NEDERLAND - Workers from Nederland often struggle to commute down windy mountain roads. In 2017, married couple Jennifer and Steve Karowe were tired of the drive and thought up a solution: a place to work where you live.
That year they founded Hub Ned (https://www.hubned.com/), a coworking and office space in the heart of downtown Nederland.
After starting their family, Jennifer left her corporate career and Steve relocated his importing business to Nederland. He is the founder and CEO of African Market Baskets (https://africanmarketbaskets.com/our-story/), a business that works with artisans in Ghana and sells their baskets wholesale.
As a CEO, working from home proved to be a difficult task, especially with little ones. “We [Hub Ned] have fewer distractions than a coffee shop or home office,” Jennifer said in an email to The Mountain Ear.
Nederland is beautiful but lacks comfortable places to work. Hub Ned operates as the first and only coworking space in the Peak to Peak region, and has top-notch speedy wi-fi courtesy of Century Link’s fiber optic service.
According to Century Link, fiber optic internet is a high-speed broadband connection. This type of connection uses optical fibers to carry super-fast pulses of light. It is considered to be faster and more reliable than cable.
“Fiber optic wifi is our claim to fame,” Jennifer said. “We also have a generator so, when the power is down, we're still up and running.”
The eco-friendly building has features such as LED lighting, low-flow water fixtures, 22 skylights and six large decks.
. Customers of Hub Ned can maximize productivity while taking advantage of the amenities that the space offers. Benefits include coffee from Salto, snacks, an online member network, and lockers to hold belongings.
The hub is a collection of different spaces housed within the same building. The community room is filled with natural light and varied seating options. There is also a break room, two conference rooms and a phone booth room.
Outside of work hours, the space is available for events. The facility has hosted non-profit fundraisers, birthday parties, retirement parties, book clubs, acupuncture clinics, networking groups, and more.
Those interested in Hub Ned can take a look at the wide range of membership options that include monthly passes, day passes, punch passes, and day-long private office rentals. Many options come with one- or two-hour conference room credits for those in need of a meeting.
In the future, Steve and Jennifer hope to grow Hub Ned with more members and events.
Not ready to take the leap? Those interested can stay informed (https://x.gd/1qkg9) as a community member and create a free account.
You will find Hub Ned at 80 Big Springs Drive, Suite 202, Nederland. Their mailing address is POB 615, Nederland, CO 80466. You can reach them by phone at 303-848-2520 or by email at
jkarowe@hubned.com. The Hub Ned website is https://www.hubned.com/.
