26. From "cool coworking space" to multi-state operator with Alex Hughes

Alex Hughes is the founder of CENTRL Office, an 11-location flexible office brand built across Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles over the last decade. He started as a real estate broker who got dared into coworking by a landlord, and grew CENTRL from a single Pearl District location into one of the most respected operators on the West Coast. This is a conversation about what it actually takes to grow a flexible office brand across multiple states without losing the feel of the original neighborhood location. In Episode 26, Alex gets into how he built CENTRL from one Pearl District location into a multi-state operator, including: The origin story behind CENTRL, and the landlord who "dared" Alex to put his money where his mouth was Why CENTRL evolved from leases to management agreements, and the reframe at the heart of how Alex structures every deal The Montessori approach Alex uses to build mixed-stage communities of startups, enterprise tenants, and established companies in the same space Why CENTRL invested in serious branding from day one with just a single location, and how that decision compounded over the next decade Where flex is heading next, and why enterprise tenants are driving most of the growth most operators have been waiting for If you're running, scaling, or partnering with landlords on a flexible office operation, this conversation is worth your time. Want to connect with Alex Hughes? Find him on LinkedIn and check out CENTRL Office By the way, you can also: Check us out on YouTube Download all free tools, templates, and resources from 2 Marketers and a Coworking Podcast 🛠️ About 2 Marketers and a Coworking Podcast Hosted by Kevin Whelan of Everspaces and Taylor Mason of Talemaker, 2 Marketers and a Coworking Podcast dives deep into marketing tips, tools, insights, and strategies you can actually use to grow your coworking business. 🔔 Hit subscribe to make sure you don't miss an episode.