Do Co-work spaces offer a sustainable and shared work layout ?

On Sivarathri day, I was at 91 Springboard, the co-work hosting space above Big Bazar, near Forum Mall in Koramangala, Bangalore from 9.30 AM to 4 PM.

A personal office for the needy at low cost 

Why was I there ? My earlier colleague  Raju Gundala had set up a startup to help small and medium sector industries with a dedicated website www.msmeonline.in and wanted me to visit their office at 91, Springboard. 

It was the first time I was visiting a co-work space. I went with two BBA final semester students to give them an experience of co-work spaces and the life of startups.

The office layout properly secured has long tables separated into cubicles which offers private working space, but in view of others, with comfortable chairs. The sides of the huge floor hall has private meeting rooms or private office space for the slightly well off entrepreneur looking for private rooms. Everyone around seemed to enjoy the group co-working environment, yet appreciate the privacy on offer, all at very low, affordable rents. 

For a startup, it is networking and mentoring which is most important. Some times one can get very much depressed and disheartened and is in the gutters it is mingling with others and breaking from routine working that can distract one and give relaxation to the mind to be more productive and creative in the long run. 

What exactly is co-working culture and what are the benefits of such a culture ? These definitions give a better appreciation of the idea which is almost 10 years old globally and is popular in India for the past 6 years.

These definitions of co-work space give the true essence of what one can aim for and how one can benefit from shared work spaces and peer interaction.

Co-working is a business services provision model that involves individuals working independently or collaboratively in shared office space. The typical user of a coworking facility is self-employed, a telecommuter, or a freelance worker. - www.techtarget.com 

Co-working is a self-directed, collaborative, flexible and voluntary work style that is based on mutual trust and the sharing of common core values between its participants. Co-working involves a shared workplace, often an office, and independent activity. - www.wikipedia.com 

Co-working is a type of work that includes “the use of an office or other working environment by people who are self-employed or working for different employers, typically so as to share equipment, ideas, and knowledge” - www.google.com 

Co-working is about creating a better place to work, and, as a result, a better way to work. Co-working spaces provide more than just office space. They are community centers, friendly gathering places, think tanks. When you rent a desk or an office, you gain coworkers to bounce ideas off and that support you professionally in a way that you can’t find working from home or in the corporate office. Co-working connects you to a global network of professional peers.- Jamie Orr

Spacious, conditioned and quiet focused workspaces

The 3 COs - COoperation, COllaboration and COmmunity .. Millennials really love this working style. 

What is the most valuable resource for a startup and its promoter ? You may say customers, ideas and so on. Actually it is money and time... The startup promoter is full of ideas, he/she is ready to give that idea all the time in the world to see it come to fruition he/she is ready to put in heavy hours of hard work, meeting people and clients, talking to them, ready to check out his ideas and get quick results, success or failure, reorient himself and face the future the next day, till he comes up with a viable business model and gets his first customer.

Click here for TEDx talk on co-work spaces in Thailand .. Excellent ..

Most of the co-work spaces offer the following amenities -

1. Network with high-speed Internet 2. Computer Rentals 3. CCTV Coverage for safety 4. Training rooms 5. House Keeping 6. AC & Utilities 7. Access Control 8. Reserved Parking 9. Power Backup 10. Locker & Store 11. Building Security 12. Landing line phone 13. Restroom 14. Paid Food (breakfast, lunch and dinner) 15. limited access 16. recreational activities 17. Flexible renting plans at excellent costs ..

The renting plans are very varied like monthly, 24 hrs, weekend, closed, open etc .. All of these come with meeting rooms, unlimited tea coffee, silence, proximity to mentors, facility to meet up with other entrepreneurs and CEOs ..

The charges at 91 Springboard ..

Emergent Research has come up with interesting statistics that say that almost 1000 cowork spaces have opened in the second half of 2018 around the world, half of it in US. By 2022, almost 6200 cowork spaces will be functioning in the US. Bangalore being part of the global coworking ecosystem, is an important member. Koramangala in Bangalore hosts the maximum startups in India. The emergence of cowork spaces has reduced the barriers of entry to have one's own startup.

The benefit of joining a popular cowork space is that one can go to their offices anywhere in the country or world (Wework is a global coworking space) free of charge and meet clients or customers. The entrepreneurs need not spend money on meeting halls, refreshments etc, helping them concentrate on their ideas at the initial stages of their company. The hand-holding they get at those critical stages on the company is indeed very valuable.

One great point I wish to make out here is that all the people I was seeing on the aisles, everybody was in a world of their own. Nobody had the time to think of anybody else, with whom he is meeting, who is coming to the building and so on. Nobody was even prepared to acknowledge our presence, everyone was in their own world, chipping away at their laptop keys or engrossed in deep thinking at their small cubicle. At rates very affordable and no caution deposit, it was the right place for entrepreneurs to test out their ideas.

Ad revenue on coffee vending machines
gives  free coffee and tea 24x7 to members

The governments past and present in India have not met their promise on creating new jobs, and have not been able to provide jobs to the youngsters. They have been helping the major industries and businesses to succeed, which is also needed in a country. There are millions of fresh youngsters who are entering the job market every year in the country. If we do not give them jobs, they will turn out to be a great burden and threat to the nation. We need to handhold and guide them to work on their creative startup ideas, if they have any. The initial hand-holding could be given by these co-work spaces. And this is a small way, we can do our bit for the society to help the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.

In Alliance University we could offer working spaces and desks for these startups at very cheap rates. This will also motivate lot of our youngsters to think of promoting startups, either partnering with these startups or starting something on their own.

We do not know when and where the next GOOGLE or FACEBOOK will come out !!

Wework is also another popular international co-work space in Bangalore. International networking and meetings are possible with a wework subscription ..

George..