Coworking: 18 months later
A year and a half has passed since the opening of the co-working club “Tower”.
Earlier, I published on Habré my experience and sensations “6 months later” . Then the crisis began in Russia, in the “Tower” - the turbulence of the form “Let's start a business, it's about time!”, And the memorable date “First year” somehow passed by. But now, in late September, the Russian coworking is 1.5 years old. I wonder what has changed during this time.
Disclaimer: not wanting to distort information, I will confine myself only to our experience - “Towers”, “INCA” and “Polygon”. Other coworking clubs are likely to have a different story.
')
POPULATION
The guys who walked through us during these one and a half years - about 60-70 people in total - gave a completely accurate portrait of the co-working target audience. Professionally, they are strong techies, people of creative engineering professions, as well as small or novice entrepreneurs in the services sector or b2c. In personal terms, these are young at heart people at the psychological age of 20-30 years (the biological age may differ; we have people over 40, but at the same time it is very easy to communicate and work with them). These are mostly guys or couples.
Now there are 15 people living in the “Tower”: the “JetDog” web development team (3 people), the “66bit” freelancers team (2 people from… 4?), The “ALW” biometrics development team (3 people), business projects laboratory “INC” (4 people) and several participants of the “Landfill”, who appear periodically. About 6-7 business projects are associated with the guys, the problems and successes of which I will discuss next. They left the “Tower”, but 5 people still maintain contact - mostly IT and business. As you can see, the average portrait of a coworker (if VERY simplified) is an IT entrepreneur.
Separately, it must be said about designers, lawyers, journalists, salespeople and other professions, who also have the potential to co-work. No, guys. Does not work. Perhaps this is solely the problem of the “Tower”, but somehow it turned out that people of a humanitarian mentality (and here I include both journalists and lawyers — I allow myself such freedom) do not get along with the team at all. It's still a loner. And techies, entrepreneurs and economists - get along perfectly. Perhaps because for them the matter is objectively more important than personal desires and emotions.
IMHO, of course. I do not want to offend anyone - just explain the situation as I see it.
ATMOSPHERE
I think everything is clear here since the time of the NYTimes article and the debates of that time. The atmosphere is our everything. This is the soul and the essence of coworking. Without a community atmosphere and support - which, globally, depends solely on the organizer's goals - co-working turns into a regular sublease of space, at best. Or reborn in a commercial organization.
I constantly monitor everything connected with the word “coworking” in RuNet, and observed a sufficient number of various perversions. Some kind of pathetic pocket offices, created more for the self-satisfaction of the organizer than for teamwork. Real estate agencies that are trying to “coworking” their clumsy attempts to fool illiquid premises. Small companies that are ready to give up their seats for a while, in terms of reducing costs. Start-up entrepreneurs who, from ignorance or hopelessness, are trying to squeeze a penny from any idea that has come up. Look around: which of them survived?
You have to love your people. They came to you in anticipation of support and cooperation, and not to give you money. They are not somewhere far away - here they are, next to you. Is it really so hard to try to build your life, your business, your dreams WITH THE HELP of those who are close to you, and not at the expense of them?
By the way, the main thing that co-working turned out to be useful for me: this philosophy (if I may say so) AUTOMATICALLY filters out those who disagree or are not ready to invest in the cause. I know: many of us are looking for some kind of magic thing in the world that would be able to protect from scams, divorce, theft, hack, and just unpleasant people. Well, good news, everyone: it looks like there is such a thing :)
After a year and a half, we have changed quite a bit. The atmosphere is still democratic and businesslike. Communication in the club is still on “you”. And each of the guys, I think, during this time, at least once tried to work with the others, defining a field of opportunity: it’s not by chance that we have a business incubator here :)
The only thing that became more noticeable during the crisis was that people became harsher and more collected. Today, few people allow themselves to “spit at the ceiling” or spend several hours discussing the next “ingenious” idea. However, since I myself am not a fan of empty talk, I even like it. In the end, not going to rest - the thing to do ...
Do not think, in the “Tower” is not office slavery :) Do you want to sleep - choose any sofa. If you want to get feedback on some problem - freely throw the cry, no one will refuse to help. And even in the refrigerator, you can dig, if you chew hunting.
