Coworking space parameters

• The coworking space is located in the business center Avenue 53 on Peremohy Avenue.
• The total area is 1,681 sq. m.
• The capacity is 295 workstations.

Rates

The cost of renting a workstation starts from $169 per month, VAT not included, and depends on the size and type of the chosen premises, the duration of the contract, and other conditions.

Design and infrastructure

• The location is an industrial-style space. 
• There is a park inside the business center and a terraced garden on the rooftop.
• The building is equipped with separate conditioning and ventilation systems for every premise, allowing the clients to manage their office climate individually.

In November all rooms were commissioned and officially opened. Now it is Ukraine’s largest coworking in terms of area and potential capacity.

It was not made by novices. Spaces is a Dutch brand, one of the divisions of IWG Corporation, the world’s largest office real estate operator. In Ukraine, the company previously worked only under the Regus brand with locations across 8 business centers in Kyiv.

Spaces’ spaces are bigger and more affordable. The company puts emphasis not only on attracting large residents but startups as well. Journalist of AIN.UA explains how the first Ukrainian Spaces is organized from within and what you need to know about it.

Organization of space and pricing policy

Kyiv’s Spaces features floor-by-floor zoning.

• The first floor is reserved for general use. There is an area for residents without a fixed workplace, the so-called hot desks. In addition, everyone who pays for offices can relax or work here. There is also a reception, cafes, meeting rooms and Skype-rooms, and a closed coworking.
• The second floor houses a capacious event hall that can accommodate 100 people, meeting rooms (for 10 to 40 people), and only a handful of offices.
• The third floor and above are completely occupied by team offices.
• The eighth and ninth floors are entirely available for rent for one customer.The eighth floor already has a resident – a large IT company, whose names have not yet been disclosed. The ninth floor at the time of writing of this article was vacant.

In total, by early December, the occupancy rate at Kyiv’s Spaces was 40%. The company plans to bring the figure to 100% within one year. According to estimates of the company’s representatives, full occupancy of each of the office floors will be about 100-120 workplaces.

• The price of the offices starts at $700 + VAT. Further rates vary greatly. The price already includes furniture, utility bills, Internet, telephony, daily cleaning.
• There are many offices, as well as planning options: most are designed for teams with 3 to 40 people. The fee is based on the area, not the number of employees.
• If a client is ready to sign a contract for a long period, discounts are possible. If a long-term contract is terminated prematurely, a penalty must be paid.

But permanent residents with their offices are not the only visitors. Below are other ways to work in Spaces:

• Flexible visits. You can work in Spaces for a few days without long-term commitments. You will have to pay $19 + VAT for a day, and $86 + VAT for a working week.
• Business club. It is a member’s card that gives access to all IWG spaces all over the globe: over 3,500 locations across 120 countries. However, you can use it to work only in hot desk mode from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., in other words, you won’t have a fixed workplace. You can buy this card in the Ukrainian Spaces starting $89 + VAT. Residents of offices and coworking get it for free as a bonus.
• Fixed workplace. Spaces has two closed coworking areas. It is an intermediate option between a hot desk and a standard office. There a client is given a separate workplace and a locker, 24/7 access, the ability to register the legal address of the company in Spaces. The cost of this option is $369 + VAT per month.

You need to pay separately to use a meeting room (there are options that can accommodate 6 to 40 people). Price: starting at $27 + VAT per hour.

Anyone can book a meeting room, but Spaces residents can get a small discount. To do this, make a reservation through a proprietary mobile application.

Although, as one of the residents shared in a comment to AIN.UA, the process is not fully automated. If you book later than 6 PM and on weekends, you need to receive confirmation at the reception. If you are busy the entire day attending meetings, it’s not always convenient.

The look of Spaces coworking

Spaces has universal visual standards around the world: light colors, simple furniture, plenty of space and details.

The design of the Kyiv location was approved by the parent company from the Netherlands, furniture was also brought from abroad. Inside there is a lot of free space, greenery, and light wood. And also books in English and Russian, which were selected by the Ukrainian team.

Due to the peculiarities of the architecture of the building, the Spaces on the first and second floors are particularly spacious: the ceiling height exceeds 3 meters, and the ventilation is not covered by decorative panels.

