Andy Hickl:  Tell me a little about CompanyDallas.  What exactly is a coworking spot, anyway?

Matthew Titsworth, Company|Dallas: A coworking space is a shared office for start-ups, freelancers, and entrepreneurs.  It’s also a community where folks from different backgrounds can come together and be introduced to new people with different backgrounds. It’s a new way to work. As to Company|Dallas? Company|Dallas is awesome. We’ve got a great and eclectic group of members from all over the spectrum who do quite a variety of different things.

More from Matt after the jump…

AH:  Coworking seems to work best in places where there’s already a thriving “coffee shop culture”.  It seems to be a natural fit in places like Seattle, San Francisco, or Austin where people are looking to hang out in public places and interact with other people.  How did you adapt the coworking model to a place like Dallas, where we don’t have the same kind of culture?

Matthew Titsworth: One of the big things we’ve done is to try to remain flexible. While we keep regular business hours from 9am to 6pm, our full-time members have key cards so that they can gain access 24/7. With the ability to come and go as they please, they’re able to keep their own hours — and that’s allowed them to form work groups. What we’ve found is that people are still looking to hang out and interact, but because Dallas is so spread out, they tend to want to get together and talk about more specific things. We try to be a resource for local groups around Dallas.

AH:  There’s a lot of affordable office space in Dallas.  How do you convince folks to give coworking a try?

MT: The big thing is just getting them to come in and try coworking once. From there they tend to convince themselves.

AH:  Do the economics of coworking stack up against renting your own space? What enticements, if any, do you offer start-ups?

MT: Absolutely. When you rent your own space there are tons of things — rent, electricity, internet, insurance — you’ve got to take care of and provide for yourself. With a coworking space it’s all taken care of for you in that monthly fee. We also offer discounts for start-ups, as well.

AH:  What’s next for CompanyDallas?  What are your goals for the months ahead?

MT: We’re looking to continue building our membership and community. What we’d really like to do is get more start-ups in to take advantage of the space. We’re looking to create a place where we can get real cross-pollination of ideas and talents going.

AH:  Where can I learn more about CompanyDallas?

MT:  Drop by and see us at 1701 North Collins Boulevard, right next to Suite 2000.  Or take a virtual tour on our website at http://www.companydallas.com.  Got questions?  You can email us at matthew@companydallas.com or Tweet us @companydallas.