With a branch in Asoke and a recently-opened one in Sathon, Glowfish Offices may seem like just another company jumping into the ever-expanding list of office spaces popping up all around the city. However, Glowfish doesn't want those using their offices to just come, work and leave, but wants to form a community -- not an easy task. Guru sat down with Gavin Vongkusolkit, Glowfish's CEO, to discuss how he plans to achieve this.
How did you get into the business of co-working spaces?
In 2008, I bought building in Asoke and a month later, a lot of companies went bankrupt, which affected the economy. Many Thai companies that were in our building were in trouble, some asked if we could forgo the rent for a while or for a reduction in the rent, and I had to help them. But I couldn't be of much help as I has also borrowed money to buy the building, so I had to find a way to make it work. I went to the US because I heard that my friend was doing some new type of office I never heard of before. It was more like shared office. They were doing it in New York and it looked really cool and fun and I thought we could make it work in Thailand. When I came back, I tried to get people to move to smaller offices without losing the functionality of their workspace. They outsourced everything to me: meeting rooms, cleaners, internet, even construction of the office. If I just reduced the rent, there would be no money for me to pay my loans. So, that's how this business started, because I needed to help these people survive so that I could survive, too.
Glowfish website states that you want to conduct business with a 'millennial mentality'. What do you mean by that, considering the word 'millennial' has a negative connotation?
I used to also see the word 'millennial' being used negatively and I adjusted my thinking. Millennials grew up very differently, you can't expect them to think in the same way as you do. We first have to try to understand why they like certain things and why they make certain decisions. Their mentality is about pursuing their passion first. So when we understood that, we built a place so that they could pursue their passion, learn how to work, grow with it and become an important part of the workforce. Our customers cannot do without millennials. You can't attract millennials without a cool office! Understanding that means we can build a business so that these people stay with our customers, and when you only have five to eight people in your company, you can't afford to lose one.
You said that you'd rather use the word 'community' rather than 'co-working space' to describe Glowfish. Why is that?
We tried to use the word co-working community or ecosystem. But we still use co-working space, which is the word everybody uses. If we don't use it we don't get caught on Google. Co-working only happens when people have relationships. You can't just sit people next to each other and they'll automatically talk to each other. So we try to create activities that people with similar interests can do together and enjoy.
What makes Glowfish different from all the other co-working spaces around the city?
I think people, the community and genuine collaboration. It doesn't happen with technology no matter how much technology there is. It happens because we have to be a part of actively generating that community but also passively in terms of the design of the flow of the space and the components, so that it happens automatically. We have to let the space function and let people connect by themselves, too. The fact that our people can connect with each other is an achievement. I don't think this has happened in other places. It's also little things -- we designed a meeting room so that you can order lunch there and you can continue your meeting. Little things like that might not seem significant but they're huge.
Aside from expanding the Sathorn branch and renovating the Asoke one, what future plans do you have? Do you plan to open a Glowfish outside the country?
We are fully booked. We have more demand now so I think we need to find a way to expand whether in the same location or at other properties. We have a real estate partner, which allows us to have more options. At the moment, I'm not thinking of different countries. We already have lots of competitors in different countries. We rather collaborate than try to go out on our own.
