Our story

The Profile is a Coworking community and business club and we are part of an exploding global trend where people are discovering a better place to work.

It’s a movement of entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, thought leaders, corporate mentors and all kinds of independent workers that now make up about 30% of the working population. That’s 1.5 billion people who need a proper place to work.  It’s a shift from working from home, the car, and the coffee shop.  These spaces are not only unproductive, they are lonely.  The answer is… Coworking

My name is Kevin Penstock and I was one of those entrepreneurs forever searching for a new office for my forever changing businesses.  Always changing addresses, phone companies, always setting up new furniture and Internet systems. I would get buried in admin; rarely getting the chance to work on my business. Nevertheless, I choose to be an entrepreneur which meant making the decision to give up the chance of ever working in a modern office with all the resources, or in the ultimate office or campus like the Google or Microsoft campus.  It was one part of being an entrepreneur that bothered me.  Until I heard about Coworking.  I discovered a small movement in a few cities around the world, and I realized this is it, the perfect working environment I’ve been looking for. 

So in 2009 I opened Water Street Profile in The Landing at 375 Water Street, now called The Profile Gastown. We started with 3,500 sf and over time, we’ve grown from 3,500 sf, to 6,000 sf, then 10,000 sf then recently over 50,000 sf in four great locations in BC.

Our Vision

Fast forward to today in 2017, we now want to pay it forward. 

We want to put The Profile in the hands of our Coworkers.

It only makes sense that our members help build it. And that our members own it. We will be inviting members to join our advisory board, create delegates to bring ideas about managing our space and resources and invite local business, law firms, government organizations to sponsor and support our growing business community initiatives. Coworking communities are the business ecosystems that create the fastest synergies, spawn new businesses and create jobs.

The Profile Coworking Club and Lounge

What are we building?  Our version of the City Square or European Piazza. The ultimate work space lounges. Our BIG IDEA is to build the ultimate meeting and work spaces designed after the live work philosophy of the European piazza.

Our lounges were conceived with the thought of the concept and feel of the Italian Piazza in mind. In the course of one day the residents of a village or neighbourhood come to their second home, “la piazza”, to read a newspaper, catch up on gossip, show a new outfit, play cards, talk politics, and work on their projects. A piazza doesn’t discriminate, and if you want to find out about ‘the heart, the rhythm, the life’ of The Profile; come grab a seat, order a coffee, and soak it all in. 

This will be a combination of collaborative spaces, work spaces, and event spaces designed to energize and stimulate the business community.