Coworking spaces are becoming increasingly popular due to the wide number of opportunities and benefits it has to offer startups. It brings about efficiency and gives necessary support to businesses. Incuspaze aims to bridge the gap that exists within the Indian startup ecosystem. It has spaces in Gurgaon, Delhi, Lucknow, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Indore, Kochi and Trivandrum.
What makes Incuspaze different from other coworking spaces?
We are one of the fastest growing coworking spaces in India with sustainability as the core value proposition of the business. What differentiates us from other players in the market, is that we have a newer approach towards the industry and have accordingly modified our core value propositions and ensured that they are in line with what our target audience wants – across the demography. Our vision is to create an ecosystem for our members that promote growth, through availability of resources that would otherwise be compromised on, if people operated through traditional workspaces. Therefore, we like to think of ourselves as a large-scale enterprise service provider as opposed to being a real estate developer. To accommodate the demand of large enterprises and provide turnkey solutions, Incuspaze follows a completely different business model, i.e. search – build – manage. We undertake the responsibility of finding the right location, custom building the space and managing day-to-day operations.
When was Incuspaze officially launched in Kochi and how has the response been?
After successfully setting up the brand in cities like Delhi, Gurgaon, Lucknow, Mumbai, and Indore, we launched our first centre in Oberon Mall, Kochi on 9 November 2019. The centre sprawls over an area of 20,000 sq. ft. accommodating approximately 150 seats and second phase is already in process with over 250 seats. With more and more start-ups mushrooming across the city, we have received a prominent response, that is further validated by the fact that the centre is experiencing 85% occupancy.
Incuspaze has offices outside Kerala in major cities. How do you evaluate the coworking culture of Kochi?
Kochi is the financial, commercial and industrial capital of Kerala with the highest GDP as well as the highest GDP per capita in the state. The city is also amongst the 28 emerging Indian cities that will contribute 50% of the world’s GDP by the year 2025. Furthermore, Kochi was ranked the topmost emerging future megacity in India by a global professional services firm in 2018. All of these growth drivers make it a natural power hub of Kerala and the location is thriving in terms of business opportunities. In the last half a decade, the city has witnessed a socio-economic boom and with the presence of large corporate powerhouses such as Apollo Tyres, Agape,Synthite, V-Guard, etc- it made the most obvious choice for Incuspaze to foray into the state. It also has a special economic zone, a smart city and a few IT parks and it’s natural for the city’s working professionals to go through the evolution curve. Co-working as a concept may be new to the city, but we are already witnessing inbound interest from companies who are focused on building a tighter P&L with nimble costs. Kochi’s ecosystem is ripe for it to go through the shift and we will notice a surge in adoption in the next 6-12 months. The first centre is already 85% occupied and we are now doubling down on our growth strategy in Kochi and are all set to launch another 60,000 square feet of spaces by May 2020.
What are some of the plans and pricing you offer to the customers? What option do most customers prefer?
We offer a multitude of options to cater to varying requirements of various companies like customized dedicated spaces, private cabins, conference rooms, meeting rooms and customized dedicated spaces along with other flexible alternatives. The prices are really affordable and are set in accordance with our clientele in Kochi, per seat cost starts from INR 7,000 and goes up to INR 11,000 per month. MSME’s and large enterprise sectors are opting for customized dedicated spaces whereas start-ups and freelancers are preferring flexible seating options.
What are the facilities (like events, pitching opportunities, mentorship) you offer to develop a sense of coworking?
In order to extend a helping hand for the start-ups to grow and prosper, we provide a platform to connect with prospective investors, build professional relations with the experts for right guidance and assist our members to outsource non-core activities thereby, supporting the member to focus on business growth.
Who are your clients? Start-up/entrepreneurs or MSME?
Incuspaze houses start-ups, MSMEs and large enterprises. Some of the notable clients include Byju’s, Flipkart, NBHC and Phone Pe to name a few.
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