For Project T Solutions, a company that offers serviced office and coworking space in the central business district of Metro Manila, establishing a very good customer relationship is the ultimate key to success.
“It is really developing relationships, and the way we treat each other as family, [that is] behind the rapid growth of Project T,” the company’s vice president, Nicole Dacula, said, adding they also intently listen to customers’ suggestions and recommendations.
At a news conference during the opening of their second office in the Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, Alvin Terrence Hong, the chief executive officer of Project T, said the early years of the company were very challenging, to say the least.
Tough start
“The first three months were quite tough, from branding to the marketing. For the first six months, we were trying to find our niche, while the sales team was facing challenges in pitching to clients, and we were also busy in fixing other problems,” said Hong. Hong said he and his team decided to enter the workplace business because of the vast opportunities it offers. In the Philippines alone, start-ups are seen to increase five-fold from 100 by 2020, according to the government’s “Philippine Roadmap for Digital Startups 2015 and Beyond.”
In its second building, strategically located at Twenty-Five Seven McKinley, Hong said the two-year-old Project T further strives to provide a new meaning of work and office as people get detached from home and from the beautiful pleasures in life, while logging in more and more hours in making their dreams into reality.
The goals
In its newest site, Hong said, Project T now offers flexible workspaces that combine the comforts of home and the efficiency of an ideal workplace that make people more energized and creative at work.
Its bigger 500-seater workspace features new amenities, including a gym with traditional exercise equipment and newer machines that target the whole body. Project T’s second baby also has a bigger room that easily converts into a fitness studio where clients can do Zumba and Yoga, including a weight-loss project for their employees.
“The goal is to be healthier, so it will be easier for you to do your work without worries. We do Zumba every Tuesdays, but it will be done more religiously here because of the bigger space. It’s an approach to make sure it’s a more holistic space for employees and clients,” said Dacula.
Targeting the young
Dacula recalled that it was a challenge, as Project T did not have an office in their fledgling days, conducting meetings in coffee shops. Nevertheless, the troika of Hong, Dacula and IT director Kevin Cabrera persevered in building the company composed of a big majority of
millennials and Generation Z.
Dacula said Project T also plans to add more physical activities, such as table tennis, to its game area where clients can recharge while playing arcade and family computers. The workspace also has shower areas and sleeping quarters for power naps.
Power of Internet
Aside from the additional amenities, Project T also boasts of its Internet capability that enables sharing of connection between its two buildings and maximizes the speed to over 250 Mbps in the second building.
Cabrera, for his part, said a robust Internet connectivity is a crucial part of their business, which he believes ensured Project T’s success in two years. “Our Internet service really has given us the edge, and that’s the area where we invest heavily. We have server rooms where clients can also put their own.”
“The Internet alone is over 250 Mbps, which is not typical. I can sleep overnight and feel secure that our clients will be okay,” Cabrera said.
In-house technicians are also available 24/7 to prevent online interruptions. Project T also capitalizes on the building’s tight security in all its rooms with their biometrics-enabled doors.
‘Built-to-suit’
At present, Project T has a lineup of clients of both older and younger businesspeople as a testament to the quality of its workplace where clients can also find new business opportunities through its 10 business services, such as registration, payroll, recruitment and built-to-suit program.
Hong said Project T benefited from foreign investors who wanted to test the waters in the Philippines. Through built-to-suit, clients can pick an office space from lists prepared by Project T and draw its own design. Contracts are negotiated to be paid on installment. “We had a client who started with just a virtual office just for the business address,” he shared.