Abheek raised this question a few days ago about “the viability of a business like common office building esp for startup companies. Something similar to a physical incubator”.  I thought it may be a good idea to share my thoughts via a post and also find out what the community thinks about this topic.  Please do share your views in comments.

From a property owner’s perspective

• Startups are always looking to pay as less as possible
• Startups need very less space in the initial months / years and also use less space per person
• Startups are risky in the sense that continuity of payments is not ensured
• Startups may not be in a position to commit to long term leases
• Hence overall renting space to SMEs / Big companies / MNCs etc is always preferred by property owners
• Only owners who could be open to this are
  • Folks who are not able to get other tenants
  • Folks who have special soft corner for startups
  • Educational institutes who are subsidizing it
  • Other businesses around startups where giving space is just a small part of overall business
• Net-Net this explains lack of “dedicated buildings / spaces” for startups
• There are some spaces which claim to be startup friendly & all; but end of the day ask for too much money

• I am personally not convinced that a startup needs to work out of a proper office type space
• Startups should work out of non-office places like : apartments, garages, basements, left over spaces etc, for a few reasons
  • It costs less
  • You can create your own interiors and your own culture instead of fitting into a office environment where you sit in 4 seats out of the total 10-20 around you
  • Setting up your space gives you a lot more homely / personal feeling
  • Being in a different type of environment also makes it more creative and off-beat
  • This environment attracts the right kind of employees and rejects the  wrong kind who want to work in a normal environment
• An ideal startup work space is very creative / disorganized / informal and comes at rates that are suited for startups
• Working & living out of the same apartment saves you the time & money  that would be spent otherwise on office rent & commuting
• Working in someone else office can make founders feel like employees and put pressure on them to dress in a particular manner and stuff like that – where as they should work in their undies if that helps them write better code

Conclusion

Process of building a startup is very creative, highly immersive,  and totally unique for every startup and this process is best executed in a personal / small / off-beat setting – a setting of your choice, a place that makes you feel comfortable.