Episode Summary

"If it weren't for Coco House, I would not be in Puerto Rico right now because this was what let me be able to continue my business, stay open, and be able to stay and not have to get on a plane and move."

When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, Mariangie Rosas had just opened her coworking space across from a food truck park in downtown San Juan. She thought she was running a real estate business. Then the storm knocked out power across the island, and suddenly Coco House—with its backup generators and water cistern—became the only place with internet around.

People flooded in, not just to work, but to feel what it was like to be part of something bigger than survival. Mari watched entrepreneurs who were ready to flee the island decide to stay because they'd found their people. That's when she realised coworking wasn't about desks—it was about creating the community infrastructure that keeps talent from leaving.

Mari had moved back to Puerto Rico in 2015, swimming against the current as hundreds of thousands of people left the island for better opportunities on the mainland. As American citizens, Puerto Ricans need nothing more than a $300 plane ticket to start fresh anywhere on the East Coast. But Mari saw something different: if locals didn't build the entrepreneurial ecosystem the island needed, someone else would dictate its future.

What emerged from her story isn't just about weather disasters or island economics—it's about how community becomes one answer to economic precarity everywhere. From virtual office permits that fast-track business registration to the hundreds of micro-businesses that can't all fail at once, Mari has built something that shows what local resilience looks like in practice.

This conversation bridges personal story to systemic insight, revealing why coworking spaces could be civic infrastructure, not just private ventures. Whether you're in Berlin, Oslo, or Wigan, Mari's approach to building local entrepreneurial resilience will shift how you think about community, policy, and what economic development actually means.

Timeline Highlights

[01:23 ] "I'm known for building community here on the island, and that's exactly where I want to be known for, creating opportunities for everyone to be able to stay here"

[02:25 ] Standing at a food truck park opening in December 2016, Mari realises: "A coworking space across the street from a food truck park area is going to be amazing"

[05:35 ] The brain drain reality: "$300 for that plane ticket, and you can start working the next day in the US, because we're American citizens"

[09:58 ] Bernie's realisation: "You can't have an entrepreneurial ecosystem without a hub for it"

[12:11 ] Post-hurricane revelation: "If it weren't for Coco House, I would not be in Puerto Rico right now"

[13:33 ] Mari's transformation: "This is the industry that I want. Forget about that food tech idea...coworking is now what I want to do for the rest of my life"

[16:10 ] Community economics in action: "By having a community where you have all the different individuals that can help you either find clients or go through hurdles"

[18:55 ] The retention formula: "They come for the amenities and infrastructure, but they stay because of the community"

[20:38 ] Virtual office innovation: "The municipality of San Juan has created a way that if you're part of a coworking space, you can get your business permits a lot quicker"

[21:25 ] The building ecosystem: "We've seen people start through all the stages to the point where they end up leaving the coworking space because they rent a bigger office in the building"

[24:22 ] The resilience argument: "When you invest millions on having a 200-person company come to your town...you lost 200 jobs. That will never happen in coworking"

[25:27 ] Recording from La Cabina, the soundproof podcast booth inside Coco House

The Infrastructure They Don't Teach in Economics Class

Most people think infrastructure means roads and bridges. Mari discovered it was backup generators and a community. When Hurricane Maria knocked out power across Puerto Rico, Coco House became more than a workspace—it became the nervous system keeping local businesses alive.

The space had water, internet, and something equally critical: other people who weren't giving up.

This isn't romantic thinking about community. It's brutal pragmatism. When your choice is between abandoning your business or having somewhere to keep it running, infrastructure becomes intensely personal. Mari watched entrepreneurs calculate in real time: stay and fight, or catch that $300 flight to mainland certainty.

What happened next taught her that coworking spaces aren't competing with traditional offices—they're competing with Miami job offers and New York relocations.

The real estate part, the desks and meeting rooms, that's just the delivery system. The actual product belongs to something worth staying for.

Why Governments Keep Getting Economic Development Wrong

Every municipality has some version of the same playbook: spend millions bringing in one significant employer, cut the ribbon, claim success. Mari and Bernie dissect why this approach creates fragility rather than resilience.

When Amazon promises 10,000 jobs, what happens when Amazon leaves? You have empty buildings and unemployed people with specific skills.

Coworking flips this equation. Instead of betting everything on one company, you're nurturing hundreds of small businesses across dozens of industries. Instead of recruiting from outside, you're keeping local talent from leaving. Instead of hoping corporate priorities align with community needs, you're building from community needs up.

Mari's insight cuts through decades of economic development orthodoxy: "No matter if an entire industry can sometimes get wiped out, coworking space is about hundreds of different industries." That's not just diversification—that's resilience built from the ground up.

The irony is that governments already know community infrastructure matters. They fund libraries, parks, and community centres. But somehow, when it comes to economic development, they default to corporate recruitment instead of community cultivation.

The Permit Problem No One Talks About

Here's where Mari's story gets practical. The municipality of San Juan has created a pathway that allows coworking members to obtain business permits more quickly by falling under the space's umbrella licence.

Suddenly, virtual office membership isn't just an address—it's a regulatory shortcut that keeps new businesses from drowning in bureaucracy.

This solves something every local government claims to care about: making it easier to start businesses. But instead of simplifying the system, most places add more programmes and consultants.

Mari's approach recognises that entrepreneurs need community infrastructure to navigate complexity, not more complexity disguised as help.

Virtual office members begin with basic addresses and business registration. Still, they're immediately plugged into a community that can help them with everything from vendor recommendations to late-night troubleshooting sessions. It's business incubation that happens naturally rather than through formal programmes with artificial timelines.

What Brain Drain Actually Looks Like

Puerto Rico's brain drain isn't just about economics—it's about infrastructure for a sense of belonging. When Mari talks about people leaving for mainland opportunities, she's describing something deeper than job availability. She's telling the story of the collapse of the systems that make staying feel possible.

The brutal efficiency of the $300 flight to opportunity reveals something about rootedness that applies far beyond islands. People don't just leave for better jobs—they go when they can't imagine building the life they want where they are. The brain drain accelerates when local talent can't find a local community.

Mari's generation made a choice that requires sustained courage: come back and build the infrastructure that makes staying possible for the next generation. Not through individual heroism, but through the patient work of community building that creates economic opportunity from the inside out.

This connects to what's happening in post-industrial cities across the UK and Europe. The challenge isn't just creating jobs—it's creating the community infrastructure that makes local opportunity feel viable and valuable.

Selling the Invisible Without Selling Your Soul

Every coworking operator struggles with this: how do you market community? Mari's answer is beautifully practical: lead with infrastructure, deliver community. People come for backup power and reliable internet. They stay because they've found their people.

This solves the marketing problem without compromising the community. You're not overselling magical networking or corporate wellness nonsense. You're offering concrete value—an address, a permit pathway, a place to work when the lights go out. But you're designing everything to create the conditions where community happens naturally.

Mari's retention strategy isn't a retention strategy—it's just what happens when people find where they belong. The business model becomes sustainable because the community value becomes undeniable. People don't cancel memberships to communities that changed their lives.

The Economics of 200 Jobs That Can't All Fail at Once

Mari's most powerful insight demolishes the traditional economic development playbook in one sentence: "When you invest millions on having a 200-person company come to your town...the moment that company can't work anymore, you lose 200 jobs. That will never happen i