Company:PodShare

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Short description: American hospitality company
PodShare
TypePrivately held company
Industry
Founded2012; 12 years ago (2012) in Hollywood, California, U.S.
Founders
  • Elvina Beck
  • Antony Beck
Headquarters1617 Cosmo St. Unit 102,
Hollywood, California
,
U.S.
Area served
California
Key people
  • Elvina Beck
    (CEO)
  • Rebecca Nashleanas
    (COO)
Number of employees
8[1] (2020)
Websitewww.podshare.com
Footnotes / references
[1][2][3][4][5][6]

PodShare is an American real estate and hospitality company specializing in coliving spaces and related services, headquartered in Hollywood, California. It builds and operates compact shared accommodation in neighborhoods whose rental prices are typically unaffordable to those seeking temporary, flexible-let lodging.[7][8]

PodShare's signature accommodation is its custom-built bunk bed, which the company terms a "pod",[8][9] set in an open floor plan that excludes privacy and encourages interactions between residents.[10][11]

PodShare was founded by Elvina Beck and her father in 2012[1][12] to address a deficit of affordable temporary accommodation for freelancers, travelers, and those between homes or jobs.

History

2012: The founding of PodShare

In 2012, 27-year-old Beck, then a Hollywood-based model and actress who had transitioned to freelance videography,[13] saw a shortage of affordable, flexible-let accommodation in dynamic neighborhoods of Los Angeles.[1] Beck and her father Antony, a real-estate developer, spent three months designing 10 hand-built bunk beds in a 1200 sq ft ground-floor unit in Central Hollywood.[13] Beck designed the bunk beds to face each other and added no doors to the space[14][15], believing that the transparency and accountability this layout forced on residents would encourage interaction and cultivate trust.[13][16]

This flagship location, now known as PodShare Hollywood[17], prototyped the layout, amenities and residential principles that were rolled out to all subsequent locations:

  • Each bunk bed, or "pod", comes equipped with flat screen TV, personal outlets and night light.[18]
  • All other areas of the building, such as kitchen, bathrooms and living room or yard, are shared.[13]
  • Guests, known as "Podestrians" by the company, may rent a pod by the night, week or month, for any length of time[18], with no security deposit required.[19]
  • Guests must be over 18. Any behavior disruptive to the communal environment (including sex and drugs) is not allowed.[9]
  • Guests become "members" of the PodShare community, with various benefits.[20]

2015-2018: Expansion across Los Angeles

Between 2015 and 2018, PodShare opened locations in Los Feliz,[19] Arts District,[21] Venice Beach[19] and Westwood.[19] With the rollout of multiple locations, PodShare launched its "Live Anywhere Plan"[22], through which guests may transfer their residence from one PodShare location to another for a fixed price per night, week or month.[23]. Each location also serves as co-working and shared space for roommates staying at any PodShare to utilize as a "social network" with physical addresses.

2019: Expansion to San Francisco

In July 2019, PodShare opened its first location outside of Los Angeles in Tendernob, San Francisco , California .[19][24][25][26]

Company affairs

C-Suite

From the outset, PodShare has been female-led, with founder Beck and COO Rebecca Nashleanas[6] (and, before her, former COO Kera Package[27]) designing, building and operating all of the company's locations.[28]

Financial

(As of 2020), PodShare has expanded across California without venture capital, funding its growth instead through crowdfunding[29], personal debt or profits.[28]

Company identity

Company culture

All company staff — C-Suite officers and RAs alike — live at PodShare[30]. The sharing of all spaces and experiences such as meals by staff and guests[13] is a social design Beck intended to dissolve hierarchies[28].

Environment

Each of PodShare's locations is built using upcycled materials, such as wood pallets and junkyard items (including, at its Arts District location, an old airplane wing serving as a kitchen counter).[15] Beck builds each location with a small team and materials from local lumber yards. Interior designer Kate Gong[31], as well as street artists Christina Angelina[32] and Braga Last1[33], are among those artists who have contributed design and wall art to PodShare's locations.

PodShare regularly hosts performances from Sofar Sounds, as well as comedy nights[34], tech community gatherings[35], and community meals for PodShare members at Thanksgiving[36] and Christmas[37].

The PodShare logo, designed by Ellie Morello in 2012[38], was inspired by the "share the lane" street marking Beck observed in Los Angeles bicycle lanes.[28]

Community Engagement

Hollywood

Since 2014, Beck has been an active member of her Central Hollywood Neighborhood Council (CHNC).[39] Beck was elected President in 2015 and was re-elected to another 4 year term in 2019.

Awards

In 2020, Beck was awarded the Impact Makers Award, given to those individuals who are making positive impacts on their communities[40]. She received the award on January 29, 2020 in the Council Chambers at Los Angeles City Hall[41].

