She Sold Her Co-Working Business and Joined a Giant Competitor. Here's Why.

Shelley Bade was an early adopter of coworking spaces. In 2009, she and her business partner, Jill Pogrant, launched a company in Phoenix and grew to three locations with 200 members. But when the national franchise expanded into the Phoenix area, Bade and Pogrant worried they couldn’t compete. So they decided to join forces and become Office. In November 2018, just as they were converting their businesses, tragedy struck: Pogrant passed away after a battle with breast cancer. Bade was grief-stricken and terrified of embarking on the ranchisee journey alone but was relieved to find support at Office Evolution. Throughout that process — and now, during the tragedy of — she says the company has made sure she is taken care of.