GoWork's Hypothesis Regarding the Post-Pandemic Coworking Space Business

Business co-working space including the vertical that was "battered" during yesterday's pandemic, because most of the activities were carried out at home. CoHive gave up and declared bankrupt on January 18, 2023. Even though this startup was once named the owner of the network co-working space largest in Indonesia.

It also slumped, its closest competitor GoWork has survived until now because it found market opportunities that had not been explored, namely large and corporate companies. GoWork co-founder & CEO Vanessa Hendriadi said that his party realized in the midst of yesterday's pandemic that the traditional work model had changed forever.

Departing from there, the company quickly changed its strategy by targeting these two segments. From the hypothesis, in the past usually large companies in Indonesia set up their headquarters in Jakarta, then recruited local talent or relocated the talent for face-to-face work.

"But Covid-19 changed this dynamic completely because big teams were forced to work from home. In 2023, with the end of the pandemic, the same company now has to adapt again," said Vanessa in an official statement.

GoWork is now embracing the concept scale-as-a-service for corporations and large corporations, many of which are struggling to adapt to a post-pandemic workforce that demands working models hybrid.

Solution full stack This B2B helps corporates find and set up satellite offices and operations outside the Jakarta area. This condition allows for decentralized team formation, flexibility to add or remove, and direct support in various departments, such as human resources, legal, finance, and others.

According to Vanessa, this radical transformation has proven to be able to boost GoWork's business, even though the company still provides workspace as its main business model.

"We can thrive in 2023 because of our new highly customized solutions for large enterprises."

Although the numbers are not disclosed, it is claimed that GoWork's revenue has doubled from pre-pandemic with a client retention rate of 85% per year. GoWork's corporate clients include Deloitte, AirAsia, Pfizer, Nielsen, Pegadaian, and others. Previously, GoWork membership was widely used by startups, MSMEs, and freelancers.

Concept scale-as-a-service

Separately when contacted DailySocial.id, Vanessa explained the conceptual approach scale-as-a-service This is a form of the company's commitment to match client needs. This enables companies to provide flexible solutions that allow businesses to grow at their own pace, whether it's expansion to one location, multiple locations, or even reduction.

"We are inspired by global players, but our implementation is unique and adapted to the Indonesian context," he said.

Expansion of new locations for GoWork is also an equally important strategy, without compromising service quality improvement. Although it cannot be stated in detail the target for additional locations, it is stated that currently GoWork operates in 25 locations in five major cities, namely Jakarta, Tangerang, Medan, Bali and Surabaya.

Not only expansion, the company is currently providing additional virtual office solutions. Vanessa said, solutions are designed for all company sizes, both micro and enterprise, while still providing a sense of community and collaboration.

"GoWork helps entrepreneurs to manage all legal needs and manage their employees until they can run their business."

As is known, this virtual office usually offers a solution in the form of a company address provider at a certain location which is generally located in the business center with all the facilities needed as an office in general. In addition to a business address, generally operators also provide a receptionist, a special telephone/fax number with a private operator, and legal document processing.

Apart from GoWork, there are several virtual office players in Indonesia, such as vOffice and Regus.

Regarding the need for new funding, Vanessa only said that her party was continuing to try to strengthen its position in the market. Therefore, the company opens with various forms of cooperation, including with property owners who wish to use their space more efficiently.

The latest funding the company received was a Series B round from the Global Brain Foundation. When totaled, the company gain funding $13 million since its inception.