Conversations around affordability

Since July 2019, international news coverage[7] on PodShare has prompted commentary on the lack of affordable housing in the United States, and particularly in California. Some commentators[42][43] have decried the market need for PodShare. Others[44][19] have lauded its model of "bridge housing" for those who would otherwise be shut out of employment and cultural hotspots[45], or made homeless[46], by high rent.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "PodShare's Startup Story". https://www.podshare.com/startupstory. 
  2. ↑ "Connect with PodShare". https://www.podshare.com/connecting. 
  3. ↑ "PodShare Team". https://www.podshare.com/team. 
  4. ↑ "PodShare on AngelList". AngelList. https://angel.co/company/podshare. Retrieved February 2, 2020. 
  5. ↑ "Elvina Beck on LinkedIn". LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/elvinabeck. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Rebecca Nashleanas on LinkedIn". LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-nashleanas-98502711. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Anna Bahney (July 5, 2019). "This bunk bed is $1,200 a month, privacy not included". https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/05/success/podshare-co-living/index.html. Retrieved February 2, 2020. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Anna Scott (October 21, 2018). "Can't Find An Affordable Home? Try Living In A Pod". NPR. https://www.npr.org/2018/10/21/654426576/cant-find-an-affordable-home-try-living-in-a-pod. Retrieved February 2, 2020. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Nadja Sayej (March 28, 2016). "In Pod-Based Community Living, Rent Is Cheap, But Sex Is Banned". Vice. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/nz7ep7/in-pod-based-community-living-rent-is-cheap-but-sex-is-banned. Retrieved January 16, 2020. 
  10. ↑ Peter Kiefer (Dec 22, 2019). "Don't Say Dorms: L.A. Millennials Go Communal for Budget, Ease and Socializing". Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/la-millennials-go-communal-budget-ease-socializing-1263430. Retrieved January 16, 2020. 
  11. ↑ Zachary Kussin (July 8, 2019). "These bunk beds rent for $1.2K a month — ramen and toilet paper included". New York Post. https://nypost.com/2019/07/08/these-bunk-beds-rent-for-1-2k-a-month-ramen-and-toilet-paper-included/. Retrieved January 16, 2020. 
  12. ↑ "PodShare on Crunchbase". https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/podshare#section-overview. Retrieved February 2, 2020. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 Shawna Kenney (December 6, 2019). "No sex in the bunkbeds! Tales from the most intimate sharing economy startup yet". https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/dec/06/podshare-sharing-economy-startup. Retrieved Feb 2, 2020. 
  14. ↑ Megan Willett (May 11, 2016). "A startup is hoping millennials will pay $40 a night to live in a communal dorm". https://www.businessinsider.com/podshare-is-like-a-hostel-and-hotel-combined-2016-5. Retrieved February 2, 2020. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Stephanie Morino (Feb 1, 2017). "PodShare, a membership-based living space, is redefining the concept of co-living". Timeout. https://www.timeout.com/los-angeles/blog/podshare-a-membership-based-living-space-is-redefining-the-concept-of-co-living-020117. Retrieved February 2, 2020. 
  16. ↑ Inside Edition Staff (December 17, 2019). "What's It Like to Sleep in a Pod Next to a Bunch of Strangers". https://www.insideedition.com/whats-it-like-to-sleep-in-a-pod-next-to-a-bunch-of-strangers-57641. Retrieved Feb 2, 2020. 
  17. ↑ "PodShare Hollywood". https://www.podshare.com/neighborhoods/hollywood. Retrieved February 2, 2020. 
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Frequently Asked Questions about PodShare". https://www.podshare.com/about/faq. Retrieved February 2, 2020. 
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 19.5 Nita Lelyveld (Oct 12, 2019). "Why are these L.A. people sleeping in stacked pods? It's not just the cost of housing". LA Times. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-10-12/when-finding-affordable-housing-in-l-a-means-living-in-a-pod-or-a-bunk-bed. Retrieved February 2, 2020. 
  20. ↑ "Podshare is the latest way to stay in LA". May 17, 2016. https://www.foxla.com/news/podshare-is-the-latest-way-to-stay-in-la. Retrieved February 2, 2020. 
  21. ↑ "PodShare Neighborhoods: DTLA". PodShare. https://www.podshare.com/neighborhoods/dtla. Retrieved Feb 2, 2020. 
  22. ↑ "PodShare Co-Live By Night". https://www.podshare.com/co-live-by-night. Retrieved February 2, 2020. 
  23. ↑ Catharine Smith (Sep 27, 2019). "Bunk Beds Are Renting For $1,000 As The Housing Crisis Spins Out Of Control". https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/renting-bunk-beds-instead-apartment_n_5d8d135be4b0019647a592e2?ri18n=true&guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9jb25zZW50LnlhaG9vLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADLB4WKmTF2N7gFB3K4fXoiPGTh1wlsMhBYn4_ll4mCmT6fHB8fQW04CKrw9iYn3gQ1kUhqSxSCBR4pAeTjqEghuT2XuOwdhWskES5dpxgIdOV1fLoITgRHZ4eMyL5xQWl1ITJmFiana9WA5grnuhjoIjxaLTIhXUuM2mT3cmA-n. Retrieved February 2, 2020. 
  24. ↑ Adam Brinklow (Jun 5, 2019). "Startup rents bunkbeds in the Tendernob for $1,200 per month". Curbed San Francisco. https://sf.curbed.com/2019/6/5/18653890/podshare-tenderloin-san-francisco-coliving-bunkbeds-startup. Retrieved February 2, 2020. 
  25. ↑ Dion Lim (Aug 1, 2019). "$1,200 a month bunk beds aim to help ease San Francisco's housing crisis". abc7news. https://abc7news.com/5424676/. Retrieved February 2, 2020. 
  26. ↑ "PodShare San Francisco". PodShare. https://www.podshare.com/neighborhoods/san-francisco. Retrieved February 2, 2020. 
  27. ↑ "Kera Package on AngelList". AngelList. https://angel.co/kera-package. 
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3 "E964: PodShare Co-founder & CEO Elvina Beck builds co-living communities where tenants trade privacy for access to the most desirable locations at a low-price point". This Week In StartUps. Aug 13, 2019. https://thisweekinstartups.com/e964-podshare-co-founder-ceo-elvina-beck-builds-co-living-communities-where-tenants-trade-privacy-for-access-to-the-most-desirable-locations-at-a-low-price-point-shares-insights-on-bootstrapping-t/. 
  29. ↑ "Save PodShare: End World Loneliness". IndieGoGo. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/save-podshare-end-world-loneliness/. 
  30. ↑ Callia Yuan (Sep 22, 2019). "PodShare offers affordable housing, sacrifices privacy of users". Stanford Daily. https://www.stanforddaily.com/2019/09/22/podshare-offers-affordable-housing-sacrifices-privacy-of-users/. Retrieved February 2, 2020. 
  31. ↑ "PodShare Los Feliz". PodShare via Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/pg/PodShare/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1172409959517373. 
  32. ↑ "Photo of @starfightera last year painting at @podshare in DTLA". Christina Angelina via Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/BK7iJTOD_CL/. 
  33. ↑ "PodShare DTLA mural by BRAGA". PodShare via YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0dukOR6FAY. 
  34. ↑ "PodShare Events". PodShare. https://www.podshare.com/events. Retrieved February 2, 2020. 
  35. ↑ "L.A. Tech Happy Hour 8 Year Anniversary Party". PodShare via Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/events/podshare-venice/la-tech-happy-hour-8-year-anniversary-party/317319215822867/. Retrieved February 2, 2020. 
  36. ↑ "PodShare Friendsgiving 2019". PodShare via Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/events/555177965295465/. Retrieved February 2, 2020. 
  37. ↑ "Christmas Dinner @ PodShare 2014". PodShare via Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/events/886052904768491/. Retrieved February 2, 2020. 
  38. ↑ Ellie Morello (February 24, 2015). "Ellie Morello Portfolio". Behance. https://www.behance.net/gallery/23972117/PodShare. Retrieved February 17, 2020. 
  39. ↑ Box, Enci. "CENTRAL HOLLYWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL" (in en-US). https://empowerla.org/chnc/. 
  40. ↑ "Impact Makers to Watch - Los Angeles Community Building" (in en-US). Stratiscope. https://stratiscope.com/impact-makers-to-watch/. 
  41. ↑ John Bwarie (Jan 30, 2020). "32 Community Impact-Makers Honored at LA City Hall" (in en-US). Stratiscope. https://stratiscope.com/2020/01/31/impact-makers-to-watch-gallery/. 
  42. ↑ Arwa Mahdawi (July 9, 2019). "Silicon Valley’s answer to the housing crises? Charging $1,200 for a bunk bed in a shared house". https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jul/09/silicon-valleys-answer-to-the-housing-crises-charging-1200-for-a-bunk-bed-in-a-shared-house. Retrieved Jun 12, 2020. 
  43. ↑ GQ Staff (September 11, 2019). "Podshare Wants You To Pay $1750 A Month To Live In A Curtainless Bunk Bed With Strangers". https://www.gq.com.au/entertainment/tech/podshare-wants-you-to-pay-1750-a-month-to-live-in-a-curtainless-bunk-bed-with-strangers/news-story/. Retrieved Jun 12, 2020. 
  44. ↑ Libertina Brandt (July 10, 2019). "San Francisco renters are dishing out $1,200 a month for bunk beds in co-living buildings to avoid the city's high rents — here's what they get for their money". https://www.businessinsider.com/san-francisco-renters-living-in-bunk-beds-rent-soaring-2019-7?r=US&IR=T. Retrieved Jun 12, 2020. 
  45. ↑ Peter Kiefer (December 22, 2019). "Don't Say Dorms: L.A. Millennials Go Communal for Budget, Ease and Socializing". The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/la-millennials-go-communal-budget-ease-socializing-1263430. Retrieved June 12, 2020. 
  46. ↑ Nita Lelyveld (October 19, 2019). "They came to L.A. to chase a Hollywood dream. Two weeks later, they were homeless". LA Times. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-10-19/they-arrived-with-a-hollywood-dream-two-weeks-later-they-were-homeless-sleeping-on-hard-pavement. Retrieved June 12, 2020. 

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