Droplabs is a coworking space, classroom and computer lab in Downtown Los Angeles. Founded in 2011 by 7 entrepreneurs and members of the Drupal and open source communities, Droplabs quickly grew out of its humble space to become a larger community of freelancers, entrepreneurs, remote workers, and lifelong learners.

Events at Droplabs have included the Drupal Job Fairs, the Drupal Employers Summit, the 12-week Module Development Boot Camp and Drupal Design Camp LA… but most importantly, our community is made up of members who support each other personally and professionally in a positive environment.

In 2013, Droplabs was recognized by Drupical as the world's Top Drupal Location.

We'd love to see more places like Droplabs, and we're happy to talk at DrupalCon Austin about how others can replicate our success — and avoid or overcome the challenges we've had over the years.

Some of the topics we'll cover include:

• Identifying a space to build a location-based community
• Traffic and parking in Downtown Los Angeles
• Making decisions in a consensus-based organization
• Empowering members to become leaders
• Disrupting the coworking business model
• Paying the bills (rent, insurance, staff, etc.)
• … and still having fun!