The Space You’re In

Wasn’t that great when you decided to take that company buyout a few years ago? Your own work space at home, with pretty fast internet, and a cat to sit on your lap while you plan your new company’s future?

The months have zipped by, and you’re worried: can you really meet your client in a home scattered with toddler toys and legos? Is it you or is your internet getting slower? And brainstorming by yourself, alone in your home office, just isn’t happening.

EpicSpaces, which just opened its doors at the Playhouse Plaza on the corner of Colorado Blvd. and El Molino in Pasadena, is seeking to solve those issues, and help give birth to new business ideas, new business partners and new businesses, all in the same place.

As co-founder and former hotel developer Dennis Constanzo, explained, “Several years ago I started studying the idea of ‘co-working,’ which was on the cusp of developing into a major segment of the office industry that provides temporary offices and workspaces. The real revolution that was occurring was that freelancers were demanding a much better environment. The rebellion was against Executive Suites which were in the habit of cocooning people, who ended up by themselves and feeling alone and lonely. The single practitioner of a business, simply did not have any interplay with anyone else.”

Sort of like working at home. “Déjà vu all over again”.

“Here at EpicSpaces,” he continued, “We have no hall space. It’s wide open. We have a general area, we have work areas that are collaborative and dedicated. And as part of our design, we have the exterior shell that is populated by offices which are translucent to the outdoor area. (They share that same natural light!)

“Our backyard, (the luxurious open patio area to the rear of the building), is a major part of our humanistic approach to the workplace and as a result it is environmentally conducive for work and in the end, that is what makes it collaborative.”

According to Constanzo, it’s the interplay and camaraderie that so many new single-partnership startups lack.

“It’s a lot more fun as you collaborate with an attorney or an accountant or an app designer or a person that designs a website,” he told Pasadena Now. “You’re able to talk to these people informally, you’re able to get information from them, you’re able to leverage their knowledge, your productivity shoots up. And that’s at the heart of EpicSpaces.

Part of the trick is what Constanzo calls “Creative Intersections,” a core EpicSpaces dynamic.

“In other words,” he says, “If we create intersections with people by the design of our space, where an accountant talks to an attorney by literally walking into him, then there’s some creativity that’s going to come out of it. And with that more productivity. And it’s fun! It’s fun to talk to intelligent people that know a lot more than you do about their subject matter. And then you start to figure it out for yourself.”

For those who want the convenience and amenities of an office space, but don’t want all the rah-rah and water cooler chat (is there still such a thing?), there are 29 private office spaces as well.

Need a little more privacy than that? EpicSpaces also has two small nooks built into two spots that Constanzo calls “Cones of Silence,” where you can really discuss numbers, or anything else you don’t anyone to hear. Take your phone or laptop in there and know what your Dad or your Grandfather (or Clark Kent, for that matter) really felt like.

EpicSpaces also differs from traditional office rental businesses in a few other ways, as well, Constanzo explained.

“We’re a little bit more lenient,” he said. “We have a month to month memberships, if you like. So if you want an office on a month to month basis, you can come here. You don’t have to have a minimum of six months. Our price structure is on a month to month, three months, six months and 12 months. If you want longer term, we’re open to those. And there is 24/7 access as well.”

“We have a kitchen, we have mail service, we have conference rooms, we have lounges, we have photocopying available, we have secretarial services if you like. So we have a group of services that could enhance your office experience. We have a menu of choices that you can select from, ala carte.”

And they have, flat out, the fastest internet in Pasadena. It downloads at 1 GB per second. Reason enough to work here.

“We offer a professional “let your hair down” temporary office or workspace solution, in an extraordinary environment” said Constanzo. “That’s the heart and soul of it. All the other amenities just add to that experience, which results into higher productivity for you and your business.”

Get a free “Day Pass” valued at $30 if you call EpicSpaces and let them know you heard about them by reading Pasadena Now!

EpicSpaces is at 680 East Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena. (626) 665-9955. www.epicspacescoworking.com.