![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Ashley-Almonte-551x1024.jpg\"){kind=spacer}
Ashley Almonte<\/p>\nAt 2 p.m., when focus starts to fade and the next meeting is already looming, Ashley Almonte steps away from her desk and into a pod.<\/p>\n
Ashley Almonte<\/p>\n
For 12 minutes, Mindspace<\/a>\u2019s US marketing lead uses red light, sound and other sensory features inside OpenSeed<\/a>\u2019s Iris meditation pod at the coworking company\u2019s downtown Miami location. Then she heads back to work.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not a meditation expert. I don\u2019t know how to quiet my mind on my own,\u201d Almonte told Refresh Miami. Having the pod nearby, she said, gave her a practical way to reset before another call or task.<\/p>\n That small ritual captures the case Miami-based OpenSeed has spent years making: Workplace wellness works best when it sits inside the workday, within easy reach of people who need it.<\/p>\n OpenSeed founder and CEO Jonathan Marcoschamer first spoke with Refresh Miami four years ago<\/a>, when his startup was still in its early days. Since then, OpenSeed has launched a redesigned pod created with San Francisco industrial designer Yves B\u00e9har and expanded to more than 30 locations worldwide. Its clients now include Morgan Stanley, Deloitte, and Hilton\u2019s headquarters, while pods have reached Australia and Korea. It is pursuing opportunities in Saudi Arabia and Europe, with airport installations expected to follow in 2027.<\/p>\n The Iris model adds vibration and red light therapy to the company\u2019s mix of sound, light and aromatherapy. The goal is to help users settle their nervous systems through guided sessions that take 11 to 15 minutes.<\/p>\n \u201cMeditation apps are good, but we believe that we don\u2019t need more content,\u201d Marcoschamer said. \u201cWe don\u2019t need to look at our screens anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2713<\/p>\n Check your inbox for a confirmation email.<\/p>\n For Mindspace, which has more than 50 locations, the pod is part of a larger effort to make offices worth returning to after years of remote work and isolation. Almonte said members still want social events, yoga and community programming, but their needs now reach into the physical design of the workplace.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t even think it\u2019s going to be a trend anymore,\u201d she said. \u201cI think it\u2019s a standard and a must-have across locations.\u201d Mindspace hopes to add OpenSeed pods at more US sites and possibly across its global network.<\/p>\n OpenSeed is also preparing for its next phase. Marcoschamer and cofounder Vids Samanta remain the company\u2019s two-person core team, supported by independent contractors. After bootstrapping and focusing on sales, the startup plans to restart fundraising this year, with capital going toward hiring, marketing, research and expansion.<\/p>\n An AI-based platform due early next year will learn users\u2019 goals and preferences, then serve more personal sessions. Marcoschamer also sees pods moving into hospitals, residential buildings, airport lounges and airlines, placing short breaks where stress runs high.<\/p>\n Miami, Almonte said, needs little convincing. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to explain wellness to Miami. They just get it.\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE IN REFRESH MIAMI:<\/p>\n I am a Miami-based technology researcher and writer with a passion for sharing stories about the South Florida tech ecosystem. I particularly enjoy learning about GovTech startups, cutting-edge applications of artificial intelligence, and innovators that leverage technology to transform society for the better. Always open for pitches via Twitter @rileywk or www.RileyKaminer.com.<\/p>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Jonathan-Marcoschamer-1.png\")
Jonathan Marcoschamer<\/p>\n![\"Riley](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788443562_33_4q0a7418-1.jpeg\")
<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/a>Latest posts by Riley Kaminer (see all<\/a>) \t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At 2 p.m., when focus starts to fade and the next meeting is already looming, Ashley Almonte steps…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":389302,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-389301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=389301"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389301\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/389302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=389301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=389301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=389301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}