Co-working spaces have been attracting the attention of individuals and corporates for all the right reasons. Offering flexible working environment at affordable prices, they provide access to a community of like-minded individuals. One such Singapore-based co-working space Spacemob has secured $5.5 million in seed funding. The round was led by Vertex Ventures, the venture arm of Temasek Holdings with participation from Alpha JWC Ventures of Indonesia and a cohort of undisclosed angel investors.
Founded by Turochas “T” Fuad, the man behind vacation rental site Travelmob that was acquired by HomeAway in 2013, it had unveiled its first 15,000 sq. foot co-working space in Singapore at Claymore Hill. Its clienteles comprise entrepreneurs, freelancers and MNCs such as General Assembly and Big Sync.
The company in a statement mentions the business is already operationally profitable just a month and a half after its launch. It will launch two more sites in Q1 of 2017 in Singapore and Jakarta. The team targets to have 30 Spacemob sites across Asia Pacific within the next three years. Turochas says,
This is significant because it proves that the Spacemob concept has legs. Our aim is to change the game by disrupting the space industry.
Spacemob stands out from its rivals by approaching co-working with a new business model and by developing exclusive technology to benefit members. Fuad has a novel vision for the co-working space, not unlike that of a hotel operator he chooses a management approach managing to remain asset light while creating big benefits to all parties that are involved, whether it be their members or the owners of the properties Spacemob sits in. The result is a financial model that is easily scalable yet lower risk in nature. He added,
The idea is to allow our members to work at any of our Spacemob sites around the region, which appeals not just to frequent travelers and creatives, but also to SMEs and MNCs who wish to be more asset light — we add value by helping them to save on rental cost while allowing them to put their staff in a more dynamic and creative environment.
Spacemob possesses a digitally-optimised environment that includes high-speed Internet access, a centralized booking system, wireless payments, and intends to install RFID-tracking technology to maximize space efficiency.
