Turning passion and vision into a profitable coliving and coworking business takes more than just a great space—it requires strategy, community, and smart operations. Through our journey from idea to execution, we unveil the key elements of building a thriving model that attracts both residents and investors. Today, we’re sharing our story.
From Coworking Pioneer to Coliving & Coworking Operator
I’m Vanessa, founder and CEO of HWL. Becoming a coliving and coworking operator was the natural evolution of my professional journey. I am proud to be part of the first generation of coworking pioneers, learning from industry leaders like Jean-Yves Huwart, Olivia Czetwertynski, Manu Zea, Anis Bedda or Rafa de Ramón.
My journey began in Barcelona in 2011 with Utopicus (later acquired by Colonial). In 2013, I founded Transforma, a 1,000 sqm coworking space, and soon after, I started working remotely while traveling, organizing Coworking Europe, Coworking Spain, Coworking Africa, and Coworking India conferences.
In 2015, I launched Happy Working Lab (HWL), a consulting firm specializing in the development of coworking and coliving spaces. Over the years, we have successfully launched more than 50 businesses worldwide.
In 2022, following the COVID pandemic, I relocated to a small seaside town near Barcelona to be closer to my parents and seek a better work-life balance.
I was looking for a coworking space to connect with people, but nothing truly appealed to me. At the same time, I was searching for a beachside spot to store my paddleboard when I came across Kalima Hotel—a stunning beachfront property with modernist architecture, widely known in the past for its bar and vibrant atmosphere. However, the hotel was only generating income during the summer and was exploring alternative business opportunities to operate year-round.
And that’s where our success story began.
Coliving and Coworking Operator Success Story
For the past 10 years, HWL have taken pride in helping real estate companies, property owners, and entrepreneurs worldwide develop and operate successful coworking and coliving businesses. One of our core recommendations is to build the community before opening—and with Kalima, we took this strategy to the next level.
Here’s a month-by-month journey of how we turned Kalima from an idea into a thriving reality.
January: The First Step
A pivotal moment marked the beginning of Kalima Beach Life. I conducted a feasibility study, and after confirming the business opportunity, I signed the contract.
This step set everything in motion—months of planning, collaboration, and creativity turned an idea into a thriving community.
February: Building the Brand
I invited local and international remote professionals, potential coliving and coworker users, to join a branding workshop where we collaboratively shaped Kalima’s identity, mission, and vision.
March: A Bold Experiment
In collaboration with Coworking Days, we launched an exciting co-creation campaign, inviting remote workers and digital nomads to stay with us for a month, free of charge, in exchange for their contributions to develop the Kalima project.
The response was overwhelming—we received 300 applications! After a careful selection process, we welcomed two amazing groups: one in April and another in May.
April: Kickstarting the Community with Makers
We welcomed 12 remote workers with a maker profile, who helped us lay the foundation for Kalima by working on:
✔ Designing the space layout
✔ Developing the website
✔ Interior design planning
✔ Creating an inventory of essential items
✔ Setting up social media channels & first online content
✔ Defining the pricing model
✔ Writing the operations manual
At the same time, we started building the Kalima community:
🎶 BBQs with DJ’s kicked off our community life.
🍽️ Weekly community dinners became a tradition.
🏆 We held the first Kalima Members Awards, recognizing the contributions of our members.
🤝 Meaningful connections and relationships began to flourish.
May: Welcoming the Content Creators
A new group of 15 digital nomads and remote workers, mainly content creators, joined us to continue the work of the first group and start spreading the word about Kalima.
What we did:
✔ Enhanced and fine-tuned the website.
✔ Created and shared high-quality online content.
✔ Ausrine’s mural party transformed our space.
✔ Led a collective beach cleanup, an initiative we now organize monthly to promote sustainability and community engagement.
✔ Hosted workshops for local businesses, such as: Google Ads, AI Creative Design or English lessons.
June: The Project is Ready to Launch
With the support of co-creators who extended their stay, we finalized the coliving project and shifted our focus to developing the Work Café—originally designed to be open to everyone and set to launch in July.
Key milestones achieved this month:
✔ The Work Café was fully prepared for opening.
✔ Our website went live, boosting our online presence.
✔ Co-creators became our ambassadors and helped spread Kalima’s name through word-of-mouth marketing, allowing us to break into the circuit of popular digital nomad destinations.
July: A Big Milestone
This was a major achievement—we had no prior experience in setting up a bar or restaurant, but we made it happen in just one month! 🎉
The grand opening of the Work Café was a huge success, quickly becoming a social point, fostering connections, conversations, and community spirit.
August: Overcoming Challenges
August brought unexpected challenges as we faced the closure of the Work Café and outdoor events due to local regulations and lack of support from the local administration.
This highlighted a major issue—the lack of awareness among public administrations regarding the economic and social benefits that coworking and coliving bring to small towns and rural areas by attracting talent and revitalizing local economies.
But the Kalima community came together! We collected signatures for a petition to regain access to our outdoor space, proving the strength and resilience of our community.
(If you haven’t signed it yet, you can still support us signing here!)
September: The Official Launch
We officially opened the coliving, while simultaneously transforming the Work Café into a Social Hub—a private club for local remote workers to work, connect, share knowledge, and build meaningful professional and personal relationships.
We filled the coliving space up incredibly fast!
October & November: A Fully Booked Coliving
With Kalima Coliving fully booked, the space was buzzing with activity:
🏖️ Sunrise yoga on the beach.
🥾 Hiking & running meetups.
🌊 Paddle surfing adventures.
🍻 Lively BBQs & community dinners.
Our community was growing stronger every day.
December: The Next Chapter
We prepared for the January launch of The Social Hub, a key milestone in Kalima’s evolution, designed to bridge the gap between local coworkers and international colivers—bringing to life our vision of a Glocal Community.
2025: Expansion & Investor Interest
An investor approached us with an exciting proposal to open a second location in another seaside town. Our plan is to replicate our model while refining the co-creation process to make it even more impactful.
To support this expansion, HWL is launching a dedicated brand as an operator to manage and grow locations like Kalima, ensuring a seamless and high-quality experience across all our spaces.
We are focused on prime locations in Catalonia, near the beach and train connections, with 10-20 rooms per space.
Right now, we’re looking for investors and property owners to join us in expanding. This type of location is on the rise—as consultants, we see the growing trend, and as operators, we are living the reality.
Final Thoughts: The Future of Coliving & Coworking
Coliving and coworking are no longer niche concepts—they are a sustainable, profitable, and growing investment opportunity.
🏡 Higher ROI
🌍 Growing demand
🤝 Stronger communities
✅ Sustainable & profitable
Kalima is proof of success. If you’re an investor or property owner, let’s build the next Kalima together! 🌎✨
👉 Interested in investing? Let’s talk! Contact us here.
