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Brave Ideas

Brave Ideas

Written by: Hosted by Caleb Parker
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 Join award winning podcaster and CEO of Brave Corporation, Caleb Parker, as he shines a light on the entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, and brave ideas at the forefront of innovation, who are creating the future of office real estate. Brave Ideas dives deep into the stories of the visionaries, zooms out to discuss the macro trends driving change in demand for the office, and brings you thought provoking and insightful content from the innovators challenging the status quo as we know it today. Subscribe to this podcast and our Brave Ideas Newsletter for weekly updates at www.BraveIdeas.media

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Episodes
  • What Really Makes Flex Office Revenue Resilient?

    What Really Makes Flex Office Revenue Resilient?
    May 13 2026

    Brave Ideas Season 17, Episode 5

    Presented by Flexspace AI

    Learn how Flexspace AI is transforming coworking with their ecommerce revenue platform, featuring SmartPricing Agent, an AI-powered dynamic pricing engine. Tap here

    Beyond Occupancy and Big Deals

    In this episode of Brave Ideas, Caleb Parker and cohost Eyal Lasker, CEO at Flexspace AI, are joined by Jo Mapp, Commercial Director at Wizu, for a conversation on the commercial realities of building resilient flex office revenue.

    Jo brings a deeply commercial perspective to this conversation. She has spent years inside the flex office sector, including more than a decade at NewFlex, and today she is helping lead the next phase of growth at Wizu and Flexico as the business expands across the UK.

    This episode gets into the practical realities of building a more resilient flex office business. Caleb, Eyal, and Jo discuss why retention is one of the strongest drivers of long-term profitability, why large office requirements can create hidden concentration risk, and why smaller, more diversified private office suites can often produce a stronger, more stable revenue base.

    They also explore building layout, managed office competition, customer engagement, community, website conversion, meeting room utilisation, lead flow, viewing conversion, churn, and breakeven occupancy.

    Listen to the full episode to hear what operators, landlords, and investors need to understand about flex revenue quality, and why the healthiest flex businesses are built on more than headline occupancy.

    Visit www.BraveIdeas.media to watch the full episode and join the newsletter

    What You’ll Learn in This Episode

    * Why Wizu created Flexico as a separate brand to serve different landlord opportunities and asset profiles.

    * How Jo thinks about the difference between sales focus and commercial focus.

    * Why retention is one of the most important drivers of long-term profitability in flex.

    * Why bigger customers are not always better customers.

    * How smaller, more diversified private office suites can reduce risk and improve resilience.

    * Why Wizu is increasingly focused on offices for teams of around 4 to 20 people.

    * How managed offices are changing the competitive landscape, especially for larger requirements.

    * Why building layout matters, and why some buildings simply are not right for flex.

    * How Wizu monitors churn risk through customer feedback, quarterly meetings, engagement levels, and space usage.

    * Why community matters, but may not be enough on its own to keep every customer.

    * How meeting rooms, day passes, coworking, and virtual offices contribute to the wider P&L.

    * Why website experience, live chat, call-to-action design, and online booking all influence lead conversion.

    * Why Jo tracks leads, viewings, deals, conversion rates, cost per lead, and cost per sale on a daily basis.

    Visit www.BraveIdeas.media to watch the full episode and join the newsletter



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    44 mins
  • Are the Wrong Questions About Flex Office Costing Landlords Money?

    Are the Wrong Questions About Flex Office Costing Landlords Money?
    May 6 2026
    Brave Ideas Season 17, Episode 4Presented by Flexspace AILearn how Flexspace AI is transforming coworking with their ecommerce revenue platform, featuring SmartPricing Agent, an AI-powered dynamic pricing engine. Tap hereLandlords have been asking whether flexible workspace belongs in their buildings for years.But is that even the right question?In this episode of Brave Ideas, Caleb Parker speaks with Wybo Wijnbergen, Co-Founder and CEO of infinitSpace, the company behind Beyond, a flexible workplace platform built in partnership with landlords.Wybo brings a rare perspective to this conversation. He was previously Managing Director for WeWork in Europe, where he helped open 50 locations in four years.Today, he is building infinitSpace around a different model, helping landlords operate flexible workplace through partnership structures designed to improve occupier experience and strengthen asset performance.The conversation starts with the origin story of infinitSpace, including how the business launched during COVID, raised its first million euros, and won its first management agreement before the company itself had a track record.Then the episode quickly moves into a bigger question, are landlords still evaluating flex through the wrong lens?Wybo explains why occupancy alone is not enough, why higher rent is not always the better decision, why performance clauses need to protect both landlord and operator, and why the quality and diversification of occupiers inside a flex space may matter more than the industry currently recognises.This is not a conversation about whether landlords should “do flex.”It is a conversation about what landlords should be measuring, how they should be underwriting, and whether asking better questions could unlock better outcomes for the asset.Listen to the full episode to hear how infinitSpace is helping landlords rethink flexible workplace, from data and yield management to brand, retention, underwriting, and valuation.🎧 To listen as a podcast FOR FREE switch to audio above,or follow Brave Ideas on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen.What You’ll Learn in This EpisodeHow infinitSpace went from a COVID-era startup idea to a growing flexible workplace platform across London, Amsterdam, and Berlin.Why winning the first landlord partnership was less about company track record and more about trust, timing, urgency, and personal credibility.How Wybo’s experience opening 50 WeWork locations in Europe helped create confidence with the first landlord partner.Why management agreements need clear performance clauses on both sides.Why operators also need protection when landlords fail to maintain the quality of the asset or invest properly in the space.Why brand is not just design, furniture, or materials, but the full perception of experience from first touchpoint to final interaction.How infinitSpace thinks about integrating the Beyond brand into the wider asset rather than creating a disconnected flex product inside the building.Why yield management is still underdeveloped across parts of the flexible workspace industry.How operators should evaluate retention, churn, pricing, void periods, customer acquisition cost, and historical demand before deciding whether to keep or replace an occupier.Why good operators need the discipline to walk away from buildings where the underwriting does not work.How infinitSpace is using AI, local market data, and internal systems to speed up underwriting and help landlords evaluate potential flex opportunities.Why Wybo believes flexible workspace should be judged not only by occupancy and NOI, but also by the quality and diversification of occupiers using the space.Visit www.BraveIdeas.media to watch this episode and join our newsletter. Get full access to Brave Ideas at www.braveideas.media/subscribe
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    37 mins
  • Can Coworking Scale Without Becoming Generic?

