Meet Amy Brown from Generator

People Behind the Space: Generator

Generator is a leading flexible workspace provider in New Zealand and offers a dynamic range of workspaces, meeting rooms and event spaces across Auckland and Wellington. They offer five striking, character-rich buildings in sought-after locations that include state-of-the-art facilities and amenities. Generator strives to provide an inspiring environment where individuals and teams can thrive, fostering creativity, productivity, and meaningful connections.

We caught up with Amy Brown from Generator to find out more about what makes Generator's wheels turn.

Amy Brown From Generator

1. Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do at Generator.

I equate myself to being around  400  years old in coworking years. I started in coworking in January 2013 at Generator.  Starting so early on in the industry in NZ,  meeting so many people everyday and constantly transacting new deals and renewals of members has me feeling like I live many lives within each 12 month period. I started as Sales Manager when we had just one site, became manager of that site and then our second site and when Precinct purchased the business in 2019 I became GM of Sites (back then we had 3 in Auckland). I finally moved into my current role as Head of Business Development and we have opened 2 further sites in Wellington since then plus added our Event and Meeting Suites at the bottom of HSBC and Commercial Bay towers. I’m part of the Generator Head office team,  looking after all things revenue for the business, focusing primarily on membership across our sites in Auckland and Wellington. The Site Managers being in my team also means I still contribute to the operations of the sites and my passion, the Community Engagement Program. Being a bit of a live wire for people, I fell in love with the concept of having so many humans and businesses working under the same roof. The unique environment was and is super stimulating for me. And apparently rather addictive. I am a pretty busy working Mum of 2 kids, my husband and I own a small business that he runs alongside being a musician so life is pretty full for us. Luckily I live for holidays, so I often have something in the diary to take the family away and relax too.

Meeting Room at Generator Bowen Campus

1. What do you like most about Generator and how does it differ from other workspaces?

It's always going to be the people for me. Our team and the members. I get such a kick out of seeing members who have been at Generator as long as I have, watching members find each other and collaborate and working with an amazingly passionate and talented bunch of people. I have been lucky enough to see an idea come to life, develop and expand and it's not lost on me how special and unique that is.  Generator is designed to be an all inclusive offering, all singing, all dancing, we are kind of like a Stage 5 clinger, we want to be everything to our members. From designing beautiful spaces and providing everything you need to operate in them (tech to tea bags!), to remembering your birthday and leaving a wee treat at your desk on your special day. We have a really strong coworking and hot desk offering for small businesses but then we do really tailored bespoke options and managed suites for some of the worlds biggest companies. Our resourcing is as fulsome as our offering, from IT support staff to concierge, hospitality, community managers and event staff. We are all hospitality people in some regard and put a big emphasis on this, all our sites have a cafe/bar offering. We run and support a sizable event business, offering members and retail clients event suites of varying sizes with impressive hybrid technology and support staff. Time in market and regular member feedback strategies has afforded us experience and valuable insights. We know what to focus on to engage our members, what they expect of us and how to attract them but we also know to keep asking and keep learning. We remain NZ owned which affords us the ability to be agile when it comes to customising deals (my happy place) and making something fit for the needs of the member. One size does not fit all! Especially in such a hybrid work environment where almost all businesses are curating their own strategy.

Generator Madden Street

You work with several different Generator locations - do you have a favourite and why?

This is a very controversial question! My heart belongs to Stanbeth in Britomart, being our first site and spiritual home. I have been going there longer than I have lived in my past two houses and from before I had kids so it holds a special place. Britomart Place ticks a lot of boxes for me too, stunning harbour views notwithstanding, I feel this site is the model in action. Lots of smaller offices (15 and under) means many small teams which is great for revenue and risk profile reasons but also for community engagement.  Smaller teams tend to look outwards for collaboration and community which makes the engagement strategy super meaningful and community interactions plentiful. But then there are our beautiful new Wellington sites! These really represent who we are as Generator today and they are so new and shiny which helps us operationally as we apply our learnings and experience into new site designs.

Can you describe the community and types of businesses within your spaces?

Not really haha, it's super diverse which keeps it interesting! I’d say that we tend to attract more established businesses who require the level of service within our offering and want to be CBD-based. Solo operators, consultants and SMEs to large corporations and global brands.  We are fairly well represented across tech sectors (over 40% of our resident member base) and each site seems to attract its own tribe of people and businesses. Wynyard Quarter is our largest site and attracts bigger teams in the professional service sector but also innovation and tech is very well represented here. Being a heritage, character building, Stanbeth (Britomart) often attracts the more creative and agency types and Bowen St in Wellington by nature of its location, government partners and businesses wanting to be located close by to key government agencies. 

I’ve found that sites self-craft their communities to a degree, the trick is not to push it too hard but to create opportunities and touch points for members to meet and engage with each other without pressure or too much officiousness. We hope that our messaging conveys our inclusivity value. We are certified Rainbow tick holders and operate as a Safe Space so what’s most important to us is that our members can attract and retain the talent they need and that operating in a Generator space means that everyone feels welcome and that they belong. We run a concierge swap program to ensure our team remains connected and aligned, this seems to help encourage our members to move around sites as well. Consistency is important to us, especially as we have grown. We want our members and guests to feel the Generator personality and service no matter which site they are at, so this strategy assists with that.

Generator Bowen Campus

If you had to describe Generator as a workspace in 3 words - what would they be?

1. All the C words….Community Collaboration Coworking   - isn’t this the essence of what we do?
2.  

   1. If you could pick any 3 of your members to have dinner with, who would it be and why?

George Hulbert (The Clarity Business) - Our longest-standing member, this would feel like catching up with a friend and in fact we would have had lunch together fairly recently anyway.

Kathryn Sandford (M2MCoaching and Recruitment) - Kathryn is amazing. I always feel re-energized and empowered after spending time with her. She’s aspirational to me and you’ll always leave a conversation with her full of valuable insights. I want to be her when I grow up. 

Derek Wilson (RedHat) - This would probably be a beer on the deck at Britomart Place. Despite playing hard to get for a few years I finally managed to get RedHat as a member.. We have seen a few evolutions of their business over the years which is a true testament to our relationship and the way that the model works well for their global tech team.

Generator Britomart Place

1. If you had one piece of advice for anyone setting up a flexible workspace what would it be?

Understand that hospitality is at the core of everything. 

2. Are there any exciting plans in the pipeline for Generator?

Always! That's why I love working here!  Alongside our continuous drive to improve our product offering and innovate what we have, we are opening a new site in a brand new building in Wynyard Quarter in early 2025. It's going to be pretty special. A CTL (timber) building, it is aiming at high scores for Green Star and Nabers ratings. It will feature a 500 pax event space and stunning ground floor meeting and boardrooms. A floor of office suites are already gaining expressions of interest. I’m pretty excited about this one as it has such a definite sustainability outline which will drive us to ensure alignment with the members and push us to improve and promote the ESG agenda.

Generator Waring Taylor in Wellington

1. What do you see as the big trends emerging in co-working and what do you want to see more of? 

Supporting business's ESG requirements, demand increasing in larger corporates and operators harnessing this in their offerings. Amenity/hospitality being a core focus for decision-makers in their drive to win and retain talent. It’s so heartening to see the growth of the industry in NZ and the improving openness to sharing ideas and collaborating as an industry in its own right. Something I am very keen on supporting and promoting more of in 2024! We will be part of the Auckland Climate Festival 2024 hosting a day unconference event.

Generator Stanbeth House