Shared Workspaces
The Collab, a women-focused coworking space uses Kisi and Archie to promote security and ease of use
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Founder and COO
Inaugurated in May of 2023, The Collab is a 1,500 sq ft shared workspace located in Hendersonville, Tennessee. The founders, Emma Holland and Fabi Cordaro, were inspired to create this space out of the need to connect with other women in the area and promote a culture of collaboration.
“We wanted to provide a dynamic environment where women from all backgrounds and stages of their careers can come and thrive,” says Emma Holland, one of the founders.
The Collab took root during the pandemic in 2020, when Emma Holland decided to move away from her corporate job to focus more energy on building a community of friends and grow alongside her newborn.
It all started with a women-only sign-up to meet other peers in the area. After the first meet-up, it became apparent that they wanted to make this space a recurring one where everyone could come together and exchange life experiences.
From the very beginning, Emma and Fabi deployed Kisi and Archie in their spaces - The security and smooth user experience of their members was a priority.
Kisi is a modern cloud based access control solution to secure physical spaces while prioritizing good design and security.
Archie is a seamless solution for hybrid and flexible workspaces, creating a premium experience both for members and space operators.
From understanding what similar spaces across the country were doing, Emma Holland and Fabi Cordaro decided that the technology in their spaces needed to enable members to have a flexible and secure experience.
“Community is what sets us apart, it is our main focus. We want to shine a light on our community and how people get to know each other. Hosting events and gatherings is a connector to promote growth and friendship,” says Emma Holland.
“We were looking at a lot of options for access systems but knew we wanted something easy, simple, and mobile-based,” says Emma Holland.
An additional consideration for The Collab was how easy it would be to scale alongside their systems - which meant the pricing and deployment needed to adjust to growth.
The Kisi and Archie solution provides this balance of scalability and security for flex and hybrid spaces.
Emma Holland and Fabi Cordaro were specifically impressed by the member management system in Archie and how easy and diligent the Kisi team was in installing the hardware and making sure it was a fast process.
“The system is really slim, all in the app, the integration with Archie is amazing. I can still use Kisi without the space management app, and that is also helpful,” says Emma Holland.
At The Collab, there are different types of groups. Some people only get access to the space a few days a month, so having permissions flexibility for different tiers is beneficial.
Besides allowing flexibility for their members, Kisi also ensures that package deliveries are scheduled and dropped off safely without changing the setup of their place or compromising the security of their members.
As Emma Holland mentioned, “The installation of the Kisi system was smooth and good. We are looking forward to continuing to grow and scale with the peace of mind that our technologies will allow us to do so.”
