Coworking Knoxville had its first official gathering at Panera Bread on April 14th, 2008 as a way for entrepreneurs, self-employed professionals, and virtual employees to work and collaborate together.  It was first organized by Page Patten and Alex Lavidge whom both moved to Knoxville, TN from California around the same time.  Both felt that working on their laptops either out of home or out of a coffee shop was kind of lame.  Inspired by the coworking movement in San Francisco and across the country, they scouted Knoxville for a good spot to start holding weekly gatherings.  After a week of scouting, they decided that Panera Bread at 4485 Kingston Pike was a good location due to its accessibility, free wifi, and neutral appearance.

As the group grew through announcements on craigslist.org, upcoming.org, and facebook.com, as well as several local blogs, on June 16th, 2008 the Knoxville Business Journal published an article about the coworking group.

As membership grew, on July 2nd, 2008 the first official Knoxville Overground meeting was held to discuss the possibility of what the future could look like.  A few days later the grassroots organization launched the http://www.knoxvilleoverground.com website which continues to illustrate the evolving vision to create a community of creative independents with a space where they can work, connect, and grow.

On July 23rd, we set up a twitter.com account that in less than two weeks later attracted just over 120 followers.

Presently we are utilizing the World Grotto at 16 Market Square for our coworking location and meeting spot on Wednesdays and you’ll also find us working here throughout the workweek M-F from 10AM – 5PM.