The FINANCIAL — The number of communal workspaces in Tbilisi is set to increase in demand in the following months. In December last year, the King David Business Center joined this trend. KD4US is one such ‘Co-working Space’, which offers a useful, multifunctional working space for companies, entrepreneurs or outsourced staff members.
The FINANCIAL talked with Zurab Kenia, Coordinator of the KD4US space to find out more about the initiative.
Q. What does a co-working space mean to you?
A. It is a shared workspace, a communal office space which any person can come to and work in. However, it should be taken into consideration that you may have a neighbour working alongside you from a completely different company. Therefore they may be working for the interests of another company to you. This is the charm of it, because people can be creating different kinds of work in the same space. This is one of the advantages produced when humans gather together in unison. Such spaces have been around for a long time and therefore this is no complete novelty for Georgia.
Q. What sort of advantages does a co-working space offer compared to a standard office?
A. This is a business that provides a kind of service. It mainly caters to individuals, small entrepreneurs, start-up companies, or companies for whom a grand, separate office is not required. A similar product generally involves: 1. Readiness for work anytime; 2. Short Term Projects; 3. Standard office infrastructure alternatives.
Q. Why did you decide to create such a space?
A. The market has its own segments here and we have started working on these segments. We went down the classic route – offices, residences, minimal infrastructure, but there is a rather large and interesting segment that doesn’t require classic infrastructure and needs mobile offices. We have created a product that has been made available for medium and large business, and we have joined members who we want to develop with, who we want to become a member of our high class business office.
Q. Who are the customers of KD4US?
A. People from almost every profession: start-ups; lawyers; developers; programmers; international companies with short-term projects in Georgia – all who prefer to use their money on their work, instead of on office infrastructure.
Q. How does the design of a co-working space differ from that of a standard office?
A. The design of an ordinary office must naturally be uniform and standardised, tailored to the tastes of one particular person (the designer or director perhaps), therefore not offering variety to suit all the workers within it. In our case, while working on our design, we decided to have four separate and visually distinct zones. We therefore have 4 season-themed sections: a winter zone; spring zone; summer; and autumn. We are giving customers the opportunity to choose their place of work based on their mood or colour preference. We have taken into account the ergonomics that encompass EU standard lights, its psychological and health norms. KD4US design is oriented purely at customers.
Q. What advantages can KD4US members enjoy as part of King David?
A. Being a part of King David means having access to various benefits, meaning access to all services offered by the business centre: parking; catering areas – a standard cafeteria; a Japanese kitchen corner and Italian restaurant; conference rooms; communication with all other companies located in our building. The user is actually a member of a live complex that is in a constant state of development, increasing and enhancing its services, one which will become quite diverse in 2019. Most importantly, the main advantage is the potential to achieve the status of a successful person – it is with this very aim that we are providing everything that we are.
Q. According to your price policy, how accessible is it to become a member of KD4US for the general populace?
A. It is completely affordable and therefore accessible to any segment of the population. We do not have one standard service; we have diversified products to suit different requirements and people’s ability to pay. For one day’s rent of our space, the price is GEL 35. The minimum package starts from GEL 120 per month. This package is intended for people who need office space for a very short period of time. The main products for everyday stable use start from GEL 400 per month. At this price people get a working place, meeting rooms, internet, sanitary service, use of resting zones, kitchen utilities, and all of this 24 hourly. In terms of additional services, the prices increase accordingly.
Q. How does one become a member of KD4US?
A. It takes just 2-3 minutes. You need to register online on our webpage. You can find all the information about our services and how to make a reservation online. After that, all you need to do is turn up and start working. We have deliberately tried to reduce the bureaucracy to a minimum.
Q. And finally, in your opinion what makes a co-working space successful – is it the design, the people, or both?
A. Definitely the people. Having the correct staff is followed by having the correct design. Correct staff and design then together attract the correct customers. And it is all of this together that creates a successful environment. This is not just a working space, it’s a place of human relationships, where people are changing their knowledge, their experiences, and all we are doing is helping this process along.
