[Featured image: Oz at the launch event with CoWello shirt]
It’s March 10, 2022, and we are officially launching CoWello, our first HVL studio venture. As entrepreneurs and developers know, creating a product is rarely easy. CoWello has been the result of many sleepless nights, frustrations and changes in direction. But, in the end, all of this led to the excitement of launch day, where we come together to celebrate the end of one stage of the journey and the start of the next one.
Allow us to introduce you to Oz Imaghodor, CoWello’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence. Oz will be leading the team’s efforts to launch and grow CoWello.
Tell us about your background and what intrigued you about a product like CoWello.
Oz: Birmingham has always been a part of my life because I was born and raised here. At the same time, I have been profoundly influenced by the hard work and dedication of my Nigerian immigrant parents.
My mother has been a service provider for the past four decades and I’ve seen firsthand how difficult it was for her to find meeting spaces for her clients. She’d schedule last-minute appointments and then cross her fingers that a shared space would become available in time. That’s when I thought, “How cool would it be to support the launch of a product that can help people like my mother right here in my hometown?” When HVL approached me about leading CoWello, I thought to myself right then and there, that this was too good of an opportunity to pass up.
What exactly is CoWello?
Oz: CoWello is an all-in-one space management tool designed to help manage the operations of coworking communities of health and wellness practitioners. The platform makes it easier for space owners and their members to accomplish and automate recurring business tasks.
What problem is CoWello attempting to solve? Why is that such a big deal?
Oz: Existing space management tools are designed for either managing co-working spaces—in the traditional sense of the term, meaning shared office spaces—or for an individual wellness practice.
As more people seek out counselors, therapists, acupuncturists, functional medicine doctors, yoga instructors, and other practitioners, these wellness professionals will require spaces that meet their specific needs. Due to changing industry trends and as more people are focused on their own health, wellness and financial futures, many space owners are realizing revenue potential by renting out their unused space. However, co-working spaces for wellness practitioners operate very differently than traditional shared-office spaces, and space owners are generally dissatisfied with the lack of flexibility using traditional space management tools.
“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”
What do you think the shared wellness space landscape will look like in the future? What role does CoWello play in this?
Oz: The wellness space landscape is developing at a rapid pace. People are becoming more comfortable around mental health topics. And as for conversation increases, more people are looking at different opportunities to allow them to take proactive measures with their health. Forecast Models show that spending on well-being-focused areas will eclipse treatment-related expenses by 2033.
As space owners identify this trend, I definitely anticipate they’ll see higher demand and shared space opportunities for their business. CoWello helps facilitate new revenue opportunities for space owners and wellness professionals.
What’s on the horizon for CoWello?
Oz: Health and wellness are becoming more top-of-mind in our day-to-day lives. We’re finding more consumers are looking for health and wellbeing services that may fall outside of their outside regular primary care appointments. Mental health treatments like counseling and therapy, as well as physical health services such as physical therapy, yoga, and massage therapy, are readily available and becoming people’s go-to options to improve their lives.
We anticipate that wellness practitioners will seek out spaces to provide these services, and that coworking spaces will grow in popularity as this trend continues. CoWello aims to facilitate this transition by making its services more accessible and serving as a bridge between traditional co-working spaces and personal wellness activities.
We understand our place in the market and what distinguishes us from our competitors. We want to assist existing wellness space owners in streamlining their space management operations and also raise awareness about potential revenue opportunities that renting out unused spaces provides.
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