Conventional offices are passé. Coworking spaces are the new ‘in’ thing. Well,
not really, because the concept is not really new to India. But with successful
start-ups like 91springboard opening their latest office in Goa, and a few Goan
entrepreneurs expressing interest to experiment with the business model, this
sort of excitement is new to Goa indeed. Coworking spaces not only foster
creativity and communication but are cost effective and are equipped with
everything an office needs – meeting rooms, great Wi-Fi connectivity, and oh
yes – coffee! Apart from providing an efficient working space, the independent
space office culture plays a critical role in building a community of like-minded
people.
As per popular media sources, coworking space provider 91springboard
has announced the completion of a funding round and has raised a total of $20
mn till now. The startup will use the proceeds for expansion in existing and new
markets and Goa is the most recent one. For the uninitiated, 91springboard was
founded in 2012 by Anuj Pulstya, Pranay Gupta, Varun Chawla, Deepak Sharma,
Anand Vemuri and Susan Lim. The startup began its operations in Delhi in 2013
by setting up the first coworking space in India, and has since then expanded to
cities like Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Navi Mumbai, Mumbai
and now, Goa.
Speaking about
the decision to move
to Goa, Vemuri says,
“We realised that our
headquarter team
could be located
anywhere as they
provide support
to the on-ground
teams and we felt
being in a non-mega
metro city would
work much better
for the team. We also
realised when we
met people in Goa
that this place has
a good ecosystem
and people were
very welcoming and
warm. Goa is also
well connected by
flights to all the cities
and hence, allows
us to manage a pan-
India operation quite
easily.”
But does Goa
have what it takes to
allow this business
model to thrive?
Speaking about
potential challenges
in Goa, Vemuri
says, “I think the
one challenge I can
think of is that we
are new here and we
need to ensure we
communicate right
and communicate
enough to ensure
we are able to
explain the concept
of coworking as
many might not
have experienced it
already.”
The concept
of engaging in
the business
of coworking
is catching the
attention of many
Goan entrepreneurs
and investors too.
Goan entrepreneur Suraj Morajkar admits to have been intrigued by this business
model and if rumours are to be believed, Morajkar is planning to experiment
such a business model in Goa. Sharing his thoughts about the trend of buzzing
coworking spaces in India, Morajkar says, “I think it is extremely important to
have an environment where professionals
from different verticals work together under
one roof. This creates a symbiotic space
where people can feed off each other and
help their business grow. A coworking
space also gives entrepreneurs and business
owners a lot of independence as they do not
have to worry about the additional burden of
logistics, etc. It is important to have the right
kind of people to have such an environment.
And Goa could be a great place for such a
setup.”
