Meet Sam Shea: Founder & President of FLOC | Future Leaders of Coworking

Sam Shea’s career path has been anything but linear, and it’s precisely this winding journey that inspired her to create something meaningful for others in the coworking industry. From her early aspirations as a young entrepreneur to her current role as Senior Manager of Strategic Partnerships at LiquidSpace, Sam’s story is a testament to resilience, adaptability, and a deep love for community. Through navigating challenges, learning from diverse experiences, and striving to carve out her own career path, she became passionate about helping others do the same.

A Community-Driven Beginning & Desire for a Third Space

From her earliest memories, Sam knew she was destined to be an entrepreneur, thanks in large part to her dreamer parents who instilled in her the belief that the world is her oyster. This belief fueled a journey defined by resilience, community, and an unwavering commitment to innovation in the pioneering coworking industry.

Growing up as a “library kid” in the small town of Davidson, NC, Sam was always obsessed with learning and fostering community. She spent her childhood immersed in clubs and surrounded by people who loved to be together. This passion for connection became the foundation for her future endeavors.

The pivotal moment in her story came during a visit home in 2014 during her freshman year of college. Faced with an artistic project that couldn’t be completed at home, she realized her small town lacked a “third space”—a safe, productive place to work on projects outside of home or school. The library was closed, and the local coffee shop wasn’t an option. This sparked a question that would change everything: Why doesn’t such a space exist? Wouldn’t it be great for entrepreneurs to have a productive place to go? The discovery of coworking spaces like WeWork popping up in major cities like New York City opened her eyes to the possibility of bringing this concept to underserved communities like her own.

Workbar: A Regional Powerhouse

Sam’s college years were marked by a laser focus on building the skills needed to make her dream a reality. Armed with a degree in Business Management and Marketing, with an emphasis on Entrepreneurship and a Hospitality minor, she entered the coworking industry right after graduation in 2017. At just 22 years old, she became the youngest community manager hire to date at Workbar, a pioneering regional coworking company in Boston.

Her time at Workbar was a masterclass in hustling and learning. Starting at their smallest location, she quickly proved her mettle and was promoted to manage their largest and most vibrant location at the time, Workbar Cambridge. Eager to learn, Sam took every opportunity to grow—from managing sales and operations to developing partnerships, training colleagues, and refining operational processes. In her second year there she was promoted to Senior Community Manager, where she worked closely under their leadership team to help oversee larger network responsibilities such as team training, new location openings, standard operating procedures updates, and zendesk ticket escalations. These formative years ignited her passion for coworking and solidified her belief in the power of community-driven spaces.

WeWork: A Global Giant

In 2019, Sam moved to Atlanta to be closer to her roots and struggled to find new opportunities in coworking, as Atlanta at the time was still an emerging market for coworking. Sam left the coworking industry briefly during this time to pursue a ‘MBA in Startups & Venture Capital’ as a contracted cohort associate for the Techstars Atlanta accelerator program working under the leadership of one of Switchyards co-founders. It was there that Sam also met FLOC Founding Board Member, DeShawn Brown of Coworks.

Before the Techstars cohort program ended, Sam lined up a full-time position to join WeWork, valued at 47 billion dollars at the time. As a Community Lead, she was tasked with opening a brand-new property in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward neighborhood, one of the hottest markets at the time. This opportunity was a dream come true, especially after a challenging first attempt to join WeWork earlier in her career. However, her delayed start date coincided with one of the most tumultuous times in WeWork’s history—the failed IPO and the onset of the global pandemic in 2020.

Despite the challenges, Sam thrived. She gained hands-on experience managing large-scale operations, overseeing presales for a brand new location, and supporting members through unprecedented times. WeWork’s investment in its spaces, members, and employees left a lasting impression on her. However, the pandemic’s impact on the coworking industry forced significant restructuring, and Sam found herself craving new opportunities for growth.

JLL and Google: Corporate Leadership

To broaden her expertise, Sam joined JLL in 2020 as an Assistant Facilities Manager on their Google account, overseeing Google Fiber facilities and later responsible for the grand opening and management of Google’s new Atlanta headquarters. This role gave her invaluable experience and exposure to large-scale facilities management, including people management, P&L oversight, vendor operations, construction project management, property management, and hybrid work program communication. She learned the intricacies of preparing spaces for a dynamic return-to-office environment and collaborated with teams across food, janitorial, HVAC, security, and events departments.

The new Google headquarters was a state-of-the-art 500,000-square-foot property featuring amenities like fine dining, wellness rooms, and music rooms. Despite these offerings, Sam observed a key trend: flexibility remained the ultimate amenity. Many Google employees valued collaborative spaces but prioritized work-life balance and adaptable schedules over on-site perks. This insight reinforced her belief in coworking’s ability to meet these evolving needs over traditional real estate solutions.

LiquidSpace: Empowering Work From Anywhere

After gaining valuable experience at JLL-Google, Sam was ready to return to the coworking world. In 2022, she joined LiquidSpace’s Enterprise Success Team as a Senior Manager of Customer Success. LiquidSpace, the world’s leading global marketplace for flexible office solutions, had recently launched a groundbreaking enterprise solution called Workplace Manager. This platform empowers real estate and workplace leaders to offer their employees stipends, access to specific workspace types, and real-time booking capabilities for spaces worldwide.

Sam’s role involved consulting with Enterprise companies to design and implement hybrid work programs. She provided communication plans, recommendations, and flexible work expertise, helping global brands navigate the transition to coworking. While she loved this work, the opportunity to engage directly with coworking operators again was too enticing to pass up.

Today, Sam serves as the Senior Manager of Strategic Partnerships at LiquidSpace, overseeing relationships with strategic supply partners around the world. She focuses on optimizing profile visibility and helping coworking operators find new revenue streams and clientele. LiquidSpace’s flexible work culture and mission align perfectly with her passion for coworking, enabling her to work from anywhere while advancing the industry she loves.

FLOC: A Peer Community Shaping the Future of Coworking

Sam’s entrepreneurial spirit led her to create FLOC | Future Leaders of Coworking, a peer community designed by and created for early to mid-career professionals.

FLOC empowers early to mid-career professionals in the coworking industry to connect, collaborate, and lead with purpose. By fostering a supportive community, sharing innovative ideas, and championing professional growth, we aim to shape the future of coworking and redefine the way the world works together.

Sam had the opportunity to meet her board members and advisors in person at the two leading industry conferences, GWA (Global Workspace Association) and GCUC (Global Coworking UnConference). FLOC aims to elevate and inspire the next generation to take advantage of all existing resources and keep the conversations going in between in-person events—all while contributing new ideas and opportunities to engage with the coworking industry at large.

FLOC’s mission is to elevate and inspire professionals devoted to building careers within the coworking industry, providing resources and development opportunities to build meaningful careers in this pioneering industry. Sam has assembled a leadership team of talented individuals, including Blaize Randell (Fractal Workspaces), and DeShawn Brown (Coworks App), along with esteemed advisors such as Hector Kolonas (This Week in Coworking/Syncaroo), Jamie Russo (Everything Coworking School), and Craig Baute (Creative Density/Denswap/Denver Coworks Alliance).

Together, they aim to increase coworking industry education, exposure, and collaboration opportunities among the next generation of coworking leaders.

Sam hopes that by sharing her career journey lessons, knowledge gained, and network, she can help support and inspire future leaders within coworking to “FLOC Together” to help shape the future of coworking and provide more visibility into the opportunities and benefits of growing a career within the industry for generations to come.