How to Build Authentic Connections in a Village-Style Coworking Space, with Cristina González Fernández
Learn how a coworking community can become more like family
Community comes first at Fento Coworking, a workspace nestled in Vigo, Spain. Founded in 2020 by Cristina Fernández González and Rubén Zapata Fernández to satiate their own need for a coworking space that places community and connections first, Fento Coworking has grown into a magnet for freelancers and local professionals seeking more than just a desk.
Fento Coworking doesn’t only serve its internal coworking community, though. Having built a symbiotic bond within its local neighbourhood, Fento Coworking operates as part of a thriving ecosystem of independent businesses and people of different generations in its village-style surroundings on the outskirts of the city of Vigo.
In this interview, Cristina shares her journey of building a coworking space from the ground up, the unique ways Fento integrates with its local environment, and the key to nurturing a genuine sense of community.
1. What was your journey of launching Fento Coworking like?
Cristina: We had an idea of what we would love to have in a coworking space, but we had no idea about coworking management, as we were only users before launching our own space. Fento is a small coworking space – it was important that the space worked for the kind of life we wanted to have, but also became a place that people loved coming to.
We asked ourselves: “What do we want from the coworking space, and how can we offer that to others?” We want to be here and build a great relationship with our people. We realised that we had to be authentic and present at our coworking space. With our coworkers, we learned to cover their needs while finding a balance with ours – it’s been a very organic process.
We had challenges in the beginning, but we’re a good mix to solve them – I studied business, and my partner works in tech. In two years, we’ve automated almost everything in our workspace, making day-to-day tasks, like preparing invoices, much easier, saving us time.
Here in Spain, coworking is more focussed on business, and it’s a serious place. We didn’t want to do that. Fento coworking is a place to come to work, and not be at home, and find people you feel comfortable with. We’re more or less like a small family.
From the start, we’ve been very lucky with most of the people coming to Fento. They have a positive attitude, are eager to contribute, and help us improve. Authenticity is the key, and over time, we’ve practiced this in how we communicate and build our community.
2. How does Fento Coworking contribute to the local community beyond providing workspace?
Cristina: What's generally promoted about coworking spaces in Spain is that they're workspaces for entrepreneurs and people looking to do business, But, there's a large audience that doesn't identify with that at all, like freelancers and entrepreneurs, who just want to share a space, be in a relaxing and calm environment, and build real relationships. We believe that's what Fento Coworking provides.
We're located on the outskirts of the city of Vigo in Galicia. Although we’re relatively close to the city (it’s about a 20-minute walk away) and quite well-connected, I like to say we’re a hybrid between urban and rural coworking. This area feels more like a small village in the countryside. There are horses, tractors, and people working in their gardens around here. We also have pilgrims taking the Camino de Santiago passage every day — a route that goes right past our coworking space.
The local community is small, but we’ve always felt welcomed and accepted. Many of them are older and don’t understand what coworking is. We often find ourselves explaining to them that, while we all share the same space, we work on different things. Sometimes I think our local community offers more to us than we offer them – they always like to ask what we’re up to and where we’re going. We feel loved.
Our members feel at ease in a pleasant, community-based environment. Everyone knows us – the baker, the hairdresser, and the girl at the cafeteria – and we’ve gotten to know them.
Our community members go to the local bread store, get their hair cut locally, shop at the supermarket, Bascapi, or visit our next door neighbour – Ola Ceramic Studio by Abi Castillo. You don’t need to travel into the city centre because we have small shops, making everything around here feel like a village. It’s lovely that everyone says ‘hello’ to one another out on the street. It’s a symbiotic relationship all around.
3. You do community really well. What's your secret to community building?
Cristina: People tend to first come in with a fear of exposing themselves. But at Fento, nobody is trying to be someone they’re not – everyone is relaxed and natural. They soon realise that we don't try to impress anyone, we respect and accept everyone for who they are. For example, some of our remote workers work for big international companies, but you’d never know that.
Understanding this makes people feel comfortable about opening up and getting to know each other and letting themselves be known, generating trust and creating a safe space where everyone feels comfortable.
Although everyone can be very focussed on their work while they’re here, there are two things we do every day together. Our community always makes time for a morning coffee as a group, and they eat lunch together. If we were just working all day, we wouldn’t make the time to have conversations with each other. It makes such a difference.
Having a meal together encourages you to open up and talk to people – you start to feel a connection. When you come back to work, you feel different. Our community chooses to spend time together, and it works.
We’ve had several people who left our coworking space (either because they’ve had to return to the office or moved away from the area), but they always come back. Whether they pop back in when they’re in the area or stay connected online, our members experience such a strong connection to Fento.
They tell us how much they miss having moments together and working here, so it makes us feel reassured that we’re doing something right. They’ve built true friendships – it's really beautiful.
4. What’s the most memorable feedback you’ve received from a member?
Cristina: One of our lovely community members, Eva, comes in from time to time with her dog. She once sent me a voice message sharing that the experience of coming into Fento Coworking has changed her energy. Before, she found things difficult and experienced low energy, but since joining our workspace, she comes home from work full of energy and feels more like herself again. It was all thanks to us.
That’s the nicest thing anyone can tell you about your coworking space and the feeling they have when they spend time there. It made me so happy to hear it. I'm always so grateful for the feedback.
5. Fento is a pet-friendly workspace. What are some of the benefits of bringing a pet to work?
Cristina: There are so many benefits of bringing a pet to work, mainly the peace of mind that comes with not having to leave your pet alone for so many hours at home. That's part of having a dog that owners tend to worry about, as dogs require more care.
The second benefit is the connection we feel to animals. The joy of being welcomed when walking through the door changes the day for many of us. For the people who love pets but can’t have one themselves for whatever reason, being able to spend their day with animals here is wonderful. It frees us from the stresses of everyday life.
Our love for animals connects people. We always find that everyone ends up taking care of all the pets that come in regularly and asking about them. But it’s not just animals that long for care – humans, too, love to be cared for, and this is what we do for our community at Fento.
People Make Coworking celebrates the people who make up the fabric of the global coworking movement. By exploring the community, connection, and collaborations – the ‘co’ of coworking – this blog series shares stories from catalysts of the coworking movement and community builders.
If you’d like to share your story in ‘co’, please get in touch. I’d love to speak with you for a future feature.