Entering the smartly decorated space in downtown Clayton, the fresh energy that new coworking space ThriveCo has brought to the area is palpable. The space opened in January of this year as a combination of passions for husband and wife team Katie and Alex Silversmith.

ThriveCo Brings Diversity and Personalization to Clayton

Katie is a social worker with a passion for diversity and inclusion. Her entrepreneur husband works in community development for US Banks. They sought out to create a space that was inclusive of all types of members, and all types of industries. ThriveCo currently houses nonprofits, startups, and a variety of small businesses.

Starting out, the Silversmiths knew St. Louis was no stranger to a variety of coworking places. Katie explained to EQ that in creating ThriveCo, the foundation was built on three differentiators they wanted to provide to the innovation ecosystem: access, diversity, and flexibility.

Along with these pillars, picking a location was important to the group, who spent months trying to find the right space, “Clayton is such a great location between the county and downtown, and we are literally steps from the bus station and Metrolink.”

With such a great central location, it’s hard to believe that coworking at ThriveCo starts at $200/month. And that includes all the amenities—plus parking (no, that’s not a typo).

Access to What Companies Need to Grow

“We realize no two companies’ needs are the same, so we work with a variety of partners in the community that offer different services to our members at a discount,” says co-founder Katie Silversmith. This includes access to over 20 concierge services, covering everything from SEO, to accounting and website design.

The best part? The partner network is included in the membership dues! Even in this normally high rent district, ThriveCo’s price points make this location affordable and accessible.

Diversity

“All our members take a diversity pledge during the onboarding process. We want them to know how seriously we are committed to diversity and inclusion regardless of gender, race, or ethnicity,” says Katie.

It’s obvious that the former social worker’s passion has bled into this new venture in the best possible way. So many spaces throw around words like “diversity,” but they don’t always translate into practice. Diverse communities do better, and the entrepreneurship community needs that same infusion.

Flexibility

Katie and Alex understand that no two businesses face the same challenges. They are always listening to their members, providing a ton of flexibility, and allowing for unique personalization of the private offices.

The offices range from individual-sized spaces to team offices where a large group can work and collaborate. The membership options are also flexible, with hourly, part-time, or full-time office memberships, furnished to meet your needs.

ThriveCo is early in its journey but its success is already evident. All the office spaces are full and on a waitlist. There are only a couple of coworking spots left, but ThriveCo is starting an events membership for $50 a month, which provides the opportunity to attend in-house programming and training workshops.

Shequana Hughes, the founder of the SAVA group (a virtual assistant company), has been working out of ThriveCo for the past several months and loves the energy and connections that come with working there.

“One thing I love about ThriveCo is the camaraderie amongst the people there. The atmosphere is friendly and light. I’ve made some amazing connections since joining,” Hughes told EQ.

ThriveCo is creating a different kind of entrepreneurship community, where non-traditional types of businesses are commonplace; giving all types of founders a space to grow and thrive.

“We wanted to create an environment where companies can have access to what they need to grow,” says Katie, “and we are excited to grow our programming over the next few months to allow more opportunities for the community to get involved.”