Company Culture

Pioneering coworking space Affinity Lab changes hands

The U Street coworking space, possibly the oldest in the country, was acquired by a group of investors led by coworking consultant Mike LaRosa.

It was love at first sight, but he didn’t know it yet.
Mike LaRosa is the new CEO and co-owner of Affinity Lab, possibly the first coworking space in the country.
Wednesday, the space announced its acquisition by an investor group led by LaRosa — a coworking consultant and organizer for the Global Coworking Unconference Conference.
“Affinity Lab was actually the first coworking space that I ever visited back in 2009,” he said. At the time, he was charting the best places to work in D.C. for the Washington Business Journal.
Besides being created in 2001 — that’s near-antiquity in the timeline of the coworking movement — what also sets the U Street space apart from its growing field of competitors is that “people that are members of this space, it’s like a family,” said LaRosa.

Affinity Labs

Affinity Labs. (Screenshot via Vimeo)


He began planning for the acquisition in May when he returned to D.C. after wandering the world, and sought a place where he could settle to work in.
“I hate working at Starbucks, I hate working at home,” he said.
As the new CEO, he hopes to update the company’s business strategy by developing a new pricing model, upgrading the facilities and changing the membership benefits.
LaRosa has also “considered the possibility” of expanding, once these changes kick into gear.

Shareholder Edward Herold will stay on as CFO and co-owner of Affinity Lab.
Companies: Affinity Lab

Before you go...

Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.

3 ways to support our work:
  • Contribute to the Journalism Fund. Charitable giving ensures our information remains free and accessible for residents to discover workforce programs and entrepreneurship pathways. This includes philanthropic grants and individual tax-deductible donations from readers like you.
  • Use our Preferred Partners. Our directory of vetted providers offers high-quality recommendations for services our readers need, and each referral supports our journalism.
  • Use our services. If you need entrepreneurs and tech leaders to buy your services, are seeking technologists to hire or want more professionals to know about your ecosystem, Technical.ly has the biggest and most engaged audience in the mid-Atlantic. We help companies tell their stories and answer big questions to meet and serve our community.
The journalism fund Preferred partners Our services
Engagement

Join our growing Slack community

Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!

Trending

The person charged in the UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting had a ton of tech connections

Northern Virginia defense contractor acquires aerospace startup in $4B deal

From rejection to innovation: How I built a tool to beat AI hiring algorithms at their own game

Where are the country’s most vibrant tech and startup communities?

Technically Media