Colive - Transforming Urban Housing through Chic Co-living Spaces

Chayanika Goswami

Apr 18, 2022 — 10 min read

Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Colive.

Given the increasing cost of property in metro cities, co-living is probably the most cost-effective way of living in urban areas without having to compromise on modern amenities. This is the reason why co-living spaces are getting popular, especially among youth. With the increasing number of youth moving out of their hometowns for studies or work, the concept of co-living is fast gaining popularity in India.

According to a Cushman & Wakefield India report, the Co-living market size across India’s top 30 cities is expected to grow more than double by 2025 to $13.92 billion from the current $ 6.67 billion. To meet this trend, Colive, a startup in Bangalore has come up with fully managed and technologically equipped rental co-living spaces, to make living comfortable, safe and affordable. Here is how Colive was started and how it is transforming urban housing in India. We interviewed Colive founder Suresh Rangarajan K to know about this fast-growing coliving startup.

Colive - Company Details

Startup Name	Colive
Headquarter	Bangalore
Founder	Suresh Rangarajan K
Sector	Co-living
Founded	2016
Parent Organization	CoLife Advisory Pvt. Ltd.

Colive - About
Colive - Founder and Team
Colive - Startup Story
Colive - Mission and Vision
Colive - Name, Tagline, and Logo
Colive - Business Model
Colive - Revenue Model
Colive - Funding and Investors
Colive - Advisors and Mentors
Colive - Startup Challenges
Colive - Competitors
Colive - Growth
Colive - Awards
Colive - Future Plans

Colive - About

Colive is a Bangalore-based co-living space provider. Colive offers ready-to-move-in co-living spaces, which are located near IT parks and business hubs. These homes are chic and equipped with modern tech-enabled safety features. Besides, all homes are fully serviced and professionally managed, and offers flexible and affordable options suitable for urban living. These co-living spaces are designed especially for single professionals & young couples who prefer living in a social community of like-minded millennials.

Colive is driven by the vision to get established as India’s No.1 Coliving brand offering technology-enabled, fully-managed homes for millennials & Gen Z in urban markets.

Colive USPs

Style

Modern Furnishing
Cinema and Sports Arena
Fitness and games room
Modern Storage Space
Self cooking equipment
Community kitchen

Safety

Facial recognition based key management
CCTV and Video Surveillance
Emergency response team.

Service

Professional House Keeping
High-Speed Internet
On Demand Maintenance Support
Power back-up

Savings

Affordable rentals
Flexi Lockin
Installment facility

Smart

Skype booth
Co-working space
Digital door locks

Networking
Free holiday once a quarter
Invitation to exclusive events and parties.

"We launched Colive in Bangalore given the city’s universal appeal. Home to numerous IT companies, the capital of Karnataka a top destination for young working professionals who don’t have the capacity to rent a single sharing accommodation near their offices. Considering this factor, Bangalore seemed like the ideal place for Colive to begin its journey" The Colive CEO quotes.

Colive - Founder and Team

Suresh Rangarajan K is the Founder and CEO of Colive.

Suresh Rangarajan K

Suresh Rangarajan K is an alumnus of Yale School of Management. He is a chartered accountant and serial entrepreneur. Prior to founding Colive, he was also a part of the founding team of TimesofMoney.com and Artha, a real estate enterprise. Under his enterprising leadership, remit2india.com went on to become the world’s #1 online money transfer portal & one of the most successful internet businesses in India.

Arun Singh was the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) and Co-founder of Colive. Arun has worked in the Indian Equity Markets for over 2 decades, which provided him a ring-side view of the transformation of the Indian economy. His last stint was at Alchemy, a boutique equities brokerage firm focused on Institutional and Ultra HNI investors. He was also part of the founding team at a startup before embarking on his journey of curating emerging businesses to bootstrap in his individual capacity. Singh stepped down from his position in September 2021.

Saurav Swami is the VP of Alliances at Colive. Saurav looks after Corporate tie-ups and partners for built-to-suit coliving buildings.

Colive brought on board, Arun Balan of the Balan and Nambisan Architects to design the double sharing rooms, which are strategically styled with modular furniture to offer a sense of privacy even in a shared space. As commented by Colive CEO Suresh Rangarajan, Signature Towers will let the residents experience the comfort of their home with the splendor of a deluxe hotel.

