The story behind Socialhaus
Interview by Avir Waxman
Coco Liu is the Founder of Socialhaus, a space designed to be a new urban living room. She hopes to help people relearn how to connect in a meaningful way.
I want to start at the beginning, before anything started with Socialhaus, where were you?
I was working in design for a few different tech companies. So, initially, I started doing business development, and I transitioned myself into design. I was working for a design agency in a corporate setting. After that I helped a friend build a brand for a startup from scratch.
I was working in design…in tech. There was this definition of success…that you continue to climb the tech ladder, and go higher and higher. So I think I was en route for being a senior designer. I think if I continued that for 5 or 10 more years the goal would have been to become a VP of Design in tech. That was my trajectory.
Why did you decide that wasn’t the path? What didn’t you like?
It was the fact that everyone was all thinking and doing the same thing, in a way. Everyone was trying to think of “how do I design the next app” — everyone is always thinking about that.
There are times that the social aspect — I had an apartment in the Mission district — and a lot of times after work, I worked in downtown, I would be walking home and just not want to go back home. My roommate was perpetually not there so I never went back to a place where there were people, it was always just empty. My friends were always not in town or — it was always just the social life wasn’t ideal and the work life wasn’t where I wanted to be. It just got to a point where i just wanted to quit everything and just leave San Francisco.
I had a conversation with a friend: if you could give me any position in SF or the tech world — I wouldn’t want it. Even the dream job for a lot of designers, I didn’t want it. Even though I really liked design as a profession, something didn’t feel right. I felt more or less stuck, in the city. I think I was at a good place — I had a chance to work at Google, had a chance to build a startup, yet I chose to step out of it.
What do you mean you ‘stepped out of it’?
I bought a one way ticket to Finland.
Wow! Just a one way ticket? What was your plan?
I didn’t have one. That was part of the adventure.
So why did you choose Finland? Why not somewhere warmer and more relaxing?
Part of the reason I chose Finland was because it’s damp and dark the majority of the year, yet the Nordic region is consistently ranked the happiest in the world. I wanted to see why.
What did you find? What makes them so happy?
I found more public places where you are meant to just be, to exist, to not worry about spending a long time. I found places designed to encourage spontaneous encounters.
There’s a term in Danish I really like called hygge. It’s a concept without a direct equivalent in English; the closest translation would be the idea of a cozy place: dim lighting, with a fireplace or candles. It’s a feeling of, I guess, being with friends. It could be a solo activity of having a warm drink by the fireplace. It’s that feeling of being relaxed in a community.
And I noticed that trend continued around the world. From Scandinavia to Italy to Indonesia, I found the same kind of places.
That concept — I feel like it’s missing in America, in a way. Perhaps in a culture that values individualism, we tend to be more self sufficient and focus on efforts that result in productivity. The idea of slowing down is almost obscure.
How did you develop the idea for Socialhaus?
Initially I thought of the idea of coliving. So I went to Bali to spend time at a coliving space called Roam. I spent about 10 days there. And that’s when I noticed everyone was connecting with each other at the kitchen, when people were making coffee or putting their stuff in the fridge. I found myself lurking around the kitchen area just so I could meet people.
So that’s when I kind of realized: it wasn’t the coliving aspect and it wasn’t the coworking aspect that was connecting people. The living and working components were nice, but weren’t really the core that made the experience what it was.
And I remember sitting in this coffee shop in New York, I was reading through business books, and it just clicked. That combination of that kitchen experience in Bali, as well as a coffee setting that was meant for a community — like Central Perk from Friends. I thought “Oh, what if I could just build an urban living room; a situation where you can just be walking on the street and see this beautiful and very cozy setting…if you could just step into an urban space to talk to strangers, and immediately feel welcomed…”
The minute I decided this is what I wanted to do, I came back.
So how did you decide on this specifically? Why not come back and do design work, or keep traveling? Why spend your time doing this?
I think it was — I guess I had some options of how I could spend my time. There was the option of coming back to the tech-design world (which was like my plan D, or something), and there was also the option of continuing to travel forever. (I think I could just live off freelancing design if I really wanted to.) But a part of me has a drive to build something that is meaningful or impactful.
If there’s something I could spend all my time doing, it’s not traveling, it’s not designing interfaces. Whatever the options may be, I want to spend time building a space to connect people.
That’s the passion I landed on after traveling, after seeing how different spaces brought people together.
So, you decided on Socialhaus, you hopped back onto a plane — and then what? What did you do when you came back?
The first thing I did was get a membership at this WeWork location; after being a big believer in how a space can affect someone’s emotions, I wanted to work in an office environment that is meant to connect and inspire. And then I built out the website on my own, I made a landing page. Right after, on February 6th, I hosted the first popup event.
What was that event like? Did it work out?
Only about eight or nine people came. But we’ve really grown since then — we have tons of people coming to each of our events now.
How have you grown and changed as an organization since that first event?
That first event took place at a friend’s apartment lounge. Initially I thought of it as a one or two time event, just to test out the experience. But after that first week, I realized I could use the events to build a community on its own, so I started hosting consistent events three times a week. And, like I said, we’ve really grown. Now, many of our attendees come from word-of-mouth. We’ve really developed a natural and fast-paced growth.
In terms of evolving it, we launched membership, and will be looking into getting our own space.
What would that space look like? Would you copy any of the things you saw in Finland or Bali?
I really want to mesh all the stuff from different cultures that I liked, and pulling them all together into this Frankenstein kind of thing. — — So there is that feeling of hygge I was talking about, and I would have elderflower drinks because they drank it a lot when I was there and it seemed very calming. When I was in Israel, in Tel Aviv, the one thing I liked the most was the 24/7 cafes that serve food; there would just be people hanging out, in discussion groups — so we’d have food. And when I was in Turkey, I loved going to mosques, because they’re always carpeted, very comfortable; it was a place for self-reflection and community, not just worship.
I imagine a space where, obviously, it’ll be very comfortable and cozy. I would remove desks because they serve as a barrier when you’re sitting across from someone. It feels like an interview, and I don’t want that to be the case. You’ll sit on bean bags or couches or even on cushions on the floor, like a living room. There wouldn’t be a lot of tables for people to work on, because it’s not meant to be a work space. I also want to include elements of design that inspire people to have a playful feeling.
Playful? What do you mean by that?
I remember a friend saying that we used to play with random kids — like building a sand castle together. When you’re a kid on the beach, you would just start building a sand castle, and then other kids would come join you. But as adults we don’t do that, we don’t randomly play with strangers. We want to provide that space where you can feel like your childhood imagination is coming back; where you would feel natural “playing” with strangers. Maybe we’ll even have legos and board games.
Any last things you want to add?
There used to be so many places that were designed to bring people together to meet in a casual and comfortable environment. People have forgotten how to connect. Socialhaus is meant to change that.
