Here's how IndiQube has created a profitable business through its sustainable, employee-first approach

With the world of work changing drastically post the Covid-19 pandemic, most employees have a single focus: flexibility.

While several companies offer workspace solutions today, not many have witnessed consistent growth like IndiQube.

Founded by Meghna Agarwal and Rishi Das in 2015, the Bengaluru-headquartered flexible workspace provider is not only profitable but has created a significant impact, both in urban towns and smaller cities like Coimbatore, Kochi and Vijayawada.

“Today, work is going where people are, as compared to earlier when it was the other way around. There are so many companies that are looking to go to Tier II towns. Also, workspaces today are not just about work but are driven by collaboration,” Das says.

In a freewheeling chat with Shradha Sharma, Founder and CEO of YourStory, Das and Agarwal of IndiQube open up about their business model and discuss what sets them apart from other coworking spaces in the industry.

An employee-centric approach

Speaking about the Indian market, Das puts forth what makes the country advantageous in several ways. For one, there's a huge offshore development presence of IT companies, global capability centres (GCCs), and a robust startup ecosystem. India is also the fastest-growing commercial real estate market in the world.

According to the latest research report by IndiQube-CRE Matrix, the flexible workspace market in India is expected to reach 126 million square feet by 2027, from its current size of 46.7 million square feet.

This presents a huge opportunity for the likes of IndiQube to make it big across geographies.

“We are capable of creating a large global workspaces company, relevant to emerging markets in Southeast Asia, Africa or South America. That's the hook around which we are looking to build,” Das says.

Agarwal adds that they do not like themselves to be termed a “coworking player”, “enterprise player” or a “managed office player”. Instead, IndiQube aims to be a workspace company offering a full stack of services, including space design to interiors and technology to services.

That's not all. For IndiQube, the employee is the hero of the story. “Our services are focused on employee well-being through subsidised food, transportation, or efficient parking management. These are core to the workspaces we are in and the kind of initiatives we are talking about,” Das says.

With a focus on wellness, IndiQube also plans to launch a health insurance product for every member who takes up a seat at their spaces. This benefit will also extend to their families.

“We also have leagues for badminton and cricket with different offices participating. Today, there is a larger population of younger people working in offices, so there's a lot of energy. We have a 360-degree approach with focus on B2B and B2C services,” he adds.

Sustainability at the forefront

IndiQube walks the talk when it comes to sustainability, be it water and waste management or similar initiatives.

Citing an example, Das says it's all about “less is more”. When they started out, the power consumption was one unit for every 100 square feet of space. Today, that number is down to 0.5 units.

“It’s due to a combination of using better quality air conditioning systems, IoTs over motion sensors, and optimising our UPS. With regard to the water crisis that happened in Bengaluru, we took an oath that we will reduce water consumption by 80-90% across buildings and we are on track,” Das says.

“Most of our buildings are old or small structures that don't have sewage treatment plants. We have installed plants for water recycling and have been able to recycle 70-80% of the water,” he adds.

While sustainability has become a buzzword, not many truly believe in the cause. Das insists that sustainability offers an excellent return on investment, adding that people are not buying the idea due to inertia in business.

“We are happy to open source it and tell businesses how it has worked for us. Similarly, in waste management, previously there was a garbage truck coming in every day to collect 60-70 kgs of waste. After starting composting, the truck comes once a month to pick plastic and metal waste. All the organic waste is processed on site,” Das explains.

Agarwal believes that IndiQube’s success lies in its focus on taking small steps to go green. The fact that it’s an Indian product created by Indians, for Indians has helped.

“It's not a templatised version of any western company. It’s purely focused on servicing Indian clients. There's a behavioural change that's gradually happening and we are hopeful it will be more pronounced in the coming years,” she says.

The secret to a profitable business

There are two parts to running a business, Agarwal says. Either, one can focus on creating valuation or think of profitability. From the beginning, IndiQube set its eyes on the latter. The company has been EBITDA-positive since its inception.

Das believes that growth at any stage comes at a huge cost. This is why they have been conscious about growing in a range-bound manner and being sustainable.

“I think the big factor of ease of doing business has improved significantly, thanks to the government and businesses like us. Also, a lot of mid-cap companies are growing significantly, not just in Tier I but also Tier II cities,” Das adds.

He points out that there's been more traction from Indian businesses post-Covid. For instance, Maruti has taken up space in Kochi, while Air India has an office space in Chennai. At the end of the day, IndiQube’s pay-as-you-use model has helped sustain it.

“We also have catalogues of furniture or other workspace items. We are trying to make the unorganised space a little more organised. There are also a lot of companies who are just using our tech stack. All in all, our idea hinges on functionality and not just frills,” Agarwal says.