Common Desk will officially be 6 years old in just a few short months, which means we’ve been around long enough to have members who have easily earned the title of “OG’s.” Since we were a completely bootstrapped company for our first 5 years of operation as a DFW born and raised coworking operator, there were a lot of kinks in the system that had to be worked out along the way; like any other startup could tell you, the road hasn’t always been the smoothest ride.
That being said, These OG members are the ones who have chosen to stay a part of our community through thick and thin; they’ve done things for Common Desk that no contract (even though we don’t have those here), would have included, like patiently and kindly enduring countless hours of construction, space re-designs and opens and updates, unforseen facility issues, and so much more. And because of their years of unasked but much-appreciated dedication to our brand and member community, we want to recognize these heroic and delightful individuals, because without them, we never could have made it to where we are now.
So without further ado, meet the very first member we’re highlighting in our OG Member Series, Rachel Kent!
If you’ve stepped foot inside or have been a member of Common Desk – Deep Ellum in the past 4 and a half years, then you’ve surely met Rachel, and if you haven’t, then you’ve probably at least seen her on our treadmill desk. As the video mentioned, Rachel really, REALLY loves our treadmill desk. Fortunately for us, we were able to convince her to be a member before treadmill desks ever even existed, but as soon as our very first treadmill desk arrived to Common Desk – Deep Ellum 3 years ago, Rachel was the very first member to be brave enough to try to work while walking, and she’s been a treadmill desk pioneer ever since. She’s always been a trendsetter (we’ll speak more to that in a bit), and because of her, our treadmill desk has to be ready to roll at all times, and we love it!
But there’s more to Rachel than being able to walk while she works. She’s easily one of the warmest and friendliest humans you could ever encounter. She’s been walking into our Deep Ellum doors for 4.5 years and counting, and we can say that every single time she’s walked into our space (no exaggerations here), she’s walked in with a giant smile on her face. Every day that Rachel waltzes into our original coworking space is a day that just got that much better for all of us.
Another fun fact about Rachel? She loves cats. On her wedding day, she even took bridal photos with both of her cats (see above) (literal animal owner #goals). She’s taken her love for cats (her own cats specifically) as far as ordering cat clips with photos of their faces on them, and we’re honestly here for it. We told you she’s a trendsetter!
Rachel works for DARTNet Institute, which is a nonprofit healthcare organization, as their Director of Client Services. When she was originally offered her job, her company told her she could stay in Dallas and work from home instead of moving to Denver or Kansas City to be with the rest of the DARTNet team. She wasn’t sold on the idea of working from her living room, and she immediately started the search for coworking spaces in Dallas. Fortunately we were one of the coworking space operators that made her list, and she ended up making Common Desk her office home and never looked back!
In her almost 5 years at Common Desk, Rachel has occupied 5 different desks throughout our space, and she’s gotten to see us grow from a tiny 3000 sf local space to a 20k sf space with other locations and brands. At any given moment, you can find Rachel with a sweet tea in hand, on the treadmill desk, working with a smile on her face, attending our member Pilates class, or probably making us laugh.
The Common Desk community is so much richer because of genuine and delightful people like Rachel who choose on their own accord to pour into it, making our spaces come alive with their radiant personalities and welcoming spirits. If you ever drop by Common Desk – Deep Ellum, be sure to look for Rachel and strike up conversation; we can promise you won’t regret it!
And be on the lookout for more OG member highlights and stories in the extremely near future!
