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GoFloaters: Fundamental Enabler for the Indian Startup Ecosystem

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 Srivatsan Padmanabhan, COO,Shyam Sundar, Founder & CEO

Srivatsan Padmanabhan, COO
Shyam Sundar, Founder & CEO

Albeit the co-working players are eluding the real estate's drawbacks, they are positioning themselves more as MNC-focused amenities rather than designing spaces suiting the needs of startups and free lancers. The gravitation towards the larger corporates is evident due to the seat takeover by them amounting to 10.3 million followed by 1.5 million to SMEs, leaving a chunk of 1.5 million to freelancers, and just one lakh for startups. With a stark vision to serve this unserved population, GoFloaters operates as the fundamental enabler for the startup ecosystem in India, and provides on-demand, flexible, affordable & hassle-free workspaces for freelancers and early-stage startups. “We aren't building this business to just make money; we are passionate about enabling startups and freelancers, whom we support exclusively,” says Shyam Sundar, Founder & CEO, GoFloaters.

After interviewing several coworking space founders, freelancers & startups, and performing intrinsic research, Shyam & Srivatsan Padmanabhan (COO, GoFloaters) realized the
need for affordable, flexible & hassle-free coworking spaces, meeting rooms, and setup GoFloaters. Instead of investing in real estate, the duo devised a mobile app thatallows the entrepreneurs & freelancers seeking professional workspace to utilize the extra capacity of cafes & companies having impeccable infrastructure without the high upfront costs & long-term commitment – as easy as booking a cab in Ola. On the flipside, GoFloaters empowers business owners to generate more revenue, thereby creates a win-win situation for all the stakeholders.

"We aren't building this business to just make money; we are passionate about enabling startups and freelancers, whom we support exclusively"

Bestowing clients with the flexibility to choose from over 65 easily accessible locations across Bangalore, Chennai, & Coimbatore, the company facilitates customers to work from wherever & whenever they need. GoFloaters further allows clients to pick an hourly, daily or monthly membership fees model, where its charges start from Rs.25/hour, and Rs.2000/month, which are 40 percent less than the market rate.

A Stomping Ground for Entrepreneurs
Streamlining the entire process, the company’s app available on Android and iOS lets users to do everything from booking a cafe, conference, meeting or discussion rooms to having a virtual office address; thereby giving startups & freelancers an appearance of professionalism that might just be
necessary for winning work. Moreover, its technologically-advanced, architecturally arresting co-working spaces are equipped with the tools & tech needed to run the business right from projectors & printers, Wi-Fi to full-service concierge services. Shyam recalls when an event management startup's (headquartered at north Chennai) sales people were finding it challenging to promote their services PAN Chennai. Using GoFloaters’ coworking spaces present across south Chennai, the sales people efficiently managed all their affairs effortlessly without going back to their head office every time.

Enabling creative collaborations, its co-working places ignite new innovations and high level of productivity, substantiating the power of workplaces, whether it’s enabling its customers to order food from its partner startups or connecting freelances with the startups. In fact, in the last month, some startups hired freelancing writers through its events.

With its focus on connecting communities and hosting events, GoFloaters offers an ideal environment for networking with other entrepreneurs, which gives entrepreneurs an opportunity to learn more about their business & how to grow their operation. Fostering the entrepreneurialism, it also gives its spaces to startup communities almost free of cost. Impressively, the company that has spent very little money on advertising, and yet has increased its booking and revenue rates to eight times from November 2017, and is targeting to propel these figures over the next few months.