The Global Coworking Movement is Coming Back to Austin

For the second year running, Texas will host the biggest coworking conference in the world. The Global Coworking Unconference Conference takes place at the Austin Music Hall on March 5 & 6. The GCUC, or “Juicy” as its commonly known, is the most important event of its kind and a bright spot on the calendar of coworking enthusiasts everywhere. GCUC aims to bring together the best and brightest minds in the coworking movement, to share ideas and inspiration and develop new strategies for the future. Attendance is open to anyone with an interest in coworking. The two-day event is split between an organized conference on the first day and an open-format unconference on the second.

By Tim Gregg - Friday, 22 February 2013

Keynote speakers this year include coworking space owners, property managers, investors, academics, and serial entrepreneurs. It’s a diverse crowd of professionals, all connected to the coworking movement in different ways. People are traveling to Austin from every continent on Earth to be a part of GCUC 2013.

The GCUC story

The “Juicy” concept began as an informal gathering of coworking enthusiasts who met at the SXSW festival. The first local meetups were held in Austin in 2008 and 2009. Things started to gather real momentum in 2010, when the team from the (now-defunct) Loosecubes got involved. The meetup became an official event in 2011, and the first-ever Coworking Unconference was born.

In 2012, after the successful unconference, the event matured to its current form: a hybrid conference-unconference that mixes professional speaking with collaborative DIY sessions. By all accounts, last year’s Juicy was a resounding success, and this year looks even more promising.

The team

GCUC is largely a grassroots effort with support from a wide range of volunteers and sponsors. The project is masterminded by a team of Austin coworkers headed by Liz Elam. Liz is the founder of Link Coworking; she also serves as president of the League of Extraordinary Coworking Spaces (LEXC). In a former life she was a top sales executive at Dell. Read more about the team here.

How GCUC works

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The first day is packed with a tight schedule of presentations and discussions. Topics include how to make coworking profitable; the impact of coworking on society; specialized coworking spaces; and alternative sources of funding. The day begins with a group breakfast and ends with social drinks. Check out the full list of events here.

The second day is a participant-driven unconference with no fixed schedule. A one-hour yoga session in the morning should get everyone loosened up and ready to mingle. Then it’s a free for all, with spontaneous events and presentations throughout the day. Anyone is free to propose a session – ideas can be added to this spreadsheet.The unconference finishes at 8pm with the GCUC closing party.

Stay updated

The official Twitter handle for the conference is @AustinGCUC. The hashtags #GCUC and #unGCUC will keep you abreast of the latest developments. You can also get in touch with them on Facebook.

GCUC is still open for sponsorship, both large and small. Anyone interested in supporting the event should use this contact form.

Need a last-minute ticket?

Deskwanted is giving away two free tickets to GCUC. All you have to do is explain why you want to attend the event in an This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or on Deskwanted's Facebook page. The two best responses get the tickets. Deskwanted will announce the winners on Tuesday February 26 on their Facebook page – one week before GCUC begins.

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GCUC - March 5 & 6, 2013 at Austin Music Hall, 208 Nueces St

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