When brothers Tjeerd and Frerik finished their Masters degree, they both felt that instead of working for someone else, they wanted to build something themselves. Something they really believed in.
One of the first questions during their conversations pushed them into the direction of what would later become Wezoo: where can we work together to brainstorm about our ideas?
Find a problem and solve it
Tjeerd: ‘’We lived apart from each other. Whereas Frerik lived in Amsterdam, I lived in Utrecht. At the time we were scouting for a place to work somewhere together. At first we thought about cafés and restaurants, but after a while we both found this very uncomfortable. Cafés and restaurants are meant for socialising, not working.’’
This is what pushed them into the direction of coworking spaces, Frerik however adds: “we encountered a lot of barriers. Workspaces were hard to find, difficult to enter and each location had its own payment system. Some still used strip tickets, while others made use of monthly subscriptions. We couldn’t find a system with which you could easily and conveniently work in different places with the people you want. So, we started brainstorming how we ideally would like to work and soon we found out that we were not alone. In hindsight, this moment turned out to be an important one for us.’’
Remote work stays
Frerik describes that remote work is here to stay. ‘’People are still working from home most of the week. But we also see that working from home isn’t the answer. The freedom people experience has upsides, but it also comes with loneliness and mental health issues. The split between being home and being at work is gone. We believe a lot of people want to go out again. They seek a sense of belonging. More and more people want to decide when, where and with whom they would like to work.’’
This is when the brothers began to see a market opportunity for a product that connects workspaces with employers and employees in a frictionless way. Tjeerd: ‘’To validate our assumptions, we devised a product concept and eventually started a pilot in 2021 with different types of workspaces.’’
More than 2.000 paid working hours in multiple workspaces were handled by Wezoo during the pilot. ‘’This is when we concluded that we wanted to start this journey to provide the world with a smarter and more connected way of working.’’
Team? Check!
During an event in one of the prospective workspaces, Tjeerd and Frerik met their other co-founder, Jarno. ‘’We talked for hours about our vision for the future of work, about who we want to be and why we want to go on this adventure. We soon found out that we were as aligned as you can be’’ Jarno explains.
They describe their culture as transparent, direct, accessible and that it’s all about taking ownership and remaining curious. ‘’One thing I learned at my previous startup is that the most important part of success is the team. Instantly I felt that, together with the others in the team, we can make this fly.’’
One, two, three
We then zoomed in on Wezoo. Tjeerd: ‘’Wezoo offers easy access to the best workspaces. It’s as easy as one, two, three. You find the place where you want to work, check-in at arrival and check-out when you’re done. We take care of the rest. Just don’t forget to bring your friends.’’
Jarno adds: ”One of the most important challenges employers currently face is how to really facilitate hybrid working and keep employees engaged at the same time. At the end of the day, it’s about working together again. That’s why we are focussed on providing the tools for people to do so.”
When they are asked where they want to be in a year, their answer is very clear. By the end of 2023, Wezoo provides access to more than 200 workspaces for thousands of users across Europe.
Wezoo Flex is available now! Visit Download Wezoo and try it our now.
Update 2024. Wezoo has taken the next step. From now on it’s also possible to instantly book meeting rooms. Curious? Follow the button below.