Canvs

My coworker and I recently did the free one day trial at Canvs, which also included a tour from their amazing Shanika who was watching over the space on that day. We learned quite a bit about Canvs including the fact that they are a non-​profit that runs off of the sponsoring companies you see posted on the wall when you walk in. They are one of the, if not the only, non-​profit co-​working spaces in Orlando.
Personally, I want to say they are the best co-​working space in Orlando!
I can’t speak as someone with a paid membership, but after having done the tour, learning about the benefits (coffee sponsored by Credo, free snacks, cereal, and occasionally, beer), learning about the type of companies and people there, the events that happen there, as well as their plans for the future, I really enjoyed being there. Once the tour was over, Shanika handed us our guest logins and we got to work.
After speaking with one of their members, it’s my understanding that if you can hook up to the ethernet, you should! Unfortunately for us, we left our thunderbolt ethernet connectors at the office and had to go with the wireless. Regardless, I had 0 hiccups accessing our file server or uploading documents. A speedtest on their wifi showed about a 26mbps download (mind you the large amount of other people who are also connected) which I think is good enough for what I was doing at the time.
When I needed a break, I headed over to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee and found their selection of creamers a nice addition. They offer actual coffee mugs and metal utensils for use there which I find is a nice touch. There is a «public» and a «private» fridge so that you can bring your own lunch and not have to worry about it getting eaten by someone. (We were told that nobody has ever had any issues with missing lunches either) I didn’t grab any snacks but they had baskets of fruits, granola bars, and all other things there.
When our work day was over, Shanika offered us and another member some beers and we chatted a bit about Canvs, shared some experiences, and then we headed upstairs to PowerDMS for the DowntownUX meetup!
All-​in-​all, it’s a great place to be if you’re trying to get work done, or if you’re looking to meet other people. You do NOT have to be a «techie» to be here. There are a lot of people from many different fields and everyone here seems to be friendly.
If you’ve never been and are looking for a place to work for a day, I highly recommend making a stop by Canvs in the exchange building!

I’m LOVING this new coworking space in Orlando!
First off– It’s in Orlando’s historic (and fabulous) Church Street Exchange Building. I swear, sometimes it feels like I’m walking down the stairs at the Gatsby Estate.
Next, this space is geared towards tech start-​ups and related fields. This means that everyone that’s working alongside you is doing something creative and crazy cool. The networking alone on a daily basis is worth the membership fee! (Spoken like a non-​techie…)
The space itself is open-​plan and reminds me of the Unilocal headquarters in San Fran (or any tech hub in that city). Wide long tables allow you to work alongside new people or change your scenery and move over to the couches. They also have a shared kitchen with water, coffee, and even a few beer kegs for after-​hour mingling!
Probably one of the coolest features is the meeting space. Canvs has quite a few conference rooms of different sizes for large groups as well as small. Each room can be reserved for the day (for a very low fee compared to other meeting spaces) and you get to hold meetings in one of the coolest ‘offices’ in Orlando.
Don’t miss the bike rack wall! Making me feel like a total tool for driving, but also working with the SunRail tracks just outside the windows to serve as a not-​so-​subtle reminder that there are other transportation options in this town! ~Yay!~
Drop in ($ 25 day pass) to check it out and soak in how cool this city is getting!