Agility is the watchword of any modern startup, which is why demand for flexible workspaces has never been higher. But, despite this, tracking down a decent place to whack out your Macbook Pro and get coding can prove something of a chore. Having met this same challenge, serial entrepreneur Ansel Liu created Nomad, a platform that allows founders and firms to easily book flexible working spaces.
Whilst Nomad isn’t the only platform catering to this market, it is certainly the most elegant. Providing the option to pay for meeting rooms by the hour, hotdesking by the day or private offices by the month, Nomad will grow with startups as they scale. In presentation, it feels a lot like Airbnb for entrepreneurs. Not only does it offer the chance to browse by price, date and location but it also offers a deep level of granularity. Want to find a dog-friendly space in Shoreditch with showers and 24-hour access? Need an e-commerce space in Camden with lockers and bike storage? A few clicks and you’re there.
And this isn’t the only innovation at the platforms core. Not only has Liu done away with the hassle of having to negotiate or commit to onerous contracts — something that makes it far easier for real estate owners to unlock the value of their unused office space — but there are no traces of the subscription model that has become ubiquitous with many larger providers of flexible working spaces. Instead Nomad is free to use, being monetised through the commission it charges the workspaces, something that is a definite plus for cash-strapped entrepreneurs.
Having only launched in June, Nomad may be the new kid on the block but it already has 100 workspaces on board, including Hackney is The Oval Office, The Pavilion in Kensington and The Hampstead Design Studio. And over the next year Liu is looking to take Nomad into several different countries around Europe and Asia, meaning that soon entrepreneurs will have easy access to flexible working space wherever they may wander. 