The company works with an employee strength of 100-150 employees.

Colive - Startup Story

During his stint at Artha, Suresh realized that India’s real estate sector has great potential. He noticed the housing challenges being faced by the millennials in India, and to solve the same he started Colive. The idea behind Colive was simple – to offer an effective solution to urban India’s housing owes.

"Even though property prices have gone down in the last decade, affordable housing remains a myth in India. Renting a 2BHK flat in any metropolitan city is impossible for many, especially for those who have just begun their career. Realizing this gap, I decided to launch Colive which provides affordable, convenient, fully-amenitized and managed accommodations while taking a deposit of only 2-months’ worth of the respective rents, as opposed to the standard range of INR 60k- INR 1,00,000." said Colive owner Suresh Rangarajan K on explaining the idea behind starting Colive.

Colive - Mission and Vision

The mission of Colive is to "offer Colive residents to upgrade lifestyle with chic designs and contemporary interiors, premium amenities, and hassle-free living." With real-estate in its DNA, and driven by a customer-centric approach, Colive aims to build automated processes and leverage technology that will help in scaling the business.

Colive - Name, Tagline and Logo

The name Colive is derived from co-living. The company’s tagline- 'Colive your way' embodies the sense of co-living with the independence of living the way one wants to live and having the freedom to make their own life choices. Colive Community is a non-judgmental society that respects an individual’s life choices and celebrates their differences which is showcased in the logo people peacefully co-exist.

Colive Logo

Colive - Business Model

Colive has a full-stack business model and it provides its services directly to the end-users. Colive takes buildings on long-term contracts from builders and franchises. The buildings are transformed into branded and serviced co-living spaces and then rented out to customers.

Colive - Revenue Model

Colive has two sources of revenue-

Fixed rentals- Under this model, Colive makes an agreement with property owners to pay them a fixed sum. The amount of earning over and above this fixed sum is Colive’s revenue.
Property management fee- Under this model, the revenue earned from rent is shared between the property owner and Colive in a predetermined ratio. This ratio may vary from city to city.

Colive - Funding and Investors

Colive has raised total funding of $12 Million in 3 rounds. Here are the Colive funding details -

Funding Date	Stage	Amount	Investor
April 2019	Series A	$9.2 Million	Salarpuria Sattva Group
February 2018	Seed	$1.8 Million	Ncubate Capital Partners
September 2016	Seed	$1 Million	Angel Investors

Colive plans to utilize the funding to ramp up its operations and expand its footprint in India.

Colive - Advisors and Mentors

Colive is being mentored by Bijay Agarwal, MD Salarpuria Sattva Group.

Colive - Startup Challenges

According to Suresh, as the concept of co-living is new in India, Colive had a tough time convincing the stakeholders, who were skeptical about the success of the concept.

Speaking about the challenges that the team initially faced, Suresh Rangarajan K said, "Acquiring the first 1,000 beds was tedious but once that was done, we could pace up while scaling to 10,000 beds. The initial months, in particular, were difficult for us. However, we stuck to our original plan and got well acquainted with our primary target group – the millennials. And, it was only a matter of time before our extensive efforts started showing positive results"

Colive - Competitors

For Colive, competition ranges from a PG operator to the global player that provides rental accommodation. Top competitors of Colive are, Your Own ROOM, Stay Abode, Zolo, CoHo, NestAway, NoBroker, Grabhouse, Square Plums, SimplyGuest, Comfy Stays, OYO Living, Stanza Living, Quickr Homes and FF21.

Style, safety, services, social, smart and savings – These are the 6 factors that differentiate Colive from its rivals. From finding the perfect accommodation to having immediate access to amenities and availing services; everything at Colive is accessible at the touch of a button through Colive's website and app.

Colive - Growth

Colive boasts of being the future of living. The technology-powered coliving startup has noticed a good scale-up indeed. Here are some highlights of the growth of Colive:

Colive is managing 25000+ beds.
The area under management for Colive is over 4 Million sq. ft.
Currently operating in 3+ cities including Bangalore, Chennai & Hyderabad.
Has AUM of Rs 200 crore+.
Colive has around an 85% occupancy rate.
In 2018, Colive generated a revenue of INR 11 Crore.

