Aleksandr Betra, Canopy City’s Head of Marketing in Sales.

By Genevieve Bien-Aime

Nestled on a little side street, adjacent to Somerville Ave., is Canopy City, one of Somerville’s newest coworking spaces. Billed as a social impact focused coworking space and startup the Tyler Street location has been their home for the past 11 months.

From their website, Canopy City offers this to say about themselves, “What makes the Canopy City experience unique is the organically-grown diversity of our community. Our membership base is comprised of entrepreneurs, engineers, policy makers, academics and artists – among others – who have harnessed the dynamic of cross-pollination to advance their vision.”

Although fairly new, Canopy City boasts forty-one companies that call it’s third floor location home. Notable people who have worked out of the space include current mayor, Joe Curtatone, who ran his most recent campaign from a corner office. According to Canopy’s Head of Marketing and Sales Aleksandr Betra, Massachusetts 2018 gubernatorial candidate, Bob Massie is slated to head his campaign headquarters out of Canopy City as well.

What’s the big deal with coworking spaces in general? They offer solo entrepreneurs, startups and even established businesses non-conventional spaces to work from. Normally, coworking spaces are secured through monthly membership packages that cater to the specific needs of the individual or company.

Initial view when walking into Canopy City’s third floor space.

This is the case for Canopy City where they offer four different membership packages, ranging from a Leaf Membership which is a 10-day pass for use of the space within a calendar month to a Private Office package that allows companies to secure a permanent space within the location and 24-hour access.

Membership does have its perks which include, free access to all in-house events, discounts at local businesses including Brooklyn Boulders, AirCraft Aerial Arts and the Startup Institute, as well as unlimited beverages, snacks and printing.

Probably the biggest draw is the social aspect that coworking spaces offer; making it easier to network and meet people in other industries. What seems to set Canopy City apart from other coworking spaces is their mission to ensure that Canopy is an inclusive space that all can feel welcome, particularly those from the Somerville community.

When responding to my question on what the future holds for Canopy City, Betra elaborated that the main focus was, “the interconnectedness and creating an inclusive community comprised of different people.” Some ways that Canopy seeks to do that is through their Entrepreneurs Breakfast and Founder’s Lunch offered on alternate Tuesdays of the month. Through these events, the Canopy community is encouraged to network, share and learn from each other.

For more information or to schedule a tour, you can call Canopy City at (617) 953-1305 or send an email to somerville@canopy.city.