Investors are looking to invest in new-age startups and it’s opening another boom cycle in India’s startup ecosystem, this boom is expected to be more mature as compared to that of 2015. Coworking spaces for Startups have been increasing day by day.
Various office spaces and formats have come up to cater to the requirements of these new growing startups and new generation enterprises.
Coworking spaces – defined as on-demand workspaces where diverse groups of freelancers, other independent professionals, and even large corporate with remote workers work together in a shared, communal setting. They prefer shared office spaces with all amenities. Coworking is now a more accepted format in India with its requirement pegged at around 7-9 million sq ft by 2020. Here are some of the points that make Coworking space a perfect place for startups to flourish:
Shared use of resources:
In a coworking space, common resources such as Internet facility, security, maintenance, coffee machine, printing facility, etc are shared and which in turn leads to reduced costs as compared to traditional offices where the occupant has a fixed overhead. New startups and freelancers who don’t want to spend too much on office lease and other variable costs are preferring co-working spaces and with the start-up boom, the trend will continue to grow in 2018.
No overhead and Fixed costs:
Saving money is also about making money, startups need to keep their finances in check when they are aiming to survive the cut-throat market and be competitive. Instead of going for the traditional office model and increasing their fixed overhead cost, they should look for a flexible workspace model that provides them with the option to upscale and downscale at their will with zero restrictions of long lease periods.
Access to community
Business owners are aware of the power of networking and community. If they need help for revamping their site or designing a flyer they can take help from designing companies in the same co-working space instead of going out and finding resources that can be time-consuming, expensive, and exhausting. If you choose to outsource to an external client remotely communicating or commuting for those business meetings cuts into the overhead funds. A coworking space eliminates these issues in one.
Scope of scaling
Many startups switch to coworking spaces not just because of pricing, but the flexibility it offers to grow with ease and peace of mind. Flexible coworking spaces are not bound by long-term lease and contract and hence according to business needs one can upsize and downsize according to his business requirements. Startups love this as there are a lot of uncertainties in business and market demand and one needs to adapt to that change rapidly to avoid burning cash which is crucial for an early-stage startup.
Draw motivation from like-minded people
Entrepreneurs who are new to the startup journey require constant motivation and feedback and who are better than people who have been through that journey to seek advice from. They can seek help from people around in many cases relating to tax regulation or some government policies. Startups usually have a small team size and it is a human tendency to feel lonely, to overcome that they can socialize with people in coworking spaces who can help them in various ways in their career.
