Kansas City group aims to set world record for largest coworking event

The organization binding Kansas City’s coworking businesses hopes to set a world record for the largest single gathering of coworkers.

Organized by the Kansas City Coworking Alliance, KC Coworking Day will gather hundreds of entrepreneurs, freelancers and others to set the coworking world record at Plexpod Westport Commons on Aug. 9. The event will also recognize International Coworking Day.

Founder of KCCA Melissa Saubers said that the world record has not yet been set and that doing so will be a great opportunity for the Kansas City coworking industry. She hopes the event will attract more people than those who are already members at coworking spaces.

“We are looking at people from every walk of life and every industry throughout the metro to come help us do this,” said Saubers, who also owns Cowork Waldo, a coworking space at 7449 Broadway St. “We are really wanting to highlight the benefits of coworking. One of our goals as a city is to become the most entrepreneurial city in America and how you do that is by connecting people to each other. Really, the goal of this is to show the world that Kansas City is connected.”

The event is preceded by 1 Million Cups at 9 a.m., which will also be held at Plexpod Westport Commons that week. Kansas City Mayor Sly James is set to declare the world record at 10:45 a.m.

The afternoon will consist of networking, music, games, lunch and ice cream. The Sundry and Betty Rae’s Ice Cream will offer food. All participants of the free event are welcome to stay and cowork the rest of the day at Plexpod Westport Commons.

In the next 18 to 24 months, the metro will be welcoming more than 300,000 square feet of coworking space for entrepreneurs, startups and larger companies. Launched earlier this year, Plexpod Westport Commons is one of the world’s largest coworking spaces at 160,000 square feet.

“I think coworking has grown because there is a real need for it and I think that people want options that are close by their homes,” Saubers said. “We’re emerging into a digital economy so people can pretty much work anywhere they want. What it comes down to is that people need people and everyone craves that community, so coworking is a really good option.”

Since its launch in 2015, the KCCA has grown from eight to 11 member coworking spaces. The organization exists to share best practices, ease communication and spread the word about options in the area. Saubers said she expects the number of members to double or triple over the next five years.

Saubers added that she believes the rise of coworking has positively contributed to Kansas City’s entrepreneurial growth.

“Coworking has brought us together as a metro and a city and we are more connected,” Saubers said. It’s allowed entrepreneurs and startups to have central places where they can go, be, meet, work together and collaborate. So, I think it just brings the entire metro closer together.”

To register for the event, click here.