# CSI's 23-year coworking journey with Tonya Surman

An episode of [This Week In Coworking](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1685012817), 4 Mar 2026, 30 min.

Audio: https://anchor.fm/s/e02ed778/podcast/play/116362613/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-2-4%2F419249179-44100-2-40a41797dc415.mp3

Host Hector Kolonas interviews Tonya Surman about founding the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI) in Toronto in 2004 as a shared space for small nonprofits before the term “coworking” existed, initially offering shared resources and “virtual tenancy.” Surman recounts CSI’s growth from 14 organizations to hundreds across multiple locations, including buying a 36,000-square-foot building in 2010 using a city loan guarantee and community bonds. More links and details in the show notes at https://twic.co/23yearsShe discusses tensions around credit for coworking’s origins, emphasizing CSI’s mission of social impact and relationship-building over branding. Surman details CSI’s financial challenges—rapid expansion, never fully breaking even, COVID member losses, rising interest rates, and selling a building to the City of Toronto for an Indigenous homeless shelter—leading to consolidation, community-financed debt, and finally reaching profitability. She argues coworking’s enduring value is belonging and relationships, warning that scaling can undermine humanity.Chapters00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro00:45 CSI Origins in 200404:28 From Shared Space to Growth06:53 Who Gets Credit for Coworking10:40 What Changed and What Stayed True13:53 Niches and Transactional Spaces16:44 CSI Financial Rollercoaster24:12 Finding the Sweet Spot27:34 Future of Coworking29:53 Closing Thanks

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