It was in New York where Natalie Batlle discovered women's clubs, spaces where they can develop professionally and personally, while meeting other professionals, something that has always been reserved for men. "When I came back home, I thought I wish someone would open one here," she says. But it has been her who has ended up doing it, convinced of its necessity since her first maternity leave, when she saw how her career in the marketing world slowed down. With the birth of her son, Batlle realized how difficult it was to reconcile, but talking to more women she saw that it was difficult for all of them, not just for mothers. It is here where Juno House began to take shape, a project that takes its name from the Roman goddess in charge of protecting the home, "and she was also a warrior," adds Batlle. Liana Grieg and Eva Vila-Massanas complete the founding team.
Juno House will open its doors next March. Batlle defines it as "an urban refuge for conciliation and balance between personal and professional life, and above all a springboard for the professional career of its members, fostering creativity, productivity and international synergies." Asked about the women this project is aimed at, the founder and CEO states that anyone interested in growing and expanding their circle and willing to share and find a safe space is invited to participate.
The new club will be located in La Farinera de Aribau, an architectural gem hidden in the interior of the block between Aribau, Travessera de Gràcia, Tuset and Moià, past Diagonal. It is only discreetly glimpsed from Moià street, just behind the French Institute. It is an old 19th-century factory, with an area of more than 1,400 square meters distributed in a five-story tower and an industrial nave, which has become a mechanical workshop. It was restored a few years ago by the Barcelona architecture studio Bogom and Juno House will be the first use it will have since the renovation. Currently under construction, architect Merche Conca from BCA studio and interior designer Meritxell Ribé from The Room Studio are getting it ready for its premiere.
The members who become part of Juno House will find a space where they can go to work, but also to disconnect and take care of themselves. "We will put under one roof what we need to feel good, both personally and professionally," illustrates Batlle.Although it has been created by women and for women, men will be allowed to participate in the organized activities. There are also men on the team behind the project.
Liana Grieg, Natalie Batlle and Eva Vila-Massanas, the founders of Juno House.
The new club will be divided into two areas. On one hand, the old industrial building will house the professional services. It will have co-working rooms, for meetings and videoconferences. There will also be a stage where talks and round tables focused on business and entrepreneurship topics can be held, as well as concerts and art exhibitions. A podcast recording studio will even be installed, from which, for example, the different members of this community will be interviewed. One of the prominent spaces will be the Juno House store, which will serve to display and sell products from some of its members.
On the other hand, the five-story building will be dedicated to well-being. Each floor will have a specific use. The ground floor will be for the bar where one can relax after work, with concerts, wine tastings, and private dinners. Talks will also be given, which, unlike those in the industrial building, will be more personal and less professional. The first floor will be dedicated to families, with areas for children's activities and after-school programs, where homework can be done or languages learned. A daycare service can also be hired. Another floor will be reserved for beauty, with options such as acupuncture, massages, or facials, and another for well-being, with meditation, yoga, fitness, or prenatal and postnatal preparation classes. The Juno House offices will be on the top floor.
It will start with 300 members and a monthly fee of 135 euros
To be part of this new community, one must pass an initial selection by the promoting team and pay a fee. Three months before its launch, Juno House has received more than 500 applications. Batlle and her colleagues are reading all the applications to make a selection, with the aim of ensuring a good mix of different professional profiles, who will come from multiple backgrounds and cover a good range of ages. At launch, the community will consist of 300 women, but it is expected to grow by the end of the year.
Batlle and her colleagues are reading all the membership applications to make a selection, with the aim of guaranteeing a good mix of different professional profiles, who will come from multiple backgrounds and cover a good range of agesInitially, the membership fee will be 135 euros per month, an amount that represents an outlay of 1,600 euros per year. Batlle emphasizes that this figure is well below what is paid in the market for acoworking, with prices starting from 250 euros per month, and, in addition, other services are offered. Once Juno House starts, a registration fee of 375 euros will have to be paid to be able to enter. It will also be studied to offer different fees, according to the needs of each member.With the will to broaden the base and ensure that more women can participate, the club contemplates creating scholarships so that the payment of the fee is not a barrier to entry, for which they are looking for collaborators who can support them.
To kick off the project, Juno House has closed a two-million-euro round, which will be dedicated to construction work and furniture purchases, as well as staff hiring. The Elías family's family office ---reference shareholders of the Veritas chain and former partners of Caprabo--- has led the round, which has been completed with contributions from the three founders. Currently, the project has a staff of six employees and plans to expand it by early 2022. It does not disclose the turnover it expects for the first fiscal year, in which they will focus on offering good service to users.
Looking ahead to the coming years, expansion to other cities is contemplated, both in the rest of Spain and in Europe. Madrid, Milan, and Lisbon are the best-positioned destinations, but they are receiving requests to do so in other parts of the country, such as Valencia or Navarra, and, for now, they rule nothing out. They will also study offering new services to members, as well as extending memberships to companies, so that they can offer them to their employees.
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