The multi-million pound business created and launched from a spare bedroom, garage or kitchen table is one of those origin stories that crops up again and again when entrepreneurs recount the struggles and triumphs of their early years. But while the home office remains an important launchpad, today's ambitious entrepreneurs – and particularly those in the tech sector – increasingly look to shared workspaces as their first real base.
There are good reasons for that. For a one man/woman band or small team, working from home or even from a small rented office can be an isolating experience. In contrast, taking desk space in a co-working facility allows the startup entrepreneur to tap into a community of like-minded people who (ideally) share ideas and provide a degree of mutual moral support in bad times and good.
But there is a downside. Co-working spaces – especially those situated in major technology hubs – are not cheap to rent and it's not necessarily easy to find somewhere that affordable, available and in the “right” location. Equally important, if you're prepared to to pay for the privilege of sitting under the same roof as a dozen other startups, you might also want to ensure that the co-working space in question offers a good mix of people and facilities. There are hundreds of shared workplaces in London alone – some sleek and modern, some cool and funky, some doubtless in need of a lick or two of paint. Finding a suitable one can involve a lot of phone calls and background research.
Hard-launched in July of this year, online platform Nomad sets out to make the process of renting an office considerably easier.
Born Out Of Experience
The aim of Nomad's service – accessible through a browser or the company's IOS app – is to provide entrepreneurs with a one-stop point of entry to a marketplace of co-working spaces, meetings rooms, hot desking facilities and private offices in locations across London and beyond.
As founder and managing director Ansel Liu explains, the concept was born out of his own experience. “I worked at Rocket Internet building new ventures,” he says. “Every time I went to a new city, I had difficulty finding suitable workspaces.”
Drawing on his interest in demand and supply-matching market platforms, Liu set out to create a system that would provide a much a greater degree of visibility to entrepreneurs in search of office facilities. Thanks to the platform's filters, users can seek out available spaces on the basis of price, location and whether or not they are looking for short or long-term lease agreements. Those using the platform can also specify a particular industry - e-commerce, media, fintech, etc. - a feature that allows them to share an office with an appropriate group of peers. “What Nomad does is enable entrepreneurs to entrench themselves in communities,” says Liu.
Equally important, Nomad helps entrepreneurs to find a package that is line with their business plans. For instance, a new business might be planning to scale up while also being aware that scaling down is also distinct possibility. By using Nomad, the owner can find an office that is flexible enough to accommodate such changes in fortune.
Each of the offices featured on the platform is profiled, with pictures of the space and an overview of what they offer in terms of facilities, benefits of membership, local amenities and an overview of the types of businesses they are seeking to attract.
From Tech City To The Suburbs
And there is a considerable variety of office space on offer. When I checked the site, hot desking was available from £4.00 a day upwards. The spaces ranged from tech-focused facilities in central London to offices in the suburbs and even included (for £980 a week) a place on a boat cruising in the Mediterranean. Once identified, spaces can be booked online in minutes.
In addition to listing available work spaces, Nomad has also been building partnerships to provide complementary services such as car-sharing, co-living arrangements and even massage. Booking through Nomad is free to users and the company charges a commission to workspace and service providers.
So will it gain traction? Just a couple of months after the launch, Liu is not publishing user figures but he does say uptake has been encouraging, with growth quadrupling month-on-month, albeit from an undisclosed base.
Continued rapid growth is expected but in the meantime, Nomad is providing a useful option for businesses struggling to find office space at short notice.
