Clipster: Bringing Coliving To Poland

Coliving used to be the norm centuries ago, and it always has been in some parts of the world. Yet in some Western countries, it disappeared for a while. Now it’s a rising concept again. Especially among entrepreneurs and digital nomads, it becomes more and more a preferred form of (temporary) living. It’s great to save money while bootstrapping your startup, or to have a bigger budget for other parts of your life. However, it’s often even more about other things: being part of a community, being surrounded by inspiring people, and to broaden your horizon with different cultures and stories. Clipster brings this concept to Gdansk and offers the first experience of coliving in Poland.

Welcome To Clipster

The Clipster team describes it as a place where a group of digital nomads with business ideas, dreaming about their own startup, spend days and nights brainstorming, building and launching new businesses. It’s almost like a 24/7 incubator. The concept is proven, but how difficult is it to bring it into a new country? A country where terms like ‘digital nomads,’ ‘coworking,’ and ‘coliving’ aren’t part of the daily vocabulary yet. We talked with Dariusz Wisniewski, project manager at Clipster.

‘Clipster was founded by the Gdańsk Entrepreneurship Foundation and Alfabeat Investment Fund in 2015,’ he explains. ‘We did it because we saw that working and living together on a project maximizes the results. It helps people building their network and also to have a lot of fun in the process of opening a new business.’ He continues, ‘originally, it started as a program for startups and young entrepreneurs. By now, we are changing our trajectory and we opened our doors to Digital Nomads.’

The Benefits Of Coliving

When asking what the benefits of coliving are, he’s very enthusiastic. ‘Co-living is not only cheaper, allowing to invest the spare money into your idea but, primarily – it gives new perspectives. You can talk to people with a different set of skills, background, and views on life and business. It’s essential when you want to create a good, scalable business. Not to mention the networking opportunities and friendships you will establish. In the long run, those are priceless for any entrepreneur.’

Poland For Digital Nomads

Poland isn’t exactly known to be a digital nomad hotspot, but Dariusz is convinced that especially Gdansk and the surrounding areas are a great place to spend some time. Gdansk and the nearby cities of Sopot and Gdynia are very well connected and often referred to as the ‘Tricity’. They offer a lot of culture and art and a lot of young people drive innovation, both in business and in entertainment. ‘Those guys turn abandoned old buildings into party areas, basements into coffee shops and simple meetups into life-changing ideas,’ Dariusz proudly tells. ‘It’s also a very safe region with great food, inexpensive living, a very interesting history and a vibrant culture. Plus, of course, the internet is awesome and really cheap.’ Sounds like it checks all the digital nomad boxes!

Coliving in Poland: Being A Pioneer

Bringing a concept into a new country comes with its own set of challenges. ‘The biggest challenge is to show and convince people that co-living is the next big revolution in business. We are on a verge of that revolution, it’s just hard to communicate the benefits of this kind of approach,’ he admits. ‘That is exactly the reason why we concentrate on digital nomads. They are a living proof of concept for our project, and we believe that their stories will be our answer.’

I believe that’s a perfect way of bringing a concept to a new market: bring the proof with you. If you’re interested in reading more about Clipster, check out their website. Soon Cowork7x24 will also enter the Polish market, so you will be able to find even more great places to work from while discovering this beautiful country.