WeWork Is Mentoring Retail Startups As It Extends Services

For Jurrien Swartz, co-founder of 3-year-old reusable housewares brand Stojo, his office space at WeWork’s New York City Dumbo location is more than just a place to work. It’s a gateway: Through his company’s relationship to WeWork, Swartz can get help securing funding and scaling his direct-to-consumer company. Stojo is part of WeWork Labs, a mentorship program from WeWork that helps grow early-stage startups, including direct-to-consumer retail companies. WeWork invited Swartz to join the program six months ago, and he said through it, he’s cemented crucial relationships with venture capitalists through WeWork connections. He said the program also helped him navigate other startup growth challenges, like marketing and legal issues, through meet-ups with experts from both within and outside the WeWork member ecosystem. Read more at Digiday.