The Riveter will open its fifth location in Bellevue on Saturday — its first Puget Sound location outside Seattle. The Riveter, a women-focused operator of co-working space, is getting ready to open the doors of its new location, this time in Bellevue. The Riveter will open at 1203 114th Ave. S.E., just southeast of downtown Bellevue, on Saturday with room for about 500 people to work. It’s the fifth spot for the startup, which launched less than a year and a half ago, and the first Puget Sound location outside Seattle. Founder Amy Nelson started the company when she was taking small-businesses classes held at various co-working spaces while contemplating starting her own venture. Nelson, a former corporate litigator, is used to being in male-dominated environments, but was still surprised with how uncomfortable she felt in many of the co-working spaces. Everything, from the kegs to pingpong tables often found in the spaces, felt like it was built for men. She set out to build The Riveter — not just for women, but to include everyone, she said at the company’s flagship Capitol Hill location this week. “We build what we know,” she said. “We create spaces where we feel comfortable.” The Riveter has some closed offices, but more open work space, or shared desks, than many co-working spaces and offers flexible memberships for people who just want to make use of the space part-time. It also hosts events encouraging gender parity in the workforce — from weekly office hours that allow female entrepreneurs to meet with venture capitalists to a series teaching men how they can be allies at work. The Riveter now has nearly 2,000 members, about 25 percent of whom are men. The company quickly opened a Fremont spot after its Capitol Hill launch, as well as two Los Angeles locations, and now is headed to the Eastside. It will continue expanding next year, Nelson said, though no more co-working spaces are currently planned for the Puget Sound region. Members have been asking for a Bellevue location since The Riveter opened, she said. The new space is about 14,000 square feet. Memberships range from $99 per month for an undedicated desk to $1,650 for a private office.
A women-focused operator of co-working space has opened in Bellevue , east of Seattle , its first location in next year . Amy Nelson , a former corporate lawyer, founded The Riveter in response to a predominance of male-dominated co-working environments. Her start-up is offering more open workspaces and shared desks than co-working spaces generally do, as well as providing flexible membership options for those requiring space only part-time. The latest location measures almost 14,000 sq ft and can accommodate About one quarter people. about 500 of The Riveter's 2,000-strong membership are men.