The concept of co-living spaces has already witnessed an increasing popularity among millennials in the Western World, and now, it seems, India is also opening up to this idea. Co-living offers the option of paying for only the spaces that a person is going to use, which makes it attractive for a single person.
Moreover, in a co-living space, you can enjoy amenities that far exceed what a single bedroom space can offer. In India, a few startups have ventured into this domain to make the entire process of finding the right co-living space for you convenient and hassle-free. Homigo is one of them
In an interview with
Q. Tell us about Homigo. When was it founded and who were the founders? Tell us more about them.
Ans: Homigo is an emerging startup based out of Bengaluru and operating in the co-living space. Over 3-year old, the company is committed to its vision of creating a network of community-focused, co-living spaces by leveraging cutting-edge design and the best of technology.
Today, Homigo provides 2000+ beds and has catered to over 5000 residents across Bengaluru. It caters to the Millennials and its customers include both students as well as working professionals.
The Founders include Nikunj Bhateja, Jatin Mitruka, and Aakash Verma, who conceptualized this on the basis of their own personal experiences, during their early days in Bengaluru. All the 3 Co-Founders are IIT Kanpur alumni. We were in the same batch, same dorm, and the same wing as well.
Q. What Inspired you to start your venture in the co-living space? What is unique about the services offered by Homigo?
Ans: It is interesting to note that a lot of startup ideas emerge from one’s own challenges/ experiences. Our case was no different. The idea of Homigo mushroomed from our own personal experiences that we faced here in Bengaluru, post our college days, staying away from home.
In July 2014, when I first moved
Even the furnished houses had decades-old furnishing. Add to this the costs, as well as the headache of maintaining the accommodation. I was forced to cross paths with sly brokers who would try to extract more money and/or fool the customers. I also tried to seek help from friends who were from the city or have been living in the city but to no avail.
The expectation and delivery gap was huge and the entire sector was extremely unorganized. It was then that I, with my batchmates from IIT Kanpur, Jatin Mitruka and Aakash Verma, started out on our journey to build Homigo, to solve this problem for the Millennials moving to a new city.
Q. Tell us more about the co-living industry. It would be great if you can share some market trends in the industry.
Ans: India’s market size of the residential rental market is $20 billion. The market is growing at a rapid pace and the next level of growth is expected from tier-2 cities like Jaipur, Chandigarh, etc.
As per a recent report titled “Co-Living – rent a lifestyle” by Knight Frank India, the leading international property consultancy, Indian millennials currently account for 34% of the total population of co-living spaces which is expected to increase to 42% by 2025.
The report was prepared on the basis of a survey that was undertaken across key cities in India including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, and NCR and is based on responses from individuals between the ages of 18 – 40 years of age.
As per the report, 72% of millennials (18 – 23 years) have given co-living spaces a thumbs-up and over 55% respondents in the age group of 18 – 35 years are willing to rent co-living spaces.
Q. What kinds of challenges have you faced in founding Homigo and in the subsequent time period? How did you overcome these difficulties? Are there any takeaways from them which can help in furthering the growth of your company?
Ans: The journey over the last 3 years has been very challenging. There are numerous roadblocks we faced, as we tried to build this company. First and the foremost, the concept was new and it was difficult to showcase how we are different from the usual rental accommodation. Also, there were trust issues and a lot of customers were vary of trying our concept as they thought we are ‘on the fly’ company and it might not be safe to stay in our accommodations.
We believe in working as a team and treat every challenge as an opportunity. Our passion to make a difference ensured that we are always upbeat and could overcome all difficulties.
The takeaway from all these is simple – Believe in yourself and continue with your journey. Do not get affected by the roadblocks that come in your way.
Q. Tell us about your journey so far, your current team, as well as its customer base and revenues.
Ans: We started in 2015 and have completed 3 years of operation a couple of months back. Today, Homigo has a team of 35+ professionals. We are present across the Bengaluru and have served over 5000 residents during our journey. We clocked a 3x growth in FY 2017-18 and are confident of maintaining the steady growth in the current fiscal as well.
Q. What are the strengths of Homigo?
Ans: One of our biggest strengths is that we are not only running a co-living startup but are also committed to the cause of creating a community of youngsters away from home. Homigo is working towards building a strong sense of community where new friendships and relationships can foster and ‘one is never alone’.
We organize events and meetups to ensure that Homigo residents are never alone and get ample opportunities to interact with like-minded individuals. We are working on a very different level and hope to make an impact to the society at large.
Q. What are the addressable market and underlying opportunity that you are going after?
Ans: We currently live in Bengaluru. Homigo provides 2000+ beds and has catered to over 5000 residents across Bengaluru. One can choose from only renting a bed, renting a room, or renting an entire house. All Homigo residences are fully furnished with all the utilities included and access to our vibrant community. They have gaming rooms, study hall, activity room, and common areas. There is also one hangout/breakout area per building.
We are looking at expanding into one more city before the end of this fiscal year. This will be our first expansion in southern India, outside of Bengaluru.
Q. How have you distributed your initial funds? Do you have any plan to raise funds in the near future?
Ans: The company has raised an undisclosed amount of funds in 2 rounds of funding, over the last 3 years. Some of its key investors include Ramakant Sharma and Anuj Srivastava (Co-Founders, Livspace), Asvini Kumar (Founder, Thinksoft Global – IPO in 2009), Chaitanya V Cotha (runs a 150+ year old jewelry business), Ashok Ahuja (Senior Partner, Edelweiss Financial Services), Anand Sanghi and Hitesh Prajapati (Senior Leaders at Vertiv), Hitesh Rohera (real estate businessman from Gujarat), and Kiran Jain (Ex-Business Head, HDFC Bank).
We have efficiently utilized our initial funds to acquire new places, expand our footprint, and to create buzz about our brand in the city. We do plan to raise more funds, as and when the need arises.
