CoCo will become Fueled Collective as it launches a new franchising effort in co-working

Twin Cities co-working company CoCo said it will change its name as part of a new franchising concept it is launching with partners in Cincinnati and New York.

Under the agreement, CoCo will become Fueled Collective, which describes itself as part co-working space, part social club. The Cincinnati prototype opened this week and features a full-service bar that opens to members after 5 p.m. with event space and a private dining area.

In an e-mail to members on Wednesday, co-founders Kyle Coolbroth and Don Ball said the concept blends co-working during the day with after-hours hospitality. Beyond the name change, they said that not much will change in the Twin Cities business on a day-to-day basis, and that membership plans and pricing will stay the same.

No financial details of the deal were provided.

Under the arrangement, Coolbroth, current CEO of CoCo, will become the CEO of Fueled Collective. CoCo's chief creative officer Ball will become Collective's chief social officer.

They will remain in charge of the CoCo community in the Twin Cities but said they hope to provide the opportunity for others to own their own Fueled Collective franchises across the U.S.

CoCo was the first Twin Cities co-working and collaborative office space in 2010 and now has spaces in St. Paul's Lowertown, the downtown Minneapolis Grain Exchange building, Minneapolis' Uptown neighborhood, northeast Minneapolis and Chicago's West Loop.

In recent years, other companies such as WeWork and Industrious have begun to open co-working office spaces in the Twin Cities, offering the option of short-term office leases.

Coolbroth and Ball said that CoCo members will have access to the Fueled Collective locations in Cincinnati and New York City as soon as details are worked out. The plan is for members to have access to other franchised locations, too, as they begin to open across the country.

"We expect these locations to be in major cities and popular neighborhoods — places you're more likely to visit for work or play," they said.

Fueled Collective started as a shared co-working space run by Fueled, a New York-based mobile design and development company. CoCo leaders said in a news release that they have been working with the St. Gregory Development Group to help with the franchise concept during the last two years. They planned to make an announcement next month, but news slipped out early in Ohio after the Cincinnati location opened.

Fueled sees the potential for up to 250 franchises as stand-alone locations or as offices within boutique hotels.

Coolbroth and Ball have scheduled a series of five town-hall meetings next week at CoCo's existing locations to answer questions and describe more details about the upcoming changes.

Tom Meersman • 612-673-7388