Office infrastructure, networking, and ideation - these 5 co-working spaces are fostering the startup ecosystem

Apart from providing an efficient working space and essential infrastructure to entrepreneurs, co-working spaces help build a community of like-minded people.

Time was when tiny garages doubled up as office spaces for small business and startups. But in the age of the sharing economy, the mantra to success is sharing knowledge and costs. Enter co-working spaces, which are mushrooming across India, and have seen a massive surge in popularity.

Co-working spaces offer entrepreneurs, their staff, and self-employed people the flexibility to use space and resources on demand to work together, collaborate, connect, network, and disrupt. They are now seen as melting pots for early-stage startups, allowing people to network, ideate and seek advice from each other. Even large companies are now booking space in co-working offices to give their employees the experience of working and engaging with startups.

In an article in Harvard Business Review, Gretchen Spreitzer, Peter Bacevice, and Lyndon Garretts - researchers who have, for years, studied how employees thrive – write that they found that people who belong to co-working spaces “report levels of thriving that approach an average of 6 on a 7-point scale”.

With all office amenities, including high-speed internet, meeting rooms, technical support, and specific plans in plans, co-working spaces have emerged as a hotbed of ideas. On an average, co-working office space providers charge between Rs 8,000 and Rs 10,000 per seat per month.

We list five co-working startups that are places where entrepreneurs are working on the next big idea.

The Mosaic: If you want to earn health and wealth, this is the place for you. The Mosaic, which blends work and wellness in the work setup, launched its first experiential co-working space in Mumbai last year. It also features a 1,000 sq ft community room, or “fitness centre”. Other amenities include a well-equipped conference room, a lounge, and a leisure/library area.

The Mosaic also provides mentoring and workshops to its members, and has appointed a Chief Fun Officer to ensure the happiness quotient never falters. An in-house guitarist also serenades workers with a modern twist on old classics.

The Office Pass: The Office Pass is run by TOP Technologies Private Limited and envisages a new concept – the neighborhood co-working space. The firm connects companies and professionals, especially women, to friendly, ready-to-use neighborhood co-working office spaces in Delhi-NCR area. According to the firm, neighborhood co-working office spaces differ from conventional co-working spaces as they cater to people staying nearby. Their concept is based on the idea that people love to work in good quality office spaces close to their home and hate wasting time and effort on commutes.

Awfis: The Delhi-based firm believes that startups need much more than co-working. That’s why it innovated the concept of Pro-Working, which focuses on People, Proximity and Performance. Its aim is to bring workspaces closer and make them more accessible to people. Awfis has a presence across nine cities and has 55 centres. It claims to have 15,000+ members and 1,000+ companies on board.

VORQ: After opening two successful boutique spaces, Founder Akshit Mehta aims to open 10 more working spaces by 2020. VORQ Space is a social network of dynamic professionals and a welcoming close-knit community. The firm has ready to move-in offices, flexible contract options, and low rental deposits, along with supporting office infrastructure. The two centres in operation now are in Lower Parel and Andheri in Mumbai.

BHIVE: This co-working space in Bengaluru provides affordable office spaces to businesses, entrepreneurs, startups, and freelancers. BHIVE has 50,000 sq ft of office space under its management, with over 172 companies on board across its four locations. Its tools, amenities, and community aim to take your business to the next level. The firm recently raised $1.2 million in a fresh round of funding, to fuel its pan-India and international expansion of premium co-working space.