COWORKING space has been experiencing an exponential growth year on year since 2011. And the growth will continue in 2017.
In 2011 there were only 1,130 spaces worldwide and 43,000 members. This year, spaces are expected to grow to 13,800 and 1,180,000 members. Furthermore, there will be 3.3 million people working in coworking spaces by 2030. In Southeast Asia shared spaces made 15 percent of office supply in in 2013.
In the country, Filipino organizations, so far, still dominate the local market. Nonetheless, the big conglomerates are ready to step into the picture and are already looking to venture in the same business.
Mikko Barranda, cofounder of coworking space Acceler8, mentioned in a recent interview with BusinessMirror that Generation Y, or famously known as the millennials, have been the biggest clients of this workplace.
“Millennials have taken over the baby boomers as the largest generation out there and is now a big contributor to the work force. Moreover, I believe millennials will comprise 75 percent of the work force by 2030,” Barranda said. “There has been a cultural shift from the traditional workplace to a more collaborative environment. For the past two years, we have been in business we have seen a trend of this growth,” Barranda added.
Barranda also provides the environment for millennials to harness their creativity by putting several breakout areas to give their tenants the opportunity to be inspired, lounge, green area, coworking space and coffee shop. Furthermore, Acceler8 will put up this year a barber shop and a weekly yoga class plus the regular and glass of scotch.
As far as Acceler8 is concerned, Barranda said the rationale behind why coworking is appealing to millennials is because they possess an extreme desire for togetherness and coworking spaces, which are designed and built to maximize interaction.
“At the core of Acceler8, we are more than just a desk. We provide built-in communities and curate events to help our members build their network. Our thrust is ’building real connections‘ The people have become business partners, clients and friends,” said Barranda.
“Our workspace has several breakout areas to give our tenants the opportunity to be inspired, such as a lounge, green area and a coffee shop.”
By embracing an entrepreneurial mind-set, Barranda said millennials find a coworking space ideal whether they are starting their own business or being employed by a firm that gives them free-hand and independence.
Entrepreneurs are always looking to keep their overhead costs low and have flexibility.
“At Acceler8, we provide flexibility for tenants to rent for a day or for a year. They also don’t need to pay any capital expenditure since we turn over the space to them fully fitted and all they need to do is come in,” he explained.
Ideal space for millennials
Bianca Cruz, community manager of Acceler8, was originally planning to join her father in his real-estate business. Nonetheless, the University of Santo Tomas entrepreneurship graduate realized her network was not yet big enough to reach out to clients. “I like the working environment in Acceler8 because I enjoy working with startups,” Cruz said.
“This was a good opportunity and I took it as a challenge because I joined when the company was just starting,” Cruz added. It is an interesting ride because she’s seeing the company grow and, at the same time, also allows her career and professional growth.
If she decides to pursue a career in real estate in the future, Cruz pointed her work experience in Acceler8 will help a lot because she has already an established network.
Cheska Bermejo, general manager of Acceler8, enjoys her current work with the company. Having worked with Peninsula Hotel and Makati Shangri-La before joining Acceler8, her hotel experience has helped her in communicating with the tenants of coworking space. Later, she moved V Office and worked there for two-and-a-half years. While working for V office, the gregarious Bermejo was asked by the owner of the company to move to Acceler8.
The main difference working with Acceler8 is that she learns more about working space. “Unlike in hotel, you are just selling room size or room site,” she said. ”In Acceler8, Bermejo and the team not only sell the desk but the opportunity to connect with potential business partners. The background of the customer is fully known to the hotel staff. At the same time, you try to help the client in his business,” Bermejo said.
“I like the working environment here in Acceler8 because I am able to meet a lot of people every day.” Being a graduate of hotel and restaurant manager from the DLSU-College of Saint Benilde, Bermejo said her current job is perfect fit because of her gregarious personality. “One thing I like in this place is all the people are open minded. You can also apply your ideas and interact with different kinds of people. You also get a lot of feedbacks and expand your network, too,” Bermejo added.
As a millennial, she enjoys the casual atmosphere in Acceler8 that makes it appealing to start-up companies. She added that the Acceler8 team designed the place to ensure it would be conducive to start-up entrepreneurs.
Being the general manager, Bermejo said her main job is to make people happy. “I also want to assure the nonmillennials not to be shy in trying out Acceler8,” she said.
The fillenials or nonmillennials can also learn a lot from their younger counterparts, such as the new trends and latest technologies applied in business. “Basically, our target is the start-up community whether millennial or nonmillennial,” Bermejo said.
“It is not an age-driven place. Millennials can learn from the experience of the so-called fillenials, while the latter can learn from the millennials the latest trends,” she pointed out.