In the era of don't own the car -hire an Uber/Ola, why should you own the real estate either. Hire and pay per use.
In our profession, as much as we hate, many meetings are in a coffee shop where we often do not control who sits on the next table. Co-working spaces like
Meetingsandoffices.com solves this problem. You can book a workspace for a few hours, within minutes for a few hours in multiple locations.
BWDisrupt Team member Sujata Sangwan interacts with Meenal Sinha, founder of Meetingsandoffices.com and spoke to her
What inspired you to start this business?I have spent the last ten years working with almost every single kind of outfit that looks at the entire shared or serviced workspace paradigm. The workspace paradigm is extraordinarily diverse and when I was conceptualizing the business there was no one who offered solutions for diverse requirements at a single platform. Most times, a person looking for an office space has to rely on his/ her network to find a suitable place. And the problem doesn’t end with finding an option, will it be usable for the need, is it safe and clean, do people like me use it, how should I book, how will I pay, who takes responsibility for the experience, it just goes on.
At meetingsandoffices.com, we address the need to find great fit work spaces easily and without all the attendant hassles. Putting together curated verified & quality meeting & conference facilities, day offices, shareable workspaces, and office spaces for lease is where the experience kicked in, as well as in designing something that goes beyond simply aggregated listings and closes loops for both user and space provider. It is a complete end to end solution with search, compare, credibility verification (verifications are carried out while listing, but more importantly user ratings are built in), book online and pay. After just a few minutes at meetingsandoffices.com the user can simply reach the venue and get straight to work.
Brief us about your business model?It’s a fairly simple model. There are huge numbers of people who need flexible workspaces every single day and for whom creating those spaces for themselves does not make sense, either economically or logistically. On the other hand there are people who have either built shared spaces for use or have built space for own use but have plenty of extra capacities. What they don’t have is either the bandwidth or the reach or the priority or the expertise to take their vacant spaces to market. What we’re looking at is vacancy percentage rates in the high 80’s, whereas – especially in urban concentrations – we have literally thousands who need flexi solutions.
We have the capability, the understanding and the connects to deliver robust, happy experience solutions on both sides. We don’t even charge the user and we take a small service fee from the space owner.
How big is the space and what services are you providing to your clients (professional/freelancers/startups)?Currently, we have a presence in 10 cities and have almost 300 properties to offer. Our business model, as mentioned above, is closer to that of an aggregator / marketplace and hence we do not own any of the properties. The listed properties are verified, checked and we monitor the experience delivery very closely.
Who is your target group? How do you plan to reach them?Unlike popular belief that a co-working space is a cost saving mechanism for Start-ups, we believe a flexible work station is the need of the hour for multiple sectors. My target audience therefore is anyone and everyone who needs an office space.
With technology, the need for an employee to be present at one place has considerably diminished. Now, many firms are opting for co-working space to give their employees a more flexible work environment and also an option to work from closer home.
Whether it’s behemoths like FB & LI setting up their initial India teams, brand spanking new start-ups, trade bodies, small businesses, government bodies, venture funds, angel networks, global consultancies, rep offices, sales offices, law firms, advertising and creative agencies, people who need swanky, people who need flamboyant, people who need classy and quiet, people who need fairly invisible, people who need to network, people who need to be left alone, at Meetingsandoffices.com, we have multiple options for all.
Is your startup bootstrapped? If yes, then what are your future plans of funding?Yes, currently we are bootstrapped and have used funding from friends and family. We firmly believe that when businesses perform in public view, money becomes interested. That’s what we intend to do, deliver performance, show value and then talk to those who recognize the value being created. In due course, we will raise money from a Venture Capital firm to fuel a number of business plans and possibilities.
How do you look at expansion?Meetingsandoffices.com isn’t about the inherent business logic of liquidating perishable inventory. The business is inculcating ‘seamless and exceptional experience delivery’. This is not an India play, the market for this business exists everywhere and the key drivers remain the same.
Meetingsandoffices.com is intended as a global business. There are ready partners across South-east Asia and Indochina regions and once India is adequately covered, the footprint will expand to other geographies. The emphasis is on building a strong, solid and international business with strong foundations and value DNA.
What goals have you decided for the coming 5 years?Right now we’re just laying the foundation for a business that will have a number of verticals spreading across a number of geographies. That said, we’re a startup and it’s best to remain hard focused on stage one that we’re in the middle of right now. To encapsulate, we’d look for a very robust, multi-geography, profitable footprint.
How do you help Indian Startup ecosystem?The ability to operate out of almost anywhere you happen to be, also leads to the single biggest thing that startups need – connects and conversations. Both of us have been very active members of the startup ecosystem for years, and we have tremendous empathy as well as respect for entrepreneurs.
A platform like our opens doors, creates conversations and brings opportunity knocking. We’re still in early days, but there are plans to create significant activation for start-ups along with our space partners as well as other service associates.
Why should people choose your services?There are good reasons for both users and service providers to choose meetingsandoffices.com
Users access a curated and vetted product with diversity of choice. We ensure that there is detailed product information, which would be otherwise unavailable. Not just that, we understand that making a choice and credibility are both massive factors and we address them with comparability and ratings. The transaction is easy, it’s pay per use and we’re providing comprehensive solutions with bundled services like communication infrastructure, secretarial services at a number of places, called in food and professional service with a smile. One would have to look very hard to find a reason not to use.
In terms of the space owners; they, especially the new ones have a lot on their plates and need partners who can make their lives simpler.
Meetingsandoffices.com provides a dashboard that allows complete visibility and control of inventory, regardless of where the bookings came from and it’s free for two years. Product launch was pushed by a few months to get the dashboard down pat and ensure happy Service Partners. Meetingsandoffices.com partners with space owners.
How do you monetize?
We have four main revenue streams:• Commissions
• Premium listings
• Membership packages
• Marketing campaigns