Offices above do not boast that much space – the ceilings are much lower. There are other features that the building dictates. Offices overlooking Independence Maidan and the Central Post Office building are more expensive. Those on the other side face the courtyard and the construction site.

The offices are separated by frosted glass partitions and wide corridors. Each floor has its own small kitchen, print area, and toilets.

In the offices they rent, residents can make minor changes, install new equipment or, for example, attach their logos to walls. To help teams in Spaces there is a dedicated manager, he helps with maintenance and organizational issues.

According to Yulia Litvinenko, head of Spaces and Regus in Ukraine, brands have different positioning. They differ visually and exude different vibe:

Regus is a more enterprise business and shapes a more business style. Spaces also attracts large corporations, but it is especially effective for startup companies that feel freedom to act because they have the opportunity to choose the format of work: a plethora of Skype rooms, sofas, armchairs of various shapes and windows that offer different views, areas for negotiations and meetings.

She also says that Spaces puts a big emphasis on community and communication between residents. In the future, weekly Friday events will be launched for that purpose: traditional happy hours with wine and networking or speeches by inspiring speakers.

Spaces also hopes that their customers will exchange contacts with each other and create new projects together.

Details and prospects of Spaces project

So far, Spaces is working on filling the space. But there remains work on the amenities. Thus, in 2020, the team plans to open the roof for free visiting, as well as make a terrace on the 5^th floor.

In addition, Kyiv Spaces collaborates with U-Cycle, the Kyiv Cyclists Association. Coworking is certified by the Bike Friendly Company program and is marked on the pam of bike-friendly locations. There is a bicycle parking, and in the summer they will open a shower, put a washing machine and a dryer.

This will help residents who travel by bike. The parking for cars is already working: there are 13 spaces, a permanent rental will cost $350 + VAT per month.

Yulia Litvinenko says that the company plans to launch other Spaces locations in Kyiv and other cities. They are on the lookout for technically equipped buildings, in which the residents will feel comfortable.

Lviv

Lviv, August. The first Platforma location in the city will be opened in the innovation hub Futura (200 Kulparkovskaya Street). The coworking will occupy two floors, where 500 people can accommodate. Platforma Futura will become the largest coworking in Lviv. Three accommodation options are available: a lounge, open space, and a private office (from 2 to 60 people).

Kyiv

Kyiv, September. A new location in the shopping center Darynok, next to the first coworking Platforma, Platforma Market with offices for large teams will start working. The minimum office will accommodate from 15 to 40 people, and the entire space is designed for 750 people. All offices can be combined with each other, so coworking is available for a company of 100 or more people. The price starts from $130 per person.

Kyiv

Kyiv, September. Platforma will launch an entire building on 6 floors next to the Andriyivsky Descent at 35v Borichev Tok in Podil. The location will be the largest of all existing coworking brands: it is designed for 900 people. The coworking will be the first in the network where you can purchase a daily subscription.

Refael Yucha, Ofer Kerzner, and Kateryna Gorina are the founders of Platforma.

After the launch of new locations, the Platforma network will become the largest in the market, Gorina says. The total number of residents will reach 3,000, and the total area of the coworking will exceed 15,000 square meters. “All Platforma locations will offer cross-benefits to residents: for example, you chose an office in Platforma on the left bank and at the same time you get free hours in the negotiations of our coworking in the city center,” Gorina explains.

According to him, this approach is the future of entrepreneurship. The entrepreneur came up with the name and the idea back in 2014, however, he was not able to put it to life immediately.

It is my dream — I had thought about this format before I even began my previous project. Initially, I wanted to create not only a business space for residents, but a bright and large hub. It had to have all the necessary facilities for people to have fun and flourish. In other words, I wanted everyone to live their lives and feel themselves needed. We did not make it happen initially, but if we persevere, I am confident we will make it happen eventually.

Ilia Kenigstein. Hereinafter – photos by Olha Zakrevska / AIN.UA

People are informally calling the project ‘Creative States of Ukraine.’ The area of the first location, on the 14^th floor of ‘Senator’ business center, is about 2,100 sq.m. Capacity is up to 400 residents. Interior is done in Art Deco and recreates scenes from the 40s and 50s New York.