PROBLEMS
Of course, not everything is so smooth. Coworking is not a magic wand, and in order to get a result, you still have to comply with certain rules. Specifically, we have - it is mandatory to change shoes into slippers and take out the garbage behind you. You will laugh, but it turned out that even such a trifle is the most powerful factor of dropouts. In fact, a person who sees a bunch of shoes and sneakers at the entrance, but walks about in shoes indifferently, is unlikely to care about the desires of others and in more serious situations ...
The most serious question that constantly has to be addressed is the question of relationships. Roughly speaking, what is convenient for one is not always convenient for another; and if it is not so important in work, then in everyday life people will not get along so easily. Every hidden discontent, every little thing is a potential source of conflict. But conflicts, as you yourself understand, cannot be allowed as PRINCIPLE. Karma is bad for you, you know.
That is, summing up: managing the coworking community is pure psychology. If someone still thinks that to open a co-working office you just need to find a room and arrange it ... he is right :) But for the EXISTENCE of the office this is not enough.
About the remaining problems keep silence. For one and a half years, of course, there were quite a few inconsistencies. But a business person cannot consider himself as such if the slightest shoal knocks him out of a rut; therefore, all these inconsistencies were either decided by the children themselves (for which they were boundlessly thankful), or simply passed unnoticed.
Yes, you yourself understand. Is “painting the ceiling” - this is such a problem, in comparison with the search for a customer for a new product?
FAILURES
Unfortunately, I consider most of the projects that have been started inside the “Tower” to failures. Perhaps the guys will not agree with me, but IMHO, a good project is a project that brings income; everything else that he brings has only intrinsic value. And out of those 7 projects that we have, only two bring profit at the very least.
Now more.
1. Biometric access control system
Idea: Fingerprint-based security and access control
USP: own patented hardware and scalable software architecture.
Problem: the investor interrupted funding because of the crisis, and the development of the project without the purchase of raw materials for the pilot lot is impossible.
Result: the project is frozen.
2. Interface for internet provider
The idea: a service management system for an internet provider.
UTP: a modular architecture that combines many services in one application (office, chat, iptv, telephony, forex, ...).
Problem: the launch at the pilot site is delayed by a lot of vague approvals, and sales cannot be started without testing.
Result: the project hung in the air.
3. Water filtration systems
The idea: vending machines for water purification.
UTP: water is 3 times cheaper than purchased one and better in quality.
Problem: In connection with the crisis, the management of the universities has raised the rent, and this will not work in the price of the product.
Result: The zero point is shifted by 6-8 months.
4. Precast Wall Panels
Idea: typical wall panels
USP: the ability to form arbitrary contours and easily increase / decrease the area of storage / production / office space.
Problem: the author of the idea has lost interest in the project.
Bottom line: the project hung in the air.
5. Projection advertising on mobile media
Idea: projection advertising in Yekaterinburg. Walls, billboards, billboards, holiday service.
UTP: animated advertising, portable technology, a wide range of areas.
Problem: when searching for customers, it turned out that there is no person in the team who can do this.
Bottom line: the project hung in the air.
About profitable projects - keep silence. Excuse me :)
What conclusions can be made from here?
1. Obvious: the fear of a crisis is still there, and it really hinders work.
2. Important: the ideologist and the project team are KEY figures, without which nothing will work.
3. Generalizing: coworking itself does not eliminate the probability of failure, but it greatly mitigates the consequences.
PROSPECTS
Despite this, the prospects are great.
First of all, 2 out of 7 projects is still a result. Sorry, many people don’t have such a thing: as a rule, not a single business incubator can boast good statistics. And the well-known percentage (20% of investments will work to zero, 10% will shoot, the remaining 70% will die) - we seem to be ahead.
Secondly, nothing is over. Most of the projects hung, thank God, not because the team failed or the idea turned out to be full of holes, but because the crisis killed investors in their desire to invest, spend on buyers, and everyone, without exception, act. Everything is moving very, very slowly. I think you noticed that too.
This is a task that is worth 18 months of living practice. Does co-working ideology help to collaborate on startups? Does a freelancer or entrepreneur make fewer mistakes by asking the opinion of the collective mind? Does the project develop more successfully if it happens in a coworking club, and not in the parents' garage or in a state-of-the-art technology park?
IMHO, yes. There's something about it.
***
Do you have a different opinion? Have questions? Comment, please.
