Buckle Up: Monday and Tuesday at GCUC NYC

GCUC is not a conference you drift into.

It is a build. A progression. A deliberate sequence of connection, strategy, candor, and momentum.

Here is how it begins.

Monday, April 13: The Energy Starts Before the Stage

We do not wait for the first keynote to begin GCUC.

Check In and Cheers, sponsored by Vari, is where your week truly starts—location to be announced soon.

Pick up your badge. Have a drink on Vari. Reconnect with someone you have not seen in a year. Meet someone you have only known online. Start the conversations that will carry through the rest of the conference.

This is not transactional. It is the ignition point.

The bags are checked. The runway is ahead.

Let’s go.

Tuesday, April 14: We Move First

We begin in motion.

At 8:00 AM, Miles and Mixes, our city run with FOUNDRY all the way from London, gets us out into New York. This is global coworking community in action. Fresh air. Real conversations. Business and wellness woven together before the main stage lights come on.

When doors open for breakfast, take your time. Grab a bite inspired by our host city. Walk the room. Get your first look at the fabulous sponsors who power this ecosystem. The buzz builds quickly.

Curated Connection Before Content

Before the official launch, we open with First Class Connections led by Lisa Skye.

You asked for facilitated networking. We listened.

This is structured, high energy, intentional connection. Lisa brings the framework that makes meaningful introductions happen.

Important: this session has limited capacity. You will reserve your seat directly in the event app. If you want in, claim your spot early.

No middle seat energy allowed.

The Official Launch

GCUC officially begins when Liz Elam, Founder of GCUC, takes the stage for Upgrading the Industry.

This is not housekeeping. It is a forward push.

This year includes the launch of a new initiative designed to elevate our industry and confront the mental health crisis impacting founders, operators, and leaders. If we are serious about community, we have to take responsibility for the wellbeing of the people building coworking.

You will also hear about two new product offerings coming from GCUC. These are built in direct response to where the market is shifting and what coworking operators need to stay relevant, resilient, and competitive in the next chapter.

And we will look ahead. Where capital is moving. How enterprise expectations are evolving. What the future of coworking truly demands.

This is about trajectory.

Brand, CEOs, and the Unscripted Future

From there, the Main Stage sharpens the lens.

Koral Ibrahim reframes brand as infrastructure. In today’s environment, brand is not decoration. It is positioning. It is trust. It is long term leverage.

Then we step into The Unscripted Future Forum.

No scripts. No rehearsed talking points. No safe answers.

This year, we are adding four more CEOs to the conversation, broadening the perspective and deepening the candor. This is operators speaking honestly about what is actually happening in the market and what is next.

If you want surface level optimism, this is not it. If you want real insight, this is the room.

Breaking the Playbook: The Next Era of Coworking and Clubs

Coworking and club spaces are evolving, and the old playbook is no longer enough.

This panel brings together leaders who are actively rethinking how space, membership, and community are designed.

Jodi Goldstein.
Amanda Neanor.
Justin Gurland.
Louisa Li.
Espoir Michalek.

Some come from wellness forward environments. Others are building new club models that prioritize culture, creativity, and connection without leading with wellness at all. What they share is a willingness to question assumptions and experiment beyond what has traditionally defined coworking.

The conversation will explore how next generation spaces are reshaping expectations around belonging, programming, and business models. What has worked. What has been unexpectedly hard. Where operators often misjudge what members actually value.

They will dig into psychological safety. Connection without burnout. Hospitality with clear boundaries. New approaches to membership. And the operational realities of building spaces that feel meaningful while still performing financially.

This session is for founders and operators who are less interested in copying what already exists and more focused on building what comes next.

Live Podcast Collaboration with Caleb Parker

Throughout the day, the Toronto room comes alive with live podcast recordings in collaboration with Caleb Parker from Brave.

This series focuses squarely on real estate. Owners. Operators. Capital. Portfolio strategy. The real conversations shaping coworking’s relationship with the built environment.

Podcasting works because it allows nuance and depth. Live, it becomes electric. You are not consuming polished content. You are inside the dialogue as it unfolds.

Check the website we’re adding new amazing peeps all the time. 

Global Insight and Tactical Depth

In the afternoon, we widen the lens.

Uri Iskin shares how coworking is thriving across South America, even in capital-constrained environments. Innovation born from necessity always carries lessons for the rest of us.

And because visibility fuels growth, Joe Apfelbaum delivers a practical session on using LinkedIn authentically with AI. Tactical. Efficient. Immediately actionable.

This is not inspiration without application. It is both.

Closing With Perspective

We close the main stage with a fireside conversation between Annie Dean and Liz Elam.

Annie brings deep enterprise workplace expertise. Together, they explore how coworking fits into broader real estate portfolios, how hybrid work is maturing, and what community means at scale.

Then we gather for Gate Check with Keita Demming. A pulse check. What landed. What surprised you. What ideas are still buzzing.

The Layover Lounge

And because the best conversations rarely end when the stage lights dim, we head into The Layover Lounge, sponsored by Office R&D.

This is where ideas deepen. Partnerships spark. And the day settles into something more relaxed but just as powerful.

Monday ignites it.
Tuesday elevates it.

And this is just some highlights, check the agenda for all the juicy details. 

Tomorrow, we break down the next two days of GCUC.

If you have been thinking about joining us in NYC, do not wait. Sessions will fill. NYC is not a place that rewards pause. The rooms will buzz whether you are there or not.

Buy your ticket.
Claim your seat.
Be in the room where the future of coworking is being shaped in real time.  na.gcuc.co