for all the learning and stress she’s been able to manage. I don’t know if the learning curve at Betacowork is steep, but it is definitely fast paced.
The vibe at Betacowork has improved. We could not imagine it but it has happened. It has gone from great to greater (if that makes sense in English). We may have something to do with it as a team, but most of the credit has to go to the betacoworkers: they are great 🙂

Our lunch on Fridays (the #betacooks) has gotten a bit out of hand. We are regularly 30 people having lunch together, which is a challenge accepted and overcome by the volunteering cooks. We regularly have too much to eat and lots of fun.
To celebrate this five years the team made the above video, with the betacoworkers explaining what Betacowork and coworking are for them in one word. We also prepared a document and an infographic with some stats to help understand what has happened in this time. A lot of numbers to give an idea of what the business has accomplished, what people get out of it, what’s great…
So far we have not been able to close the deal for the second location in Brussels, but we keep on working on it and also on the offers we are receiving to open in Belgium and beyond.
A special happy and sad moment is coming too. Stefania will leave at the end of the year to continue building her life and her career in her home country. This has been a difficult step but very important for her, and she has taken the right decision. I’m really proud of her. She’s always been bright, but in the years she has spent working at Betacowork she has matured a lot, she has become more assertive and sure of herself, she’s grown a hell of a lot professionally. I’m going to miss her a lot.
On a personal note, the time is getting closer and closer for the birth of my first baby (scheduled for January 2). I don’t know what it is going to be like to be a real dad and not just a papa poule, but I know it will be challenging 🙂
How has this past year treated you?