ko&co wasn’t built for everyone and that’s the point.
In my latest musing, I’m sharing how we defined our audience before we built the space that has become ko&co workhub, why we focused on feelings over features, and what happened when we designed the brand around humans (ultimately, our members).
Let’s dive in.
Before we had desks, colour palettes, backend systems or even a logo…
I asked one question:
Who is this really for?
Not in the traditional “target audience” kind of way.
I didn’t need a deck of personas, this was my project.
But I did more than: “female, 35+, entrepreneurial mindset.”
I needed to go deeper and ask:
- What are they carrying?
- What’s weighing them down?
- What have they tried and quietly given up on?
- What do they want — not just for their work, but for their life?
Because before you design your brand, you need to design your business. And, before you design your business, you need to find your people!
I built ko&co for people like me.
People who left the ‘9 to 5’ in search of something better.
People who started strong at the kitchen bench or couch and ended up emotionally tangled in the laundry pile or talking far too much to their plants.
People who tried large coworking spaces but felt more invisible than inspired, or realised they’d become more about real estate for private offices than shared coworking desks.
People who love their work… but sometimes want to hear another human voice.
A giggle. A rant. A Meerkat moment.
It was all the good bits of being in a team, without the employment contract.
Sound familiar?
That’s how ko&co began. Yes, it was a business idea.
But it was also an answer to a question:
Where do people like us go to work, to grow, to feel supported? To belong?
I didn’t guess. I listened.
Ultimately, I didn’t guess. I listened:
- Listened to myself: after running brand strategy workshops in my courtyard, juggling projects from the couch, and realising that while I love a good rosé, the pub is not a long-term meeting room.
- Listening to clients and peers: women running smart, creative businesses from home, quietly burning out. They weren’t saying “I need a coworking space.” They were saying things like: “I miss the rhythm of a workday,” and “I wish I had people around me who get it.”
- Listening to patterns: after years inside other people’s brands, I’d seen the same friction points come up again and again. It wasn’t just about what people needed to say, but what they needed to feel to grow.
It wasn’t a lightning bolt, I noticed slowly. It was a series of moments that couldn’t be ignored and the research backed it.
I used empathy maps, explored psychographics and pulled insights from conversations. I paid attention.
Our people weren’t just working alone, they were searching for something better.
A better way to work.
A better way to grow.
A better way to belong.
They were done with:
- Carrying the emotional load of running a business solo
- Context-switching between work and life with no real in-between
- Being on all the time without meaningful support
They didn’t need networking breakfasts or calendar-filler events.
They didn’t need a shiny coffee machine or a neon wall that says you’ve got this.
What they needed was more human than that.
They needed:
- Space
- Rhythm
- Recognition
That exhale-when-you-walk-in feeling that says “I belong here, even when I feel a bit wobbly” energy – that gentle mix of professionalism and permission just to be human.
That’s who ko&co workhub in South Melbourne is for. And once I saw that clearly, everything else became easier to build.
I didn’t start with square metre plans or coworking trends. I started people. Then I built the coworking workplace (not space!) around them.
The Result? A workhub designed for humans.
That’s right, it all boiled down to five simple words:
A workhub designed for humans.
ko&co isn’t trying to out-polish or out-scale anyone.
We’re not trying to be The Commons, CreativeCubes, or Work Club – some of the bigger, glossier names in our South Melbourne orbit.
We’re definitely not pretending to be Grade A fit-out prestige. In fact, we’re proudly imperfectly perfect.
Since opening our doors four months ago, everything we’ve built has been geared toward what our people actually want:
A boutique, intentional, deeply human workhub.
Our people:
→ Don’t want hustle culture, they want to grow. Grow their business, their confidence, their ideas, without burning out.
→ Don’t want beige professionalism, they want to belong. To be surrounded by people who get it, in a space that feels like theirs (with a healthy dose of OCD from their community manager, yes…. Me!).
→ Don’t want rigid hours and fluorescent lights, they want to work. Work with purpose, rhythm, Meerkat moments and a little more ease.
This is what the ko&co workhub brand is built around.
What our space is all about, who our community really are and why our brand is:
• Warm, candid, and quietly confident,
• Thoughtfully designed, but never sterile or perfect,
• Intentionally small, so our community feels seen, and
• Flexible enough to work around life, not force life to work around us.
This is what real brand work looks like
It doesn’t start with colours, moodboards, or a logo. It begins with clarity.
Clarity about who you’re for, what they need to feel. And the kind of brand you can build when you start from them, not just from you.
If you’re building something – a product, service, space, community – don’t open Canva.
Open your ears. Start with your people. Stand in their shoes.
Listen without assumptions.
And build something they’ll recognise the moment they experience it and think:
“This is for me.”
Curious if ko&co workhub might be for you?
Come work with us for a day → [Book a Day Escape]
Or take a tour with me and see for yourself, it includes coffee! → [Book a visit]
Or if you’re building your own brand and this blog hit a nerve
Let’s chat about your brand strategy. Book a time → [Book an ace my brand chat]
