The affordability & networking opportunities offered by the co-working spaces smoothens the journey of startups & freelancers. But many of these reasonably priced places are noisy, distracting and interruption-prone open spaces, which is a serious stumbling block for people who require focused practice and handling confidential information. Standing in sharp contrast amidst these companies is Solo Cubes, a Bangalore-based co-working & meet-ups solution provider, which offers the comfort & freedom of private cabins for individuals with astounding modern amnesties at economic prices. But what truly sets the company a class above the rest is its holistic ecosystem that also includes incubation solutions and the expert mentorship it offers by organizing frequent events to ensure that clients derive maximum value.
After acquiring 13 years of experience in the corporate world, Ramesh Babu P (Founder & Director) quit his cushy job to administer the Indian operations of his family-owned software consultancy based out of UK. While preparing for this role, he was grappling devoid of a proper private space in Bangalore, network and guidance in areas like marketing where he fell short of. Ramesh, in an exclusive conversation with CEO Insights, shares how he today offers a holistic ecosystem to aspiring entrepreneurs that he desired to have.
Please tell us about the peaks & valleys of your entrepreneurial journey.
We are early movers in the co-working space. When we started the first entity in early 2016 in MG Road (10 minutes away from metro station), our focus was on capturing the freelancer market. Reaching-out to this unique crowd through online medium with our limited funds was a daunting task. However, we saw a gradual uptick in demand, as our customers spread-out the word, not to mention the increasing awareness regarding co-working spaces. We parlayed this success into another entity in Koramangala with a focus on startup segment, wherein all the customers’ needs were fulfilled. For instance, we created a unique rooftop hangout space, as we realized the necessity for a break-free space where people can meetup, network and eat.
Kindly throw some light on your company’s comprehensive workspaces.
After acquiring 13 years of experience in the corporate world, Ramesh Babu P (Founder & Director) quit his cushy job to administer the Indian operations of his family-owned software consultancy based out of UK. While preparing for this role, he was grappling devoid of a proper private space in Bangalore, network and guidance in areas like marketing where he fell short of. Ramesh, in an exclusive conversation with CEO Insights, shares how he today offers a holistic ecosystem to aspiring entrepreneurs that he desired to have.
Please tell us about the peaks & valleys of your entrepreneurial journey.
We are early movers in the co-working space. When we started the first entity in early 2016 in MG Road (10 minutes away from metro station), our focus was on capturing the freelancer market. Reaching-out to this unique crowd through online medium with our limited funds was a daunting task. However, we saw a gradual uptick in demand, as our customers spread-out the word, not to mention the increasing awareness regarding co-working spaces. We parlayed this success into another entity in Koramangala with a focus on startup segment, wherein all the customers’ needs were fulfilled. For instance, we created a unique rooftop hangout space, as we realized the necessity for a break-free space where people can meetup, network and eat.
Kindly throw some light on your company’s comprehensive workspaces.
Ramesh Babu P
Founder & Director
The fact that we give our platform to our clients for free to promote their skills (be it art or technology) sets us apart from other players
The small cubes, big cubes and interconnected cubes in our logo symbolizes that we offer privacy to solopreneurs in isolated cabins and a group of partners to brainstorm and argue in a safe closed place – all of whom can network in our hangout spaces. For this, we have also deployed a beautiful roof top open lounge area with comfortable seats, big tables, quick Wi-Fi, good coffee and waiting staff in a bright and inspiring atmosphere. We also have 20 indoor Open Lounge Dedicated Desks that inspire productivity, innovation and collaboration.
Besides a Dedicated Meeting Room (accommodates over 50 people), we offer a larger-than-life conference room (accommodates 30 people) that provides all the amenities like a projector, whiteboard, markers and an audio system. Rendering a luxurious experience for long time readers, our study rooms have Kindle devices with unlimited subscription, e-Magazines & e-Books, and audio books.
How do your meetup services help you to uplift your clients?
The fact that we give our platform to our clients for free to promote their skills (be it art or technology) sets us apart from other players. We host several prolific events (one-on-one mentor sessions, workshops, seminars & round table conferences) that help clients to
grow their business. Our recent event – Solo Cubes Entrepreneur Event (Set) 2019, educated our clients on how to evaluate their idea, flesh-out a model and make a powerful presentation of the idea. We follow many tech forums, identify experts and invite them to conduct meetups and create awareness among our clients. We spread the word through our Solo Cube Creative Entrepreneurs Meetup group. Our inhouse branding & marketing solutions team hailing from prestigious institutions not only helps our clients in these areas, but also trains them.
Can you tell us more about this team?
We have recently started an incubation system to help our clients, whether they are a fresh graduate with an idea or a corporate employee who attempts to leverage his/her experience as a freelancer on weekends and later build a company out of it. We have created an expert board that consists of 10 people who are industry experts and graduates from IIT, IIM and Harvard institutes with vast 30+ years of experience, who help our clients to tackle the challenges that block their company’s growth. While the tech-savvy people onboard assess the technical viability of the ideas (be it AI, FinTech or IoT), the sales & marketing experts help clients to uniquely market their products. They visit the facility every month and are always ready to mentor Solo Cubes’ clients. If this team finds an idea viable, we connect them to angel investors.
What is your future roadmap?
We intend to establish partnerships with like-minded investors, builders and cafés in order to give complete isolated private spaces and unique workspaces to freelancers and take our incubation service to tier-2 areas, scale-up its co-working spaces and develop hangout spaces for networking respectively.
Key Management
Ramesh Babu P, Founder, Director
Kickstarted his career in 1999 as a software engineer, this engineering graduate climbed up the corporate ladder to become a senior telecom manager. Ramesh is a startup enthusiast, who quit his cushy job to take-over the family business and later incepted Solo Cubes to guide fellow entrepreneurs.
Location: Bangalore
Can you tell us more about this team?
We have recently started an incubation system to help our clients, whether they are a fresh graduate with an idea or a corporate employee who attempts to leverage his/her experience as a freelancer on weekends and later build a company out of it. We have created an expert board that consists of 10 people who are industry experts and graduates from IIT, IIM and Harvard institutes with vast 30+ years of experience, who help our clients to tackle the challenges that block their company’s growth. While the tech-savvy people onboard assess the technical viability of the ideas (be it AI, FinTech or IoT), the sales & marketing experts help clients to uniquely market their products. They visit the facility every month and are always ready to mentor Solo Cubes’ clients. If this team finds an idea viable, we connect them to angel investors.
What is your future roadmap?
We intend to establish partnerships with like-minded investors, builders and cafés in order to give complete isolated private spaces and unique workspaces to freelancers and take our incubation service to tier-2 areas, scale-up its co-working spaces and develop hangout spaces for networking respectively.
Key Management
Ramesh Babu P, Founder, Director
Kickstarted his career in 1999 as a software engineer, this engineering graduate climbed up the corporate ladder to become a senior telecom manager. Ramesh is a startup enthusiast, who quit his cushy job to take-over the family business and later incepted Solo Cubes to guide fellow entrepreneurs.
Location: Bangalore