Why A Defense Technology Consultant Chose An Industrious Space In Arlington

With her background in venture capital-backed private industry and in the executive and legislative branches of government, Sarah Mineiro knows the importance of thorough research.

That is how the founder and CEO of Tanagra Enterprises approached her search for her first shared workspace after she recognized that her growing startup needed more room and resources than her home office could provide.

Mineiro said she researched various shared workspace brands and visited several spaces in Arlington, Virginia. 

“When I walked into the Industrious space here at Arlington Court House, I said, ‘Yeah, this is it,’” she said.

Mineiro moved her operations into the Industrious location at 2311 Wilson Blvd. in Arlington in 2023. She said the office in the city’s Court House district had several advantages that other coworking spaces couldn’t match, ranging from aesthetics to location. 

“I liked how clean everything was and that there was lots of natural light and plants,” she said. “The people were friendly, and it was super close to the Metro with easy access to D.C., too.”

Mineiro said she also appreciated that Industrious didn’t “nickel and dime every little thing,” whether it was to print a document or grab a soda. Instead, a single fee allowed her to concentrate on her new business instead of worrying about her bottom line every time she or a member of her team needed a little caffeine.

Mineiro, who uses both private office and meeting spaces at Arlington Court House, has expanded her footprint at the location since moving in.

“I took over the space next to me, and that allows me to have a dedicated conference room that I have access to 24/7,” she said. 

For an owner of a small business, the Industrious space offers advantages that go beyond a professional work environment. Foremost among them are the Industrious people themselves, who Mineiro said are “virtually part of my team” and perform vital front-line and back-office tasks for Tanagra.

“The Industrious employees on-site are some of the first people my clients see when they come in to visit,” she said. “They provide a welcoming environment and are always super friendly, helpful and professional. I've really enjoyed working with them.”

Industrious also assists with back-end functions, such as shipping and receiving, that a small business might struggle to do on its own.

“They offer help with all of these things that, as a busy business owner, you don't have time to think about but you have to think about,” she said. “They kind of offload all of that and take care of it so you don't have to worry about it.”

Arlington Court House is one of four spaces Industrious operates in Arlington, where a typical member is likely to be an entrepreneur similar to Mineiro. These are people who could work at home but prefer a more professional environment to present to clients, said Bridget Cahill, general manager for Industrious locations in the Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C., area.

The Court House is also where Cahill began her career with Industrious six years ago. 

“All of our locations in Arlington are special but Court House stands out with amenities that include an accessible rooftop, fitness facility, bike room and electric vehicle charging in the garage,” Cahill said. “Our landlord there, Carr Properties, adds a lot of value by hosting their own events in addition to the Industrious programming, which creates an even stronger sense of community in the building.”

Creating community — making clients like Tanagra feel part of a group of peers who can share experiences and ideas — is important to the Industrious brand. So important, in fact, that it is something the Arlington Court House team strove to maintain even during the pandemic, when most people were avoiding social situations.

“It was such an isolating time and we really had to get creative to continue to build the community even when our members weren't coming into the office,” Cahill said. “We used to do coffee chats over Zoom with all of our members every day at 10 o'clock, as if we were in the office and welcoming them in for the day. We’d do things like explain how to use a Slack channel. It was really fun and, honestly, those members from that time are still some of my closest friends.”

With the pandemic largely in the rearview mirror, Cahill said occupancy at Industrious’ Arlington sites has ramped up greatly in the past 12-18 months and the company hopes to eventually get them to 100% occupancy. Loyal members like Mineiro help make that a realistic goal, particularly as they can access multiple Industrious sites as the need arises.

“I love this space because it's on the Virginia side and it does not require me to drive into D.C. every day, but I can get into D.C. very easily when I need to,” Mineiro said. “And they've got lots of locations in D.C. as well that I could use. But for my everyday operations, it's easier to be in Northern Virginia at Arlington Court House.”

This article was produced in collaboration between Industrious and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.