The main wall of the lounge area is adorned with a mural, the hall is furnished with leather and fabric upholstered sofas, coffee tables, and oversized armchairs. The distinctive feature of the space is the bar counter. Another eye-catcher is a retro Jukebox. Windows are overlooking Pechersk and other local areas.

All that has been developed by an in-house team of designers. It was decided not to engage third-party studios. Firstly, says Kengistein, it allowed to save funds, secondly, not all contractors have sufficient expertise.

Creative States, Lounge Area

Details matter in this co-working. For instance, one of the conference rooms has a modular table — it allows converting the room into a small lecture hall and eliminates the need for a movable wall. It helps to save costs and optimize space.

The same approach applies to the fittings: conference rooms are equipped with Logitech conference cams. They capture all participants and automatically zoom in speakers as well as provide sound and allow to share the screen on a TV. In the future, it is planned to equip the rooms with Google Home smart speakers and set up custom integrations. For instance, residents would be able to schedule meetings or call an office manager through voice commands.

How It Works

Majority of residents will be accommodated in mini offices. There are 55 mini offices in coworking and they occupy most of the space. Offices are kind of makeshift: there are quite large spaces that can be remodeled, there are rooms for small teams (1-10 persons) and even one-man office. In addition, there are 6 conference rooms: three big halls and three smaller rooms.

Conference room, Creative States

It is expected that 50-60 persons will visit the project individually, without corporate agreement. However, the space will be closed for random passers-by — you can get access only on a monthly basis, there will be no daily or weekly access. Creative States is pursuing the idea of a community that is closed from the outside but open from the inside.

Individual workspace

The workspace is already 70% sold, and there are no plans to make it 100%. According to Kenigstein, they strive to give companies space for development — if needed, companies can occupy new spaces or move to bigger offices. The most flexible format is provided by the so-called suite offices with spaces that can be restructured and with walls that can be branded.

One of the Suite offices

A special area is a co-selling or shared space for sales managers. It can accommodate up to 25 specialists and is separated from the lounge with a movable wall. This workspace features active noise canceling. It works just like noise-canceling headphones, but for an entire room: speakers produce a specific white noise. Human ear gets used to it within 15 seconds, and it allows to reduce the noise coming into\from the room by 50%. The cost of this solution is unknown, but we are talking about ‘reasonable cost’, says Kenigstein.

Co-selling space

He emphasizes that sound insulation is actually a weak spot of modern Ukrainian coworking workspaces — that is why they made extra efforts in order to soundproof conference rooms, offices and a co-selling area at Creative States.

They’ve also invested in network infrastructure: workspaces come with Cisco solutions worth tens of thousands of dollars. There are as many as twenty stations available. Each station can accommodate 400 to 600 users with several devices each. In addition, Wi-Fi routers will perform two functions: they will also indicate an approximate location of residents in the coworking.

Resident companies have not yet been announced publicly — all we know is that they include both tech startups and companies, as well as traditional businesses.

They, in turn, undertake to comply with the internal code of conduct. The purpose of the document is to rid the space of toxic and problematic participants. For instance, internal headhunting is strictly prohibited.

We are a great choice for companies with up to 100 employees. Larger teams shape their own culture and require their own space, while coworking is a great option for growing businesses.

Another principle of the project is the absence of hard selling. Residents are not required to sign long-term agreements. According to Kenigstein, companies should have an option to move in, expand or leave promptly. In turn, Creative States view themselves as a services provider and do not intend to cross that line — there won’t be any acceleration programs or similar commotion in the coworking.

However, residents will not be left solely to themselves. On Fridays, the coworking will have ‘Happy hours’ after 6 p.m. during which residents will be able to enjoy a drink and relax to ambient music. On Wednesdays, they are planning to invite famous speakers to speak on subjects, as Kenigstein puts it ‘ranging from Scrum implementation case studies to backyard barbecues.’

Events will be held in the morning before the workday begins, and residents will be able to have breakfast while listening to a lecture. The key is no pomposity or stateliