Liz Elam has built her career on the tenet that working one’s way up from the bottom instills tenacity, creates resilience and develops excellence. That belief, blended with an innovative spirit and a competitive yet collaborative drive, has propelled her to the forefront of the coworking movement—itself the embodiment of smart collaboration. After taking a job answering phones at Dell just after college and quickly being promoted into sales, Liz spent 14 years managing multimillion dollar accounts and then funneled her irritation with the woes of telecommuting into entrepreneurship by founding Link Coworking in Austin.

Since opening its doors in 2010, the company has become a hub for Austin’s innovators, giving them an ideal place to create and connect. Liz has become a prominent voice in the coworking movement, hosting the annual Global Coworking Unconference Conference (GCUC USA) for three years running and bringing together key influencers in coworking from all over the globe.