Lost $400 on a coworking membership in Medellin that went under overnight

I got burned bad in Medellin back in March. Found this popular coworking spot called La Oficina through a Facebook group, paid $400 upfront for a monthly unlimited plan. Three weeks in I show up and the doors are locked, sign on the door saying they filed for bankruptcy. Turns out they were over-leveraged on rent and a bunch of us lost our money. The owner was friendly, ran events, had solid wifi, but none of that matters when they can't pay their bills. I learned to never pay more than week by week at any coworking space, even if they offer a discount. You'd think I would have known better running my own business, but the nomad hype got me. Anyone else get stuck paying upfront at a space that folded?

3 comments

3 Comments

val97414d ago

@iris_barnes87's story doesn't surprise me at all, I've heard that trick before where someone rents an AirBnb and passes it off as a coworking space. Read a whole thread on Reddit about how some spots in Buenos Aires were doing the same thing last year. Between that and places like La Oficina folding, it's clear you can't trust any space that wants more than a week upfront no matter how legit they look.

the_cameron14d ago

Wait you paid $400 upfront for a coworking space run by a guy who was "friendly" and "had solid wifi"? That's like saying I trust the shady food truck because the guy smiled at me while he handed me a burrito that was clearly just cheese and regret. I swear coworking spaces in Medellin are just proof that digital nomads will pay for anything if you put a plant in the corner and offer free coffee. At this point I'm half convinced those sob story posts about spaces closing are just the owners themselves fishing for sympathy before they open the next scam spot. Honestly you probably dodged a bullet though because imagine how bad their wifi actually was when they couldn't pay the electric bill.

iris_barnes8714d ago

My buddy from Denver paid $500 for a "premium" spot in Medellin back in March. He showed up day one and the keycode didn't work, owner ghosted his texts. Turns out the "community manager" was just some guy who rented the place on Airbnb for a month and pretended to run it. He got his money back through his credit card but wasted four days hunting down a new spot. Coworking scams down there are basically a sport now.