With remote work becoming increasingly common, StoryLabs decided to offer a “co-working space” on the Central Coast for those who need it.
Based in Atascadero, StoryLabs gives remote workers an opportunity to rent desks or office spaces within the same building as a way to give people a neutral environment where they can get work done and have the chance to network.
“It meets a lot of the needs for just flexible working,” co-founder Greg Squires said. “Our community has attracted a lot of remote-working types because we don’t really have industry on the Central Coast, but we do have a lot of people that want to work here and live here, so we need to have a place to be able to be productive and be connected.”
StoryLabs started offering monthly and daily memberships in 2021 with amenities like free parking, high speed WiFi, a kitchen filled with beverages and snacks, workshops, private call booths, a shower, and outdoor patio seating.
“Employers don’t necessarily need their own dedicated space with all the desks and all the amenities that need to come with a permanent office space,” Squires said. “But they do need a place to gather just to have meetings, a place for some employees to have most of their week working there and others who would just pop in for a few hours a week.”
Squires said with more and more companies requiring employees to work part-time in the office, businesses such as StoryLabs have been trending in bigger cities.
By bringing a co-working space to SLO County, Squires said he hopes that it will help boost economic growth.
He believes this will happen with the help of StoryLabs’ new Business Accelerator Program kicking off in 2025 for community members who want to gain more knowledge about the business industry.
“This could be anywhere from an entrepreneur that’s early career that has a product or a prototype,” Squires said. “Either they have their first customer, they have what’s called post-revenue—like they have income.”
Established business owners are also encouraged to apply, he said.
“The thing that will set apart participants in this program are two things: desire to grow and desire to create jobs on the Central Coast,” he said. “So those are the two criteria that we’re really looking for because that’s really the goal of the program.”
Those interested are encouraged to submit an application to storylabs.work/business-accelerator by Jan. 31, 2025.
Following the application period, Squires said StoryLabs will choose six local business leaders to participate in the program.
“February will be an onboarding month, and it’ll run through October,” he said. “It’s a nine-month program meeting twice a month at StoryLabs in Atascadero, and it’ll culminate with a pitch event in November 2025.”
While a little less than a year away, Squires said StoryLabs will invite community members and investors to the pitch event to hear about the participants’ business plans and progress to create jobs and potentially be an economic boon to the Central Coast.
Fast facts
• The Five Cities Fire Authority recently received a $10,000 donation from the Friends of Five Cities Fire Authority to help purchase a ventilation training prop to help support an ongoing training program. With a total price of $18,700, remaining funds came from the Fire Authority’s participation in the California Firefighters Joint Apprentice Committee program. “This will be an asset to our ongoing training program to enhance and maintain our firefighters’ skills, as well as keep our engine company training centralized within our response areas,” Fire Authority Chief Scott Hallett said in a press release. For more information about Friends of Five Cities Fire Authority, visit friendsof5citiesfire.org.
• The SLO County Behavioral Health Department received a $141,500 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety that aims to lower impaired, distracted, and unsafe driving locally by increasing educational events, trainings, and campaigns focusing on students at local high schools, Cuesta College, and Cal Poly. According to the county, the most recent crash rankings from the Office of Traffic Safety show that 226 individuals were killed or injured in SLO County in 2021 due to the involvement of alcohol, including 23 injuries and deaths caused by alcohol use of a driver under 21 years old. SLO County is ranked 17th out of California’s 58 counties in that category, according to the Behavioral Health Department. Learn more about San Luis Obispo County Friday Night Live programs for youth by visiting slofnl.com. Δ
Reach Staff Writer Samantha Herrera at sherrera@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Jan 2-12, 2025.