Who are the key people behind DurangoSpace? Jasper Welch attended the International Business Incubation Conference in Orlando, FL in May 2010. Jeremy Neuner was a presenter on the emerging coworking and flexible workspace movement. Jasper headed back to Durango with a business development question: How about coworking and flex space in downtown Durango, CO? First some additional background. Our cofounders Nancy Wharton and Jasper Welch have served as management consultants, trainers and entrepreneurs, based right here in Durango, CO. Nancy’s expertise and client work includes market research, marketing strategies, meeting facilitation, customer satisfaction training and business development for small businesses, non-profits and emerging companies. Jasper’s expertise and client work includes business incubation, Board of Directors development, leadership teams, marketing plans, communications strategies and executive coaching. Working together as co-founders of DurangoSpace, Nancy and Jasper transformed over 6-months of research in 2010 into a business plan. With long term experience in mobile and remote work, Nancy and Jasper started and launched DurangoSpace downtown Durango, CO in February 2011. After a strong business start, Nancy retired from active operations at DurangoSpace late 2013. She is our cofounder and continues to advocate for flexible workspace in western Colorado. We launched Durango’s premier coworking community in downtown Durango to serve remote workers, independent freelancers, visiting business people and local professionals. Thanks for our DurangoSpace members, we have become an entrepreneurial and innovation hub in downtown Durango. With dozens of workspace members annually and over two dozen active coworking members, DurangoSpace is a vibrant professional community, with members from a variety of backgrounds, education, and work experience. In January 2018, we pivoted our membership model to offer flexible reserved workspaces. We also modified our open coworking desks to Flexspace. In Fall 2022, we added DurangoSpace Studio 106 Conference Room and Green Screen Studio (Crossroads/Alpine Bank building). In April 2023 we passed the our 12th anniversary of continuous ‘Workspace-as-a-Service’ in downtown Durango, CO. We are presently located at 101 W 11th Street, Suites 106 and 109 in the Crossroads/Alpine Bank building. Come by and visit us at DurangoSpace! The cup of Desert Sun Coffee is on us!
We have been members of InBIA (business incubation & entrepreneur centers), the Mountain Coworking Alliance, Colo/NM/Wyo ESO peer Workgroup and we are currently members of the Durango Chamber , the Alliance and Local First. We are engaged and contributing to our Durango, CO community as an active Entrepreneurial Support Organization (ESO), including Jasper’s role as a mentor and investor in SCAPE.
Our “early adopter” Sponsors: Thanks to Region 9 Economic Development District for their Durango Space initial sponsorship (2011 to 2015), which opened up our coworking space for various Region 9 projects and initiatives in southwestern Colorado. Region 9 is a Colorado non-profit community economic development corporation that promotes and coordinates economic development efforts throughout five (5) counties and 2 Ute Indian tribes in southwestern Colorado. Contact them at 970-247-9513 or on web link above. DurangoSpace was colocated with SCAPE from 2013 to 2017, the regional accelerator for SW Colorado. Contact Elizabeth for more info on launching your company! And thanks to the Ft. Lewis College Small Business Development Center for their ongoing support, sponsorship and hosting SBDC events at DurangoSpace and SCAPE. For more info on the FLC-SBDC or call their offices at 970-247-7009. SW Colorado SBDC is now located in the FLC Center for Innovation (835 Main, 2nd floor) in downtown Durango.