Kushal Bhargava sheds light on MyBranch's Story & Co-working Industry

Coworking space is a business for some people and a home to many startups!

Mr. Kushal Bhargava, the Co-Founder of MyBranch sheds some light on the Co-working Industry in India during pandemic times and also shares the interesting startup story of MyBranch in this article. From finding locations, to assisting with documentation, to handling essentials and daily administration, MyBranch takes care of it all! In terms of managing and maintaining workspaces, MyBranch serves as a one-stop shop for all business needs.

To begin, a little background information about Mr. Kushal - He is a qualified Chartered Accountant and holds a master’s in commerce degree from Mumbai University. He is also an active member of the Student’s Committee of WIRC (Western India Regional Chapter) of ICAI. He started managing a pan-India BFSI business after completing his education. An innovative and strategic thinker, Kushal sets the vision for MyBranch and supports its operations team with delivery. He also assists in developing the business and forges ties with companies. In addition, he oversees MyBranch's ancillary businesses - Meeting Rooms, Virtual Offices, and Managed Offices.

MyBranch - Company Highlights

1.What were the major challenges in terms of co-working operations during and post lockdown?

The entire country came to a standstill during the lockdown. We were no different, even though the existing clientele at the time did not decline, the offices were left vacant during the entire lockdown period. Also, when the lockdown was lifted, several restrictions were in place, most of our clients who had expansion plans became reluctant and took a step back.  

Here's a list of Top Coworking Spaces in Bangalore.

2. How did MyBranch tackle it efficiently? What were the measures taken?

Not just our country, Covid has impacted the entire world at an unprecedented level. The pandemic laid an impact on business and overall operations up to a great extent. However, still, MyBranch was quick to respond in a strategic manner. During the lockdown, we gave utmost importance to brand building activities because it was supposed to be managed from the ease of our homes. We also planned supporting activities and drills for our customers. We were fortunate to not lose even a single enterprise client due to Lockdown. We maintained constant touch with all our clients and kept them informed about the new and updated office protocol. Also, we strictly followed all Covid-19 guidelines at our offices across India, as a result almost 80% of our clients started working from our offices just within two months of unlocking.

3. How was the company’s start-up journey in context to growth, team building, and customer satisfaction?

We believe, for any startup idea to become successful, the most important thing is its uniqueness and scalability. We utilized the lockdown for focusing on brand-building activities and spreading awareness about MyBranch. And even after we reopened, we ensured all sanitization and fumigation standards are met and our offices are completely safe for the guest employees.

We believe in the phenomenon of ‘Happy customers bring more business', hence we consider our customers foremost.

4. How do you see the co-working industry pacing ahead of a pandemic? What are the key points the young entrepreneurs, or start-ups in the industry, should keep in mind?

There is no denying that just like any other business, this industry too, has its share of pros and cons. But in the bigger picture, we think the co-working industry is going to boom because numerous offices and organizations have opted for work from home as a permanent way of working and are now seeking small office spaces at different locations instead of consolidated working space. Young entrepreneurs who aspire to enter into this business should most importantly focus on the conceptualization of their ideas. They should lay emphasis on offers leading to maximum satisfaction for the customers, in return, this can get a lot of recognition and references for future deals.

5. What were the learnings you got from your journey as an entrepreneur?

As an entrepreneur, one of the biggest learning we got was — bite only as much as you can chew. It is very important to only cater to as much demand as you can deliver effectively and efficiently. We believe in maintaining quality even if means lesser quantity. As an entrepreneur, you are responsible for all things from top to bottom, and for a business to become successful it is really important to manage all aspects efficaciously. A business can become fruitful with a multi-dimensional approach and a will to never give up.  

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6. Do you want to share an anecdote or inspirational story that you think would be enriching for our readers.

To us, ours is an inspirational story because contrary to what we thought, MyBranch was able to increase revenue by 8% for this financial year despite 2020-21 being such an unfortunate year in regard to business and humanity as well. This has inspired us to work towards setting up 100 branches across India.