What do Canva, Airwallex, and Blys have in common? Aside from being some of Sydney’s most innovative success stories, these companies all started off in the humble, caffeine-fueled haven of coworking spaces. It’s easy to think of coworking spaces as just places to get free Wi-Fi and attend the occasional awkward networking event, but for these businesses, they were the springboard to success.

Canva: Designing a New Future from a Shared Desk

Today, Canva is the go-to graphic design platform for the non-designers of the world. With its sleek templates and user-friendly interface, it’s hard to believe that Canva was once just an idea brewing in a Sydney coworking space. But it was there, in the collaborative atmosphere of shared desks, where founders Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht found the community and creativity needed to transform Canva into a $40 billion tech giant. Who knew that swapping ideas over an overpriced latte could lead to reshaping the way the world designs?

Airwallex: From Hot Desk to Hot Fintech

While financial tech isn’t exactly known for being fun (or easy to understand), Airwallex cracked the code. Now one of Australia’s fintech powerhouses, this company simplifies international payments for businesses. But before they were making waves in the global finance scene, they were bouncing around coworking spaces, brainstorming ways to make cross-border transactions a breeze. Their flexible workspace allowed them to scale quickly without the overhead of a traditional office. Talk about paying off!

Blys: Wellness on the Go—Born from a Shared Office

Blys, a company that brings massages and wellness treatments to your door, may not be something you’d expect to emerge from a coworking space—but that's exactly where its journey began. Founder Ilter Dumduz wanted to disrupt the wellness industry by offering on-demand services, and coworking spaces provided the perfect environment for connecting with potential partners and clients. From hot desks to hot stone massages, Blys now leads the market in at-home wellness services across Australia.

Why Coworking Works (and Why It Doesn’t Do All the Work)

The truth is, coworking spaces provide more than just an escape from working in your pajamas—they offer opportunities for collaboration, networking, and scalability. With access to a diverse community of freelancers, entrepreneurs, and businesses, they’re ideal for exchanging ideas, gaining feedback, and even landing unexpected partnerships. But here’s the kicker: the space alone won’t make your business boom.

Success comes down to the founders—those gritty, tenacious visionaries who seize the opportunities that coworking spaces offer and take their ideas from napkin scribbles to reality. So, while you may not need a corner office, you do need the persistence to make the most of your surroundings. Coworking spaces like those found on Coworker are just a starting point—the rest is up to you.

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