Several businesses and entrepreneurs struggle to find affordable office spaces or manage existing office spaces well. Many start-ups also need a place where they can operate without distractions. These pain points led to the birth of iKeva, a premium hyperlocal, flexi leasing co-working space that brings like-minded professionals together to build and grow through each other’s networks.
“The way people use office spaces/commercial real estate is changing and co-working will be the way forward. From single digits, in terms of real estate space occupied by co-working spaces today in India, it will reach to 25 to 30 per cent in the next two to three years, and 30 to 35 per cent of the work force in India will work out of co-working spaces,” says Monika Misra, co-founder, iKeva.
iKeva clients range from freelancers to small start-ups to multinational corporations. “We have six centers in five cities, over 250 companies and more than 4,000 members,” she says.
Monika goes on to explain that iKeva’s business is not just about providing a space for customers to work in, but about building an environment that helps members grow. “The understanding was to provide a complete ecosystem of lawyers, accountants, marketing consultants, etc.” she says.
Founded in 2013, iKeva has been catering to a large heterogeneous mix of clients. “We have received angel funding and my family has been extremely supportive of me, considering that most of an entrepreneur’s life is dedicated to his/her venture, adds Monika, who believes that no one is born an entrepreneur.
In fact, she too was born into a middle-class family and didn’t have much exposure to the culture of business. “There are entrepreneurs in various spheres of lives. From shopkeepers to salon owners to the small chai wala; everyone is an entrepreneur in their own right,” propounds Monika.
Brought up in Visakhapatnam, this businesswoman comes from a family where her parents have always urged her and her sister to be independent and to think on their own. “That early sense of independence was key to my entrepreneurial spirit,” says Monika, who did her bachelors in hospitality and tourism management from the University of Huddersfield (UK).
After completing the course, she gained hands-on experience in the fields of hospitality, tourism as well as sales. “I have more than 15 years of experience in hospitality and the real estate industry. I am passionate about brand building and sales. All these helped me to gauge the tricks of the trade from an early stage,” says Monika.
