We were lucky to catch up with Jerome Chang recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jerome, thanks for joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

My mother has always been proud of not being that over-doting mother who had to walk their child down the street to the bus stop when we were still in Taipei, Taiwan. She would let my brother and me out the front door when we were only 4 and 6, then watch from there. We moved to New Jersey a year or so later. My brother and I would take these summer classes at an elementary school, then by ages 9 and 11, walk ourselves 2/3 mile down to the town pool for our separate swim lessons, and then later, walk across a very busy street to our parent’s Hallmark store to get lunch or lunch money. Often, only one of us would get lunch money.

Looking back, this taught me to be independent and resourceful…to forge ahead with confidence, just like my journey as an entrepreneur.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Back in 2006, just 3 years after grad school, I began to envision how I would open my own architectural firm. I knew I’d want to share a space with some others to defray the cost(s) of a copier, plotter, etc…That idea evolved into a shared community space which I founded BLANKSPACES back in 2008, as the first coworking space in SoCal, and now, somehow, the oldest continuously operating coworking space in America. Our tagline is ‘work FOR yourself, not BY yourself.’

Basically, we provide very flexible arrangements for offices and meeting spaces, by the hour, day, and month. We prioritize a level of hospitality so that you value the turnkey services and community with whom you then collaborate. As we grew with more locations throughout LA, and partnered with dozens of other boutique brands via our network, LExC.co, many more, and larger larger companies have found it appropriate and simpler to set up arrangements for their now, post-pandemic, hybrid and distributed workforces.

Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?

I first floated my business plan to a few friends and others I thought might have connections. My original 30+ page plan now seems ridiculous. Everyone was what you’d call “Friends and Family” – no angel investors. The common trait they nearly all had was they had a 2nd home they rented out and basically tapped out all of their usual investments: 401k, stocks, etc…they were itching to invest in a new category and/or had always wanted to start a business and perhaps would live vicariously through me.

In later rounds of fundraising, through extended friends or simply angels, they all invested in me, not really the concept The concept was merely the topic to flesh out me as the investment..

How’d you meet your business partner?

I took on a business partner twice, both primarily as capital partners. Both had ulterior motives, and both inserted themselves in my jurisdictions (sales and operations) when they said they wouldn’t. I don’t know why people don’t stick to the playbooks they created but greed and ego will drive people astray.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.blankspaces.com
• Instagram: blankspaces_/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeromechang/
• Twitter: jeromeusa
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@blankspacesLA
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/blankspaces-los-angeles-los-angeles

Image Credits

Marcia Prentice
Marcia Prentice
Marcia Prentice
Marcia Prentice
Marcia Prentice
Marcia Prentice