Sincerely, Alexey Glazkov.
Earlier, I published on Habré my experience and sensations “6 months later” . Then the crisis began in Russia, in the “Tower” - the turbulence of the form “Let's start a business, it's about time!”, And the memorable date “First year” somehow passed by. But now, in late September, the Russian coworking is 1.5 years old. I wonder what has changed during this time.
Disclaimer: not wanting to distort information, I will confine myself only to our experience - “Towers”, “INCA” and “Polygon”. Other coworking clubs are likely to have a different story.
')
POPULATION
The guys who walked through us during these one and a half years - about 60-70 people in total - gave a completely accurate portrait of the co-working target audience. Professionally, they are strong techies, people of creative engineering professions, as well as small or novice entrepreneurs in the services sector or b2c. In personal terms, these are young at heart people at the psychological age of 20-30 years (the biological age may differ; we have people over 40, but at the same time it is very easy to communicate and work with them). These are mostly guys or couples.
Now there are 15 people living in the “Tower”: the “JetDog” web development team (3 people), the “66bit” freelancers team (2 people from… 4?), The “ALW” biometrics development team (3 people), business projects laboratory “INC” (4 people) and several participants of the “Landfill”, who appear periodically. About 6-7 business projects are associated with the guys, the problems and successes of which I will discuss next. They left the “Tower”, but 5 people still maintain contact - mostly IT and business. As you can see, the average portrait of a coworker (if VERY simplified) is an IT entrepreneur.
Separately, it must be said about designers, lawyers, journalists, salespeople and other professions, who also have the potential to co-work. No, guys. Does not work. Perhaps this is solely the problem of the “Tower”, but somehow it turned out that people of a humanitarian mentality (and here I include both journalists and lawyers — I allow myself such freedom) do not get along with the team at all. It's still a loner. And techies, entrepreneurs and economists - get along perfectly. Perhaps because for them the matter is objectively more important than personal desires and emotions.
IMHO, of course. I do not want to offend anyone - just explain the situation as I see it.
ATMOSPHERE
I think everything is clear here since the time of the NYTimes article and the debates of that time. The atmosphere is our everything. This is the soul and the essence of coworking. Without a community atmosphere and support - which, globally, depends solely on the organizer's goals - co-working turns into a regular sublease of space, at best. Or reborn in a commercial organization.
I constantly monitor everything connected with the word “coworking” in RuNet, and observed a sufficient number of various perversions. Some kind of pathetic pocket offices, created more for the self-satisfaction of the organizer than for teamwork. Real estate agencies that are trying to “coworking” their clumsy attempts to fool illiquid premises. Small companies that are ready to give up their seats for a while, in terms of reducing costs. Start-up entrepreneurs who, from ignorance or hopelessness, are trying to squeeze a penny from any idea that has come up. Look around: which of them survived?
You have to love your people. They came to you in anticipation of support and cooperation, and not to give you money. They are not somewhere far away - here they are, next to you. Is it really so hard to try to build your life, your business, your dreams WITH THE HELP of those who are close to you, and not at the expense of them?
By the way, the main thing that co-working turned out to be useful for me: this philosophy (if I may say so) AUTOMATICALLY filters out those who disagree or are not ready to invest in the cause. I know: many of us are looking for some kind of magic thing in the world that would be able to protect from scams, divorce, theft, hack, and just unpleasant people. Well, good news, everyone: it looks like there is such a thing :)
After a year and a half, we have changed quite a bit. The atmosphere is still democratic and businesslike. Communication in the club is still on “you”. And each of the guys, I think, during this time, at least once tried to work with the others, defining a field of opportunity: it’s not by chance that we have a business incubator here :)
The only thing that became more noticeable during the crisis was that people became harsher and more collected. Today, few people allow themselves to “spit at the ceiling” or spend several hours discussing the next “ingenious” idea. However, since I myself am not a fan of empty talk, I even like it. In the end, not going to rest - the thing to do ...
Do not think, in the “Tower” is not office slavery :) Do you want to sleep - choose any sofa. If you want to get feedback on some problem - freely throw the cry, no one will refuse to help. And even in the refrigerator, you can dig, if you chew hunting.