Colive launcheed premium property in Bangalore, strengthening its position in the luxury co-living segment

Leading Indian coliving space provider 'Colive' has announced the launch of a premium property – Colive Signature Towers. Signature Towers is located in Doddanekundi, on the Outer Ring Road, in proximity to corporate powerhouses and IT Hubs of Bangalore, on August 19, 2019.

The property is targeted at both young working professionals and DINK (Dual Income No Kids) couples and comprises 140 double sharing and single occupancy/couple rooms, consisting of 280 beds. The USP of Colive Signature Towers lies in its ergonomic design. The fully-furnished rooms have contemporary interiors and come with a wide range of lifestyle amenities. Colive Signature Towers is also equipped with a terrace lounge, star-gazing deck, barbecue, conference room, cafe, fitness room, gaming and entertainment lounge, amphitheater, cinema room and a salon/spa. The terrace barbecue and the cafe, in particular, are touted as the key attraction of Signature Towers. The security system for Signature Towers includes CCTV, digital locks, emergency response team, and facial recognition-based access system.

Colive declared first Saturday of June as the ‘International Co-living Day’ to celebrate the spirit of co-living

Colive announced in 2019 that the first Saturday of June is deemed to be the 'International Co-living Day'. This initiative was taken by Colive to celebrate the idea of co-living, which is fast becoming popular among the Indian youth.

The first 'International Co-living Day' was celebrated by Colive at Marathahalli location in Bangalore on June 1, 2019. On this occasion, Colive hosted a memorable, fun-packed event, which was attended by a whole band of youths. The event was kick-started with the launch of Bangalore’s first co-living facility – ‘Colive Sunrise’. 'Colive Sunrise' is located at a prime location on the Outer Ring Road and is in proximity to the major IT parks in the city.

Delighted at the huge success of the event, Colive founder Suresh Rangarajan said that co-living is no longer just a new phenomenon, but has become a necessity.

Colive founder and CEO Suresh Rangarajan said emphasizing the idea behind the event.

Colive - Awards

Suresh was conferred upon the prestigious Udyog Rattan award and WCRC. Ernst & Young also awarded him as the “Trend Setter in Real Estate”. Besides, some other awards and recognition received by Colive are -

Rated among the ‘5 Indian Start-ups that helped millennials to go smarter in 2020’ - by Asian Age
Rated among the ‘5 most popular apps among millennials’ - by Hans India
'Transforming the rental industry with the buy-to-let model' – says Deccan Herald
'A Platform that can make everyday life efficient for the tech savvy’ – says Deccan Chronicle
Colive App among the ‘Mobile apps that are hot with Millennials’ – says The Financial Express
Ranked among the ‘From teen to adulthood these 5 Apps will become your saviour’ – by T3F5

Colive - Future Plans

Colive has launches lined up in Hyderabad, Pune and Mumbai. It aims to scale up from the current count of 25,000 beds to 1 lakh beds, as of 2021. Colive is also planning to expand its presence to 25 university towns.

FAQs

What is Colive?

Colive is a network of fully-managed ready-to-move-in homes, conveniently located in close proximity to major IT Parks & business hubs. The homes are fully serviced and professionally managed while offering flexible & affordable options suitable for urban living.

What does co-living mean?

Coliving is a form of communal living that is popular in major cities as they are an affordable living solution for students, workers, people on a budget, or individuals who are relocating. The residents get a private bedroom in a furnished home but have to share certain common areas with other residents.

Are coliving spaces in Hyderabad, Pune, and Chennai available via Colive?

Colive makes coliving spaces available in Hyderabad. Besides, getting coliving space in Pune, coliving space in Mumbai and in Bengaluru are also easier than ever before with Colive serving all those cities.

Where is the Colive headquarters?

The Colive headquarters are in Bangalore, which makes finding coliving space in Bangalore really easy now.

What is the co living business model for Colive?

Colive is a co living service provider, which extends a wide range of wonderful coliving spaces for everyone living in the common metros of India. Colive leverages the full-stack business model to grow, thereby providing the services to the end-users.

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