Split Tech City is a community composed of well-intentioned and progressive companies, startups, associations, initiatives, institutions and individuals. Together we encourage and develop the IT sector of Split and the surrounding region.
Support our community
The Works has recently joined the Split Tech City community.
It is a coworking space that provides a place to work for locals working remotely, as well as digital nomads who have discovered the beautiful Adriatic coast.
Its location is at Spinčićeva 2b and its entire modern and comfortable working space covers an area of 410 square meters.
The Works is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and, in addition to high-speed Wi-Fi internet, it provides the opportunity to collaborate, meet interesting people, and host events.
The founders of The Works are Tamara and David Arvan, who initially connected in a coworking space!
They met in 2017 at the Wip coworking in Žnjan; Tamara worked there as the coworking manager, while David decided to spend three months in Split.
“Working from the coworking space was, in a way, an initiator of our relationship. Coworking spaces are a really great place to meet people!”
The following year, they embarked on a joint adventure of traveling the world. They worked from different coworking spaces, compared them, and dreamed about how they would one day open their own.
In the early spring of 2020, they returned to Split and again used the same coworking space in which they met. However, the pandemic soon started and became the reason why such places began to close en masse.
They attempted to lease that coworking, but in the end, started their own brand and during the turbulent year they have managed to operate on two pop-up locations in Split.
At that time, they were accompanied by all the permanent members of the above-mentioned closed coworking. These people were also the reason behind their unending enthusiasm in finding a permanent location. A task that proved to be a very complex one here in Split.
“We needed not only office space but also a good location. That we are close enough to the city center, and yet not in the middle of the busiest spots. Close to restaurants, cafes, beaches, shops.”
They recognized the current building as a great location and, in April 2021, they learned that two business premises were vacated inside their desired building. Arrangements with the owner took place very quickly and already in early June “The Works” was open for business!
After successfully resolving their first challenge by securing a great location for their coworking, they faced their second challenge – seasonality. Because they are a service-providing business – which means addressing the needs of smaller companies, startups, and digital nomads for a comfortable and functional workspace – the community also plays a significant role.
“Community is everything. The community in Split gets a little sleepy when the weather gets colder, and there aren’t that many tourists out and about anymore. Our current challenge is to attract new members and open up our coworking space to even more members of the local community. We have always hoped that our space will be recognized as a kind of living space for a broader number of people.”
In addition to the above, the pandemic is also a great challenge for them, preventing the organization of various events. Still, they launched the Unwired Conference during which they recently teamed up in a hybrid form to share remote work experiences.
One part of the coworking space is intended exclusively for the organization of events, so The Works members can organize their own workshops and meetups. So far, they have hosted many meetups and workshops on various topics: wellness, cryptocurrencies, business reporting, Airbnb data, etc.
Their future goal is to expand throughout Croatia. Even though they are already eyeing several locations, this venture is still in its early stages.
As much as they enjoy running The Works, both David and Tamara have other interests and are working on personal projects that are not directly related to their coworking, although they do share some common ground.
“David is a software engineer and has his own incubator, while I plan to open an agency for advising and mediating customer support agents and virtual assistants.”
If any of you are looking for a place to work or study without interruptions, are maybe interested in how to open a coworking space, or want to find a remote job, feel free to contact David or Tamara, who will gladly answer all your questions.
A good coworking space is like that famous (TV) café “Cheers” – a place where you always feel welcome and everyone knows your name!
Photos: Bruno Dubravec
Share