PROBLEMS
Of course, not everything is so smooth. Coworking is not a magic wand, and in order to get a result, you still have to comply with certain rules. Specifically, we have - it is mandatory to change shoes into slippers and take out the garbage behind you. You will laugh, but it turned out that even such a trifle is the most powerful factor of dropouts. In fact, a person who sees a bunch of shoes and sneakers at the entrance, but walks about in shoes indifferently, is unlikely to care about the desires of others and in more serious situations ...
The most serious question that constantly has to be addressed is the question of relationships. Roughly speaking, what is convenient for one is not always convenient for another; and if it is not so important in work, then in everyday life people will not get along so easily. Every hidden discontent, every little thing is a potential source of conflict. But conflicts, as you yourself understand, cannot be allowed as PRINCIPLE. Karma is bad for you, you know.
That is, summing up: managing the coworking community is pure psychology. If someone still thinks that to open a co-working office you just need to find a room and arrange it ... he is right :) But for the EXISTENCE of the office this is not enough.
About the remaining problems keep silence. For one and a half years, of course, there were quite a few inconsistencies. But a business person cannot consider himself as such if the slightest shoal knocks him out of a rut; therefore, all these inconsistencies were either decided by the children themselves (for which they were boundlessly thankful), or simply passed unnoticed.
Yes, you yourself understand. Is “painting the ceiling” - this is such a problem, in comparison with the search for a customer for a new product?
FAILURES
Unfortunately, I consider most of the projects that have been started inside the “Tower” to failures. Perhaps the guys will not agree with me, but IMHO, a good project is a project that brings income; everything else that he brings has only intrinsic value. And out of those 7 projects that we have, only two bring profit at the very least.
Now more.
1. Biometric access control system
Idea: Fingerprint-based security and access control
USP: own patented hardware and scalable software architecture.
Problem: the investor interrupted funding because of the crisis, and the development of the project without the purchase of raw materials for the pilot lot is impossible.
Result: the project is frozen.
2. Interface for internet provider
The idea: a service management system for an internet provider.
UTP: a modular architecture that combines many services in one application (office, chat, iptv, telephony, forex, ...).
Problem: the launch at the pilot site is delayed by a lot of vague approvals, and sales cannot be started without testing.
Result: the project hung in the air.
3. Water filtration systems
The idea: vending machines for water purification.
UTP: water is 3 times cheaper than purchased one and better in quality.
Problem: In connection with the crisis, the management of the universities has raised the rent, and this will not work in the price of the product.
Result: The zero point is shifted by 6-8 months.
4. Precast Wall Panels
Idea: typical wall panels
USP: the ability to form arbitrary contours and easily increase / decrease the area of storage / production / office space.
Problem: the author of the idea has lost interest in the project.
Bottom line: the project hung in the air.
5. Projection advertising on mobile media
Idea: projection advertising in Yekaterinburg. Walls, billboards, billboards, holiday service.
UTP: animated advertising, portable technology, a wide range of areas.
Problem: when searching for customers, it turned out that there is no person in the team who can do this.
Bottom line: the project hung in the air.
About profitable projects - keep silence. Excuse me :)
What conclusions can be made from here?
1. Obvious: the fear of a crisis is still there, and it really hinders work.
2. Important: the ideologist and the project team are KEY figures, without which nothing will work.
3. Generalizing: coworking itself does not eliminate the probability of failure, but it greatly mitigates the consequences.
PROSPECTS
Despite this, the prospects are great.
First of all, 2 out of 7 projects is still a result. Sorry, many people don’t have such a thing: as a rule, not a single business incubator can boast good statistics. And the well-known percentage (20% of investments will work to zero, 10% will shoot, the remaining 70% will die) - we seem to be ahead.
Secondly, nothing is over. Most of the projects hung, thank God, not because the team failed or the idea turned out to be full of holes, but because the crisis killed investors in their desire to invest, spend on buyers, and everyone, without exception, act. Everything is moving very, very slowly. I think you noticed that too.
This is a task that is worth 18 months of living practice. Does co-working ideology help to collaborate on startups? Does a freelancer or entrepreneur make fewer mistakes by asking the opinion of the collective mind? Does the project develop more successfully if it happens in a coworking club, and not in the parents' garage or in a state-of-the-art technology park?
IMHO, yes. There's something about it.
***
Do you have a different opinion? Have questions? Comment, please.
Sincerely, Alexey Glazkov.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/70142/
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