    Can Coworking Scale Without Becoming Generic?
    Apr 29 2026
    Brave Ideas Season 17, Episode 3Presented by Flexspace AILearn how Flexspace AI is transforming coworking with their ecommerce revenue platform, featuring SmartPricing Agent, an AI-powered dynamic pricing engine. Tap hereScaling Without Losing the Soul of the BrandIn this episode of Brave Ideas, Caleb Parker and co-host Eyal Lasker sit down with Alex Young, Managing Director at Projects, the Brighton-born coworking brand now expanding into new cities across the UK.Alex brings a rare mix of operational discipline, brand instinct, and genuine community-led leadership. She started her journey with Projects on the front desk, went on to build experience across other leading workspace brands, and has now returned to lead the next phase of growth as Projects expands beyond Brighton into places like Tunbridge Wells, London, Bristol, and Cambridge.This conversation gets into what it really takes to scale a coworking brand without losing the culture, community, and hospitality-led experience that made it work in the first place.Alex shares why retention matters more than cramming in density, why transparent pricing builds trust, and why the best workspace brands know exactly what they stand for before they start scaling.Listen to the full episode to hear how Projects thinks about product mix, revenue quality, member experience, spatial planning, AI, and the commercial trade-offs behind building a profitable coworking brand.Further ReadingIn the episode, Caleb references an interview with Alana, Projects’ Brand Manager, and Lucy McInally on brand and brand activation. It is a useful companion piece to this conversation, especially if you want to go deeper on how Projects thinks about brand as a driver of community, culture, and member experience.🎧 To listen as a podcast FOR FREE switch to audio above,or follow Brave Ideas on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen.What You’ll Learn in This Episode* How Alex went from working on the front desk at Projects to becoming Managing Director.* Why every Projects team member has worked on the front desk, and why that experience shapes the company’s approach to service, community, and operations.* How Projects grew from one Brighton building into a platform now expanding into new UK cities.* Why Projects would rather sacrifice density than compromise the member experience.* How transparent pricing can support retention, trust, and long-term revenue growth.* Why brand values matter commercially, not just creatively.* How Projects thinks about balancing coworking, private offices, enterprise suites, meeting rooms, event spaces, gyms, and lifestyle amenities.* Why not every amenity needs to generate direct revenue to create business value.* What Projects learned from replacing an underused podcast suite with a specialist podcast production partner.* How Alex thinks about designing flexible, multifunctional spaces that can adapt without frustrating members.* Why AI should help teams become more human, not less.* How digital discovery, ecommerce, chatbots, and booking journeys are changing the way customers interact with flex operators.Key Takeaways for Operators* Retention is not a soft metric, it is a commercial strategy.Alex is clear that Projects prioritises member experience, trust, and long-term relationships over squeezing every possible desk into the floor plan. That means designing spaces where people feel they can move, work, meet, and connect without feeling overcrowded.* Density can damage the product if it erodes the member experience.Projects deliberately avoids overpacking coworking areas because the brand promise is built around feeling at home at work. If members cannot find space to work, take calls, meet people, or relax, the product breaks.* Transparent pricing builds trust.Projects publishes clear pricing and approaches rate increases with honesty. The goal is not to surprise members with hidden costs or inconsistent deals, but to build enough trust that members understand the value they are paying for.* Community teams are the backbone of the business.Alex makes the point directly, the front desk and community team make or break a coworking space. They are the first impression, the daily relationship, and often the reason members stay.* Amenities should be judged by their strategic value, not just direct revenue.The gym at Projects does not directly make money, but it reinforces the lifestyle-led brand promise. The event space could generate more income as an office, but it plays an important role in community, brand, and local market activation.* Do not chase trends without a long-term plan.Alex uses the example of reformer pilates to explain the risk of building around what is fashionable today. Projects is thinking about multifunctional spaces that can serve yoga, pilates, physiotherapy, and other uses over time, rather than locking into a trend that may fade.* AI should remove admin friction, not replace human judgement.For Projects, AI is ...
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    53 mins
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