In His New Role, White Will Focus on Venture X’s Development and Marketing Initiatives
Michael White has been named president of Venture X Franchising, LLC, a coworking space franchise that offers environments for professionals to share and work. He is the chief development officer of the United Franchise Group (UFG), which is home to a family of affiliated companies, brands and consultants, including Venture X. The UFG is also home to Signarama, Transworld Business Advisors, Accurate Franchising, Inc., and more.
As the Venture X franchise’s president, White will focus on the brand’s marketing and development initiatives, both at home and abroad. He is based out of the Venture X location in Durham, N.C., which is in the state’s Research Triangle, a hub for technology and innovation.
In a statement, White said, “After two decades of being a part of United Franchise Group’s ecosystem and its exponential growth around the world, I am honored to be guiding Venture X into its exciting next phase. With work configurations changing seemingly by the week, Venture X is uniquely positioned to lead the shared workspace sector because of its unique business model, top-shelf amenities and unparalleled experience.”
Venture X has been recognized as a top coworking space by Inc. magazine and was also featured in Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500. Additionally, the Worcester Business Journal recently recognized Venture X in Marlborough’s Apex Center in the publication’s “Best Of” round-up as the Best Business Incubator. White’s relationship with UFG and his passion for franchising can be traced back to 2000 when he was a marketing representative at Signarama. Over time, his roles with the UFG include director of sales, regional vice president, and senior executive vice president.
The Rise of Shared Workspaces
The coworking movement can be traced back to Brad Neuberg, a software developer from San Francisco, who had the desire to work for himself while also having the structure of working with others. This inspired him to start a coworking space in a local wellness center.
Venture X is looking to capitalize on the trend of shared workspaces. These virtual office spaces are growing in popularity every year and are expected to surpass 40,000 spaces worldwide by 2024, according to a study from coworking.com.
The coworking trend is also gaining traction in Europe and the Venture X franchise expanded worldwide with two locations in the United Kingdom and one in Madrid, Spain. According to the KPMG 2021 CEO Outlook, 51 percent of CEOs are looking to invest in shared office spaces. This comes as more and more CEOs are interested in offering more flexibility in their companies.