Written by Lou Ann Wilcox

Photography by Kathleen Mortland Photography

When it opened in St. Louis in 2017, RISE Collaborative Workspace, with its concept of shared workspace plus community, was ahead of its time. With how and from where we work turned on its head in 2020, Kate Wiegmann, chief operating officer, believes that the changes we are seeing today are just the beginning of a workplace evolution.

Kate Wiegann, Chief Operating Officer of RISE, photo by Kathleen Mortland Photography

The audience for RISE is businesswomen. Wiegmann describes RISE as female focused but male friendly. “Our members include established businesswomen craving quality connections and a sense of community, small business owners who need a professional setting to meet with clients, remote employees wanting an inspiring, flexible place to work and collaborate, and sales professionals who need a sophisticated setting to take phone calls or work between meetings.”

“RISE is more about our culture than the design of the space,” she continues. “While it is welcoming, open and comfortable it is not a Barbie doll house. You won’t see heavy wood, dark colorways, or overstuffed couches. The colors are softer and we use lots of natural light. It is a serious, professional, and polished space conducive to working and appropriate to bring clients to – and that includes male clients.”

As for workspaces, RISE offers a range of flexible options including private offices, shared workspaces, meeting/conference/huddle rooms and a “virtual office” program that includes a mailing address, phone answering, and meeting room access. There also is common space for productive work and socializing. Prior to the pandemic, other benefits included weekly in-person networking and educational events for groups of 20-80 people. Those events have shifted to virtual for now.

“We have a lot of levers for our members to pull - from physical space to business resources to engaging events. But it is our community of smart, strong, successful women that truly defines RISE." RISE hosts regular business, social, and networking events, both virtually and in person, to advance the development of the members of its community and enhance collaboration. Most, but not all, of the events are open to members only.

One program, On the RISE Mastermind, is limited to 10 seasoned business owners and executives who meet virtually once per month for six months. They have the ability to connect with other group members as well as receive one-on-one coaching and support from RISE Founder Stacy Taubman. Participants do not have to be a member.

Through RISE Society, the nonprofit arm of RISE Collaborative Workspace, RISE helps women of all ages increase their social capital and tap into a powerful pipeline for success. Through a mentoring program for high school girls, scholarship opportunities, and networking events, women and girls are encouraged to “dream big” and find their own personal path to RISE to success.

“There are many options for shared workspace in St. Louis,” Wiegmann notes. “The identities of each of them are unique. We each have different audiences and cultures. But the shared workspace ecosystem is a community, too,” she says. “We keep in touch with the leaders of Cortex, TechArtista and others. We call it ‘co-opetition’ and we are helpful and supportive of each other.”

Along with her business partner, Stacy Taubman, the founder and chief executive officer of RISE, they opened a second location in Denver in April 2019. The two met in 2016. Prior to March 2020 when the pandemic hit, all private offices in St. Louis and RISE’s Denver location were full and had waiting lists. Meeting rooms also were full. There were plans to open a third location – either Scottsdale, Atlanta, or Dallas -- but those plans are on hold for now.

RISE temporarily closed on March 13, 2020. On May 1st the private offices reopened with new protocols to keep everyone safe. In mid-May the collaborative workspaces and meeting rooms reopened. This summer, they resumed in-person events for 10 people or fewer, but those paused in November when COVID numbers started spiking again. “With 6,000 square feet, we can welcome members back into our space and comply with St. Louis County’s COVID-19 safety guidelines. Our meeting rooms are large enough to accommodate social distancing for team or client meetings, and we have a conference room and huddle rooms with attractive original art that make great backdrops for Zoom calls.”

“Of the original members, many were entrepreneurs. Now we are seeing a shift to small teams from established companies which are using RISE as a remote headquarters -- kind of a hybrid work arrangement. We think the future is micro headquarters. This allows for flexibility and less commitment to space,” says Wiegmann.

“For a whole lot of reasons, some people can’t or don’t want to work from home – especially now,” continues Wiegmann. “Corporate executives and others will eventually go back to their space. But, in the meantime, RISE is a place they can go. Some companies are providing stipends for their workers at RISE. Other companies pay for their out-of-pocket expenses.”

There have been other changes too. “We see great value in human connection – which is a huge part of the RISE culture. Pre-pandemic, we resisted Zoom. We thought people needed to be in the space for the programs vs. a Zoom or taped presentation. However, in late 2019 we started exploring creating an experience for our members like that of Peloton bikes – classes can be taken live or watched on-demand. Our goal was to take all the ‘magic’ of RISE except for the space and create a platform that allowed women everywhere to enjoy and benefit from our culture and community. We call it RISE Digital and we launched it in May 2020.”

There are three levels of participation in RISE Digital. The first level is at no charge and includes daily engagement with RISE members, inspiring interviews with impressive women on RISE-TV and access to monthly virtual events. The next level, RISE Digital Plus, is all the above; adding weekly events, access to private rooms including RISE Circles, Cities, and Member Marketplace and the ability to mentor a high school girl through RISE Society. The third level, RISE Digital Connect, includes all the above as well as participation in RISE’s Peer Group Program (small groups assigned by RISE that meet virtually twice a month for support, accountability, and resource sharing).

“Now, there are RISE members all over the country. Members lead programs and they are recorded for on-demand viewing when and where viewers choose. We are optimistic about what the future looks like. We want to remain open to what members need. People who never considered themselves a RISE woman are now needing and wanting our community and services.”

Going forward, Wiegmann says the marketing strategy will continue to be focused on digital and word of mouth. “We won’t be doing anything wildly different. Overall, our members have been dedicated to RISE even though the benefits of their memberships have changed somewhat. The changing and challenging circumstances have only enhanced our resilience,” concludes Wiegmann.