In episode 1 of The Startup Project, I talked to Pranay Gupta, co-founder of a co-working space company based out of India, 91Springboard.
The Episode is available at:
– Anchor: https://lnkd.in/gTgaNFm
– Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gxRRdMb
– Youtube: https://lnkd.in/g3w_hJW
Here are my takeaways from that conversation:
The Start of a co-working company that you would not expect:
A lot of companies start with an idea and couple of years in to their inception, find a different problem to solve and become solving the new problem, ignoring the original problem. Slack started as a game, twitter started as podcasting business called Odeo. Both of these companies took a “pivot” to become what they are famously known for today. A similar pivot story exists behind 91Springboard. 91Springboard didn’t start as a co-working space company as we call it today but with a motive to invest in early stage companies.
Ancillary Effects of the Business Model:
Co-working space as a business model is about bringing scale to workspace operations and management and selling the work space to customers who need it leveraging economies of scale. The product in this case is the space along with all the amenities that are expected of a modern workspace. This model works well for companies which don’t have big enough scale to afford a fully managed workspace. And by nature of the business model and the product offered, a great co-working space is a breeding ground to find next big startup. This second order effect is leverage by 91Springboard and has invested/supported these companies.
The importance of having the right team:
Every company is different and every story behind it is different. Even though each team looks different, it pays to assemble a great team. In case of 91Springboard having a team with diverse set of experiences was big reason in their successful ability to raise funds, manage a pandemic & grow to becoming one of successful co-working space companies in India.
Check out my full conversation with Pranay here on The Startup Project Podcast
The conversation includes the following topics:
- Importance to update investors religiously?
- How were partnerships with services like AWS, Sodexo & Razorpay used?
- Why not exchange space for equity?
- Best Incubator award from president of India
- Attracting talent to Goa
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If you like listening to this episode and are looking for more interesting podcasts to listen to here are top 5 business podcasts we recommend.
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You can follow Pranay on Twitter and learn more about 91Springboard here (91springboard.com)
More information of all other episodes are at thestartupproject.io and you can find more about Nataraj on Twitter @natarajsindam.