GlobeSt.com –

MIAMI—Pipeline is hitting on all the alternative workspace cylinders from its Brickell location. Why did the coworking provider target Brickell? And why, for that matter, did the co-founders Philippe Houdard and Todd Oretsky decide to launch coworking in Miami at all?

GlobeSt.com caught up with Houdard to discuss those questions and the next steps for the coworking office space provider. If you missed part one of this interview, click here to read it.

GlobeSt.com: It seems location, as in any real estate venture, is key when opening a shared workspace. What made you decide in Miami’s Brickell Financial District?

Houdard: We looked at several locations throughout South Florida and ultimately decided on Brickell since it serves as the center of Miami’s business community, offering our members easy access to clients and new prospects, as well as capital sources and investors.

Located at 1101 Brickell Avenue, the office complex also has a dynamic tenant mix that includes Florida International University, TD Bank, the consulate offices for Argentina and Guatemala, law firms and creative agencies. Pipeline members benefit from dozens of restaurants, cafes, hotels and lifestyle complexes including Mary Brickell Village and the future Brickell CitiCentre, all being in close proximity. In addition, Pipeline is across the street from a Metromover station, within several blocks of an access ramp onto I-95 and approximately 15 minutes from the Miami International Airport. The location is absolutely central.

GlobeSt.com: What was your motivation for starting Pipeline? And to what factors do you attribute the above-projected success so far?

Houdard: Between the two of us, we have worked for some of the largest companies in the United States, as well as start-ups and small businesses, and there is a common theme we have observed among all of them. Whatever the work environment, people always like and benefit from interacting with other highly talented people. As entrepreneurs, we saw a need in Miami for a dynamic work space offering exactly this type of community, and with a price point for everyone to enjoy it.

We have built a great team and found a winning formula: a place where creative ideas are exchanged, concepts and points of view are shared, and the entrepreneurial spirit can take root. Since opening Pipeline three months ago, our 14,000-square-foot space with 24/7 access, conference rooms, open space and private offices, has become home to more than 150 members, including dozens of start-ups, established companies and professionals.  As more intelligent, interesting and hardworking people join the community, the more everyone else benefits.

GlobeSt.com: How do you see the shared office trend taking shape in Miami in the next two to three years?

Houdard: The shared office trend is only going to grow as the younger generation enters the workforce and new technologies expand the way we do business. Companies are looking to maximize efficiencies of space and literally break down the barriers that often hinder shared ideas and collaboration. In today’s office culture, which is increasingly freed up as a result of technology, it is more about who you’re working alongside and how you are interfacing with them, than who has the biggest office. Even companies with large office floor plans are looking at ways to maximize space use and create an office design that encourages connectivity and collaboration among employees with the ultimate goal of improving business performance.

GlobeSt.com: Do you plan to open additional workspace locations in 2013? If so, what markets are you eyeing?

Houdard: We are currently exploring ways to expand our collaborative, high-design shared office concept to business hubs in Latin America and other parts of the United States.

By Jennifer LeClaire | Miami