A lot happens over a cup of coffee. From a date to wooing angels and VC to invest into start up ideas happen just over a couple of coffee meets, thanks to the mushrooming coffee shops. But there comes a stage where your idea becomes bigger and coffee shops aren’t sufficient anymore. Every penny saved is a penny earned and start-ups can’t afford lavish Tech Parks or Business Centres in the growing stage and however what’s the fun in working in a start-up operating in a corporate jungle? Entrepreneur’s restlessness to achieve dreams can’t be restricted to boring corporate set up; instead, they should be given wings to dream higher. Thanks to Coworking spaces, these dreams have wings now.
Coworking is slowly changing the landscape of the start-up ecosystem. Apart from a simple yet cosy office space which fit the budget of bootstrapping start-up to VC funded start-up, these Coworking spaces are building a community which is vibrant and energetic that your dreams look more realistic now. The community not only competes with you but also gives you a shoulder when you fall down. While the ideas of entrepreneurs sound like madness to the rest of the world, the community finds them revolutionary and mentors these entrepreneurs to ideate their madness into a business plan. Steve jobs or Bill gates started out of garage and grew bigger not because they loved the stink of engine oil and the tyres, but they didn’t have one thing which these entrepreneurs have, the Coworking space.
According to a recent survey conducted by Deskmag, in 24 countries among 661 people, 70% of the coworkers are happy with the Coworking spaces they work from. From some surveys conducted about Coworking spaces by organizations like Forbes , The bureau of Labour statistics, Deskmag , 90% of people surveyed felt confident and satisfied, 68% felt more focused and 71% felt that they have enhanced their creative abilities. All these factors lead to a healthier and balanced life. In the days where job satisfaction has become a major motivation for majority of the workforce, all these factors have not only helped coworkers but also gave Coworking industry a new confidence to invest more funds into this sector.
WeWork, the New York-based coworking company is already thriving with millions of dollars riding on it. The startup boasts 25,000 members worldwide and has recently announced about $335 million new funds in the latest round.In its recent article Harvard Business School has strongly recommended startups to start following their dreams from the co-working space and how employees in startups operational from a coworking space, are thriving.
The culture, though, is new in India. Startups here are not exposed to the hidden benefits of coworking. However, the growing startup phenomena in metro cities of India, i.e. Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, has convinced entrepreneurs to take this as an opportunity. Coworking startup in Bangalores, like Bhive Workspace, are able to bring a lot of value-add to Indian startup culture. Regular mentorship programs, small-scale events, cross-platform discussion and working with some of the best minds of the industry can are being considered as perks by employees working in startups that are operational from such coworking spaces.
“In India, coworking space is like a startup garage in the US; In fact, it’s far better than that. Startups get an opportunity to stay focused on the products they are building without bothering about the availability of required supporting infrastructure. The thought has evolved and startups in Bangalore are finding more value in a coworking space than owning or renting their own office space”, says Shesh Rao Paplikar, Co-Founder & CEO, Bhive Workspace.
Coworking spaces are striving hard to bridge the gap between an Apartment and a Business Centre. These Coworking spaces are as comfortable as your apartment but at the same time it lets you operate with maximum efficiency. The flexibility and the joy of working out of a Coworking space can’t be replicated anywhere else. Networking and mentoring is generally provided by the accelerators. But these accelerators don’t have the focus or bandwidth to give importance to little things which help to build a positive and vibrant community. Coworking is no longer about providing a table, chair and high-speed Wifi connectivity, it’s more about developing an ecosystem where dreams have no limits.
I see a lot of value in cowering…..but the biggest advantage is employee attrition and engagement. When you see more skills around, you get motivated and stay intact.
Its a great idea as long as space is affordable and adds value, otherwise not much as Ashvini points out
Great Article about #Coworking. We at BHive Workspace are doping our bit for the #startup #ecosystem and empowering BHIVE Startup Community! Thanks Dazeinfo for the article about Coworking.
Coworking is a great idea.. However I still love to operate from my room ;). But can a small startup have tax registeration at such a space? If not when they need to make revenue, they will lose the benefit of coworking because they will need to hire their own place.. Maybe govt need to make it simple enough.
What is your take Ravindra M.k Shesh Rao Paplikar Ashvini Kumar Saxena Ram Mannepalli Subham Bapna