Spaciously

Spaciously operates a two-sided marketplace that lets companies book private team-building activities and workshops run by local small-business owners and artisans. Corporate buyers browse listings filtered by city, group size, price per person and activity type — categories include culinary adventures, wellness and mindfulness, art/craft/design, outdoor adventures, team challenges and games, drink crafting and tasting, and seasonal and holiday. Listed experiences range from roughly $19 to $230 per person and accommodate groups from about 8 to 1,000 guests; examples include kintsugi classes, kimchi making, candle making, pottery, scavenger hunts, food tours and escape rooms.

On the supply side, Spaciously recruits artists, artisans, instructors, chefs, caterers, facilitators, event planners, venue owners and similar small businesses as "hosts." Hosts set their own prices and cancellation policies, are onboarded via a call with the Spaciously team, and are paid by invoice or direct deposit within a few business days after an event. Spaciously coordinates logistics, connects clients with hosts after checkout, handles multi-vendor events that combine an activity with add-ons such as catering or custom-printed shirts, and advises clients on matters such as certificates of insurance required by office buildings. All activities are sold as private events with a dedicated instructor and exclusive use of a venue or venue section, with upfront pricing and no added fees or expected tips. If a host cannot fulfill a booking, the company states it will source a substitute or issue a full refund.

Founding story

Spaciously was founded by two INSEAD MBA students, Laurent Baillot and Hanna Kanabiajeuskaja. The idea began in a "New Business Ventures" elective in which teams had two months to develop and pitch a business to VCs. Co-founder Hanna observed empty storefronts in San Francisco, and interviews with retail entrepreneurs surfaced a recurring complaint that while online tools exist for selling and advertising, small businesses lack an equivalent way to meet customers in the physical world. Baillot had worked six years in data as an analyst and manager before the MBA [4].

Business model

Two-sided marketplace: corporate clients book and pay for activities through the site's checkout, and the small-business hosts that supply the experiences list for free. Spaciously also assembles multi-vendor events by combining an activity host with suppliers such as caterers and print makers [2][3].

Commission-based. Listing is free for hosts and Spaciously charges a 15% commission only when a host is booked and paid by a client; prices shown to clients are stated to be all-inclusive with no additional fees, with tips included [3].

Traction

The company reports having helped clients book more than 200 activities since 2022, with events ranging from a team of five to more than 250 guests. An August 2023 interview cited more than 130 events hosted since 2022 with partners including Lululemon and HubSpot. Host reviews are aggregated on Trustpilot with a 4.7 rating cited by the company [2][3][4].

Latest developments

As of the company's own materials, Spaciously is running an active catalog of bookable activities across multiple U.S. metros and recruiting additional small-business hosts, and reports over 200 activities booked since 2022 [0][2][3].