Operators of a recently shuttered coworking space plan to bounce back with a new venture that combines coffee, coworking and blockchain technology.
Oviedo Mall-based coworking space Neoware Studios closed down after two years of operation, the company announced June 18. However, the firm’s leadership team plans to open a cryptocurrency-enabled coffee shop and coworking space later this year, Neoware CEO Caesar Medel and COO Corey Lanzing told Orlando Business Journal.
The new business, called CoffeeWorks, will serve mall patrons and local small businesses while acting as a “proving ground” for the firm’s patent-pending blockchain protocol, Lanzing said.
Blockchain is a fast-growing type of information storage that's used in banking, cryptocurrency and more. While the benefits of blockchain are tough to describe in abstract, CoffeeWorks’ “arcade methodology,” where customers can turn cash into cryptocurrency tokens and use them in the shop, will make it easier to grasp, Medel said. “Build a community around a project and idea, and give the token a real purpose, like at a brick and mortar.”
Coffee shop items like cups of joe and bagels will be available for purchase with cash or tokens. Prices will be cheaper for those who use tokens to incentivize their use, Medel said. Meanwhile, it still will serve as a coworking space similar to Neoware, providing a place for small and early-stage businesses to operate.
The goal is to open in September, Lanzing said. The company is moving out of the former Neoware space and relocating to another storefront in the mall near the food court and movie theater. Meanwhile, a CoffeeWorks kiosk may open as renovations are ongoing, Medel said. While Neoware's leadership team has experience in the the coworking and technology aspects of the new business plan, they still are on the search for a "coffee expert" to partner with.
Other businesses merge the concepts of coffee shops and coworking, said Dennis Pape, founder of startup accelerator VentureScaleUp who previously founded former coworking spot Catalyst Spaces. For example, The Robinson Cafe & Cocktail Lounge in downtown Orlando offers coworking memberships in its second-floor lounge during the day. It's an easy use of underused space upstairs from The Robinson's existing coffee shop, he said. "It makes a lot of sense."
Neoware opened at Oviedo Mall in March 2019, and the firm planned new spaces in other Seminole County malls as of May 2020. Neoware earlier this year collaborated with Global Blockchain Ventures LLC and University of Central Florida to launch a Blockchain Innovation Lab, with Medel as CEO. However, Medel announced the closure of the lab in April.
The Covid-19 pandemic, which kept many workers at home and caused economic shockwaves in the region, hit Neoware hard and necessitated a change in business strategy, Medel said. "As most entrepreneurs do, with hard times comes pivotal changes. This transition to CoffeeWorks represents out refinements of what we learned about the coworking world post-pandemic."
Readers can learn more about CoffeeWorks at coffeeworks.app once the website is live starting June 25.
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