India’s answer to WeWork raises funding

One of my first encounters with India’s startup ecosystem was at a BHive co-working space, in a small building tucked away in tree-lined Indiranagar, Bangalore. I was introduced to it by a friend and ended up working out of there for a few weeks. The building was right off an arterial road and had a great rooftop that I immediately claimed for myself.

The place soon grew in popularity. Some friends ran their entire startups out of BHive, while others used it to house teams while considering expanding into Bangalore. VCs would hang out there trying to source deals, and entrepreneurs would wear T-shirts proudly displaying company logos to get attention.

Folks are ready for a sense of community.

When the logistics craze hit, I remember a friend who worked for the media and another who was an investor gossiping that there was a small, stealth-mode startup working hard at cracking last-mile delivery out of BHive. A few weeks later, Roadrunnr got funded to the tune of US$11 million in a round that included Sequoia Capital and Blume Ventures.

It wasn’t just startups bringing attention to the space. Others like Rajesh Sawhney’s GSF Accelerator rented out entire cabins while Delhi-based news site NDTV 24X7 placed a few of its Bangalore correspondents there.

Shesh Paplikar, a co-founder at BHive, says that it’s now operating at full capacity across four locations in Bangalore – which shows that India’s startup ecosystem is more than ready for a sense of community.

That’s why BHive’s announcement today that it raised US$1 million in a round led by Blume Ventures is so important. The money will be used to expand to new cities, build out its technology, and improve offerings, Shesh explains.

Inside men

In January, global coworking giant WeWork announced that it had plans to enter India soon, and founder Adam Neumann apparently visited an “old garment mill building” in Bangalore. While that sounds like a cool and hip option for a place like Brooklyn, it’s almost guaranteed to be disastrous in India.

That sort of insider knowledge is what gives BHive an advantage. Its three founders, Shesh, Ravindra M.K., and Monnappa Bayavanda, are all from India. Shesh and Ravi have known each other since high school and even started an earlier business together. The idea came to Shesh after he’d returned from working abroad and found that there were no good places to work in India.

They decided to launch in November 2014, but it hasn’t been without challenges. “There are legal complexities in India, especially with property,” says Shesh. ”We’ve always luckily had good landlords and lawyers, though.”

It’s more than just luck – Indian real estate is notorious for being difficult for those who don’t know how to navigate the tricky waters. The trio seem to have figured out a system though, and Shesh claims that the startup is now attracting interest from landowners.

“Now we have an existing landlord offering to build two new buildings for us to take up,” he laughs. “We’re solving their problems too – now they have us, which means no dealing with brokers, or months where people won’t pay rent. We’re professional and will actually maintain the space well.”

Buzz