Business people find space in Roam

By Laura Raines

For the AJC

Steve Rae became a pioneer telecommuter when IBM sent him home to work in 1992. He worked in clients’ offices and out of his house.

“It wasn’t ideal,” said Susan Rae, his wife. “We have three kids and three dogs. Conference calls were a challenge. When it wasn’t noisy, it was isolating.”

Always entrepreneurial, Steve Rae began thinking about starting his own business. As he watched workplace trends change, the idea for his current company, roam Atlanta, took shape.

“We used to define work as a space with a filing cabinet and a telephone. Now workers have laptops and cellphones. They no longer need to be in a specific place to work,” he said.

He saw the popularity of Starbucks grow as a working and meeting place for home-based workers, even though the coffee shop was not designed as a workplace. Rae envisioned a new kind of office space that would meet the needs of nomadic workers.

“Steve pitched me the idea over lunch. I’d heard a lot of his ideas over the years, but this one sounded great. I could see the potential,” said Susan Rae, collaborator and director of marketing.

It took them 18 months to pull in other co-founders, create an operating model and find the right space in Windward Crossing in Alpharetta. They opened roam Atlanta in April 2008.

Traditional marketing was a challenge since roam didn’t fit a neat category.

“We’re not a restaurant, and we’re not a rent-an-office suite facility,” she said. “We’ve been calling it a professional business café and meeting space that is open to the public, and lately we came up with ‘The Innovator’s Workplace.’ ” Word has spread virally and enthusiastically from one worker to another.

The 5,000-square-foot space includes a large café and communal workspace with club chairs, food, coffee, beer, wine and Internet access. There are small and medium-sized technology-equipped conference rooms and a large forum room for lectures or banquets. Community seminars, client meetings and business parties have been held there.

The business offers monthly memberships, starting at $49, for regulars. Nonmembers can rent rooms for prices ranging from $15 to $50 an hour, depending on size.

Members get special privileges, can book small conference rooms and have access to office services. Platinum members ($149 a month) also can join the Georgia Alliance of Private Clubs, which offers perks at 30 Atlanta-area golf, tennis and dining clubs.

People seem to know instinctively whether roam fits their needs when they walk through the door. Clients include consultants, coaches, small business owners, financial advisers, insurance professionals, job seekers and corporations who need an off-site meeting space.

“People are walking in out of a tough economy, and what we want to provide is an oasis where they can have great work and meeting experiences,” said Steve Rae. “The added value is the connections people make here.”

Working side by side, people get to know one another. “It takes time to understand what someone really does, so this is better than networking. Members refer each other for projects or business opportunities,” said Susan Rae.

“We’ve gotten business just from being members. I came here to meet a client and really liked what I saw,” said Marge Bieler, CEO of RareAgent, a business-to-business marketing company.

Jay Forman and Joe Gruca used roam to launch Toomah, an innovative automated interview technology company.

“Roam has been integral to the success of our business,” said Jay Forman, founder. It’s where they met a representative of the Advanced Technology Development Center at Georgia Tech, which has informal coffee/coaching sessions for entrepreneurs at roam. “That turned out to be a catalyst for us,” he said.

Through the ATDC, they learned of a joint Georgia Research Alliance and Technology Association of Georgia competition to help new technology companies get off the ground.

“We entered and won, becoming their 2010 Technology Company of the Year and winning the $250,000 in cash and services,” said Joe Gruca, president and CEO. “Had we not been a part of roam, we would not be where we are today.”

Johnny Knatt, managing partner of ODHR Consultants, an HR consulting firm, said roam provides the perfect “low-cost professional environment to meet with clients and hold seminars.”

As a small business owner, Steve Rae loves watching his members’ connect and their businesses grow.

“There’s real power when people connect,” he said. “It’s magical. My mission is to enable more of those kinds of moments.”