Lauft-y expectations: Jeff York-backed co-working firm expands into National Capital Region

A Toronto-based firm backed by a group of heavy-hitting investors that includes Ottawa entrepreneur Jeff York is betting it can help the federal government save money on real estate and recruit better talent at the same time. Founded in 2017, Lauft specializes in “flexible” on-demand workspaces. The company opened its first half-dozen locations in the […]

A Toronto-based firm backed by a group of heavy-hitting investors that includes Ottawa entrepreneur Jeff York is betting it can help the federal government save money on real estate and recruit better talent at the same time. Founded in 2017, Lauft specializes in “flexible” on-demand workspaces. The company opened its first half-dozen locations in the Greater Toronto Area before expanding into the National Capital Region last month. Located in a SmartCentres shopping complex on Gatineau’s Boulevard du Plateau, Lauft’s newest co-working site is a 5,200-square-foot space reserved for public servants.  It’s the first of what could be as many as 11 Lauft locations across the region earmarked for federal government workers under a three-year, $13.8-million contract awarded to the company in 2022. The deal is separate from the feds' own GCcoworking program, which operates a number of satellite offices for public servants. Last September, the feds mandated most employees to work from the office at least three days a week, while executives are now expected to be on-site four days a week.  But that still leaves room for flexibility, and Lauft chief executive Graham Wong says his firm’s platform offers a viable “third option” for employees who don’t want to work from home on flex days but aren’t keen about going all the way to the office. “It sort of has become the reality today,” Wong says. “A lot of us can work remotely, and we also want flexibility.” Tucked into a Walmart-anchored retail plaza in Hull, Lauft’s newest space features 40 desks as well as a meeting room, work room, five “focus rooms” and a common area. Employees book space as needed using a mobile app.

Wong says the new Gatineau location follows the same template that’s made the company a success in the GTA, where it provides “nimble spaces that are close to where people live.” The company typically rents real estate in malls and similar “amenity-rich locations” where there’s plenty of free parking, splitting revenues from its co-working venues with landlords. York, who met Wong in 2018 and is now a major investor in Lauft as well as a member of its board of directors, thinks the company has hit on a winning formula. With the federal government now looking to shed some of its own office space in Ottawa and Gatineau, York says Lauft can save taxpayers money on real estate costs while still offering civil servants all the perks of cutting-edge workspace. “We’re going to build something so that people want to go to that office, work with their peers, have proper desks, proper conference rooms, nice amenities,” he says. “You just feel good about going to work in that (environment).” Lauft also counts a number of other high-profile local business leaders among its financial backers, including Devcore founder Jean-Pierre Poulin and James Nguyen, the co-founder and CEO of Ottawa-based cybersecurity startup Quantropi. Poulin also heads proptech venture 1Valet, whose platform specializes in next-generation security features such as AI-powered facial recognition technology to unlock doors. 1Valet’s software and hardware is now used across all of Lauft’s locations, and York sees it as a major competitive advantage in the crowded co-working landscape. “There’s a lot of people with cool spaces, but they don’t have the tech that we’ve invested in,” he explains. “To me, it's a platform for our growth.” Wong says it will be up to Public Services and Procurement Canada, which oversees the federal government’s real estate portfolio, to determine when and where it wants Lauft to set up its future co-working spots in the National Capital Region. Meanwhile, he says the company has been doing a booming business even before its deal with the feds officially kicked in.  Lauft has seen revenues rise as much as 25 per cent month-over-month in the past couple of years, he explains, fuelled by customers ranging from tech companies and law firms to health-care workers and real estate brokers. Having planted its flag in the capital region, Wong says Lauft plans to keep expanding to other major Canadian markets such as Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary and is also eyeing sites in smaller communities on the outskirts of Ottawa and other cities. “Now that we’re (working with) the government, we think that we really are going to be accelerating into a place that will reshape the way Canadians work,” he adds. “I think we have something pretty compelling.” York agrees. He argues Lauft is the way of the future in a world that’s increasingly moving toward hybrid work, adding he thinks the concept will help governments and other users “attract better talent” because it offers employees more flexibility. “I don’t think hybrid working is going away, especially with knowledge workers,” he says. “Not everyone wants to be sitting in their kitchen on a PC. That's where I think we’ve really hit a sweet spot.”