Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Taylor.
Hi Chris, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My journey with the Red Fridge Society began with a passion for creating cultures that foster community and innovation. In 2009, I purchased a 1920s Craftsman house off West 6th Street in Austin to serve as the headquarters for my enterprise software company, Square Root. As the company grew, we expanded into six neighboring houses and created a very un-corporate “campus”. This unique setup was the core of our inclusive culture and resulted in a two-page feature in FORTUNE magazine as their second-best US company to work for. That article helped us hire one of the best teams in the city, so I can draw a direct correlation from our unique office space to the success of Square Root.
After selling Square Root, in 2021, I reflected on how to merge my professional experience with my personal mission to help entrepreneurs through community. Since I had this very niche skill of building culture in old houses, and had taken over the original craftsman house from my acquirer (with all of my favorite furniture), I decided to use it as the basis for a community for experienced founders. We launched the Red Fridge Society in September 2023.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Since I have teenage daughters and wanted to have time flexibility, I designed the Red Fridge Society to be a lot easier on me than running a software company! However, transitioning from leading a tech company to creating a community-focused space required a shift in mindset and approach. One of the initial hurdles was defining the culture so that the members (we call them Fridge Magnates) truly connect to help them grow in their businesses and personal lives. I wanted to avoid the typical coworking or social club environments where sitting down next to someone and introducing yourself would be strange. At the Society, the community is the whole point, and it’s rude not to stop and say hello.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The Red Fridge Society is more than just a coworking space; it’s a curated community for seasoned entrepreneurs and investors in Austin. Housed in a historic 1920s Craftsman bungalow, the space is designed to foster serendipitous interactions, deep conversations, and collaborative opportunities. Members have the freedom to use the space in a way that suits them—whether that’s getting out of their house a few days a week to cowork and interact with other entrepreurs, holding their board meetings in a creative space, hosting a late-night brainstorming session, or sharing a glass of wine with other Magnates.
What sets us apart is our emphasis on intentionality. We’re not about maximizing occupancy or scaling rapidly. Instead, we focus on building a tight-knit community where each member contributes to and benefits from the collective experience. Our focus is on authentic relationships and collaborations that emerge organically within the Society. Most of our members have a conversation in the first few weeks that pays for the first few years.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
The Red Fridge Society name and brand emerged from brainstorming with my family during our summer vacation in 2023. We had looked at names that describe old houses (Bungalow, Craftsman, etc.), but most were already bars on Rainey Street. So we decided to have fun with it and modeled the brand on secret societies that were popular in the 1920s when the house was built.
An old red fridge with a beer tap was the first piece of furniture I bought in 2009 when Square Root moved in. Being the first thing you saw when you walked in the front door, it had become a cultural touchstone for the house and seemed like a fitting cornerstone for our brand.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.redfridgesociety.com/
- Instagram: @red_fridge_society
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/redfridgesociety
