Wendy Xiao knows firsthand the struggle of the work/life balance. She attended Columbia business school soon after giving birth and found herself juggling motherhood and her studies along with her many other responsibilities.
She also discovered that while the work/life balance is familiar to many working families, it is not too familiar in the start-up or entrepreneurial world. She told DNAinfo that the start-up population is mostly, “single, in their early 20s, and male” and “can’t really relate to parenting.” She set out to change that with her new co-working space, Cohatchery.
Cohatchery is a co-working space that provides child care services and will be the first of its kind in New York City. It would offer parents the opportunity to take their children out to lunch, or to even breastfeed. The flexibility and proximity to their children would really benefit many working parents.
Xiao and her business partner, Susann Friedrich, hope that by creating these spaces more women will be inspired to pursue entrepreneurial endeavors.
While Cohatchery has not found a permanent home, according to DNAinfo, the “waitlist has grown to a couple hundred people just through word of mouth.”
So far, Friedrich and Xiao have been testing trial spaces in residential buildings, but are looking for a permanent space on the Upper West Side. As for the child care, Xiao said, “It’s going to be high-quality, licensed-teacher-led.” They hope to be fully operational by the end of 2016.
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