PlayWorkz is a coworking space where people from all walks of life get together to make their ideas a reality. PlayWorkz is a fully functional workspace that fosters a community for individuals having a common goal, to become the next big idea. PlayWorkz aids the startup community by providing a shared workspace and allowing for independent engagement. The firm provides the best ambiance in the center of Coimbatore, making it ideal for prospective entrepreneurs seeking turnkey office space.
Playworkz is successfully led by Sabari, Founder & CEO, an ardent business leader with over 16 years of industry experience working in several IT majors and Reni Plakkal William, Director - Business Development, an exemplary women entrepreneur. In an exclusive interview with Asia Business Outlook, Sabari enlightens us on the distinctive facets of Playworkz and its unique take on the coworking space.
What Led To The Foundation Of Playworkz, A Fully Functional Workspace That Creates A Community Of Like-Minded People?
In the Industrial city of South India, around 80 percent of the people or youngsters who come out of college always aspire to be an entrepreneur and start something on their own. However, today the cost of venturing into our own business has become very expensive. The incorporation as well as obtaining office space to host your customer is very costly. I, too, wanted to become an entrepreneur, but it took me 16 years.
Prior to joining Playworkz, I worked in several organizations in various domains and IT disciplines. This enlightened me on how people were looking to become entrepreneurs, and due to the cost of entrepreneurship, they were still seeking jobs before starting something on their own. So that really gave me a push to set up a place where starting a business is less expensive and people can have the flexibility to implement their ideas.
Once they’re able to see any roadmap for their business, they can further take up a dedicated office. Thus, Playworkz brings the flexibility to the budding Entrepreneur, wherein we are structured in a way to provide a mix of private offices, semi-private offices, and workstations to cater to the needs of multiple entrepreneurs who come in with varying requirements.
What Was The Most Pressing Challenge That You Encountered In The Co-Working Space And How Did You Mitigate Those Challenges?
Maintaining flexibility in the face of a single business model was one of the most pressing challenges. When you mix and match personnel from various domains and time zones in which they operate, occupation, health, and safety were the most important criterion and biggest challenge during the COVID era. Our motto was to bring more entrepreneurship churned out from this place. So, technically the most challenging aspect was achieving flexibility which we have now accomplished fittingly in a big way.
As of now, there are 13 different types of businesses operating out of Playworks, prime to locations large and small ranging from clinical research analytics, blockchain, insurance, interior design, HR, Digital Marketing, British Council, and IDP, to mention a few. We’ve set up several common areas where folks can connect with one another. If we see the proportion of productive to non-productive space at Playworkz, productive spaces sum up to 53 percent and the rest 47 percent is for personal non-productive space, where people can connect and network for their needs. Within our premises, we have witnessed a lot of networking, with people from digital marketing utilizing the services of a design firm, and IT firms employing the services of HR recruiting services. People are quite delighted and give them comfort to see the vendors next door or on the next floor. So this was what I intended to develop, a single business model.
Could You Mention A Few Case Studies That Demonstrate The Effectiveness Of Your Services?
We have numerous proud instances to share when it comes to our customers who have grown out to their own workplaces. We’ve had around 12-13 success stories in the last three years since our inception in 2019. Even during the lean period of COVID, we were able to support people in our space that is 100 percent compliant across all domains and adheres to occupational health and safety standards. We have several classic examples, wherein people have come, grown multifold, and moved out to their own office. In the coming years, I hope to have more success stories and encourage entrepreneurs.
Tell Us About The Company’s Recent Expansion And What The Company’s Future Plans Are.
To date, our success has been fueled by addressing and overcoming the challenges. Currently, we are about 98 percent occupied and don’t have a space for anybody for the next four months. We intend to expand by another 50 percent of our capacity and by 2025 we are looking at 1000 seats with satellite offices situated at different locations around Tamil Nadu.
Even during the lean period Of COVID, we were able to Support people in our space That is 100 percent compliant Across all domains and Adheres to occupational Health and safety standards
Coimbatore, unlike other metro cities, is a modest industrial town with a large number of students graduating each year having good minds and the ability to create a lot of new things. Thus, we’re attempting to provide them with a space where they turn their ideas into tangible results. For a self-reliant India, a lot of things have to transpire in our nation and we need more entrepreneurs for this. So we are doing our part to the country’s growth prospects.
Sabari, Founder & CEO
An exemplary business leader having over 16 years of industry expertise in working in several organizations in various domains and IT disciplines. Sabari is a passionate professional dedicated to elevating the startup community and assisting fresh entrepreneurs in turning their ideas into successful outcomes and flourishing in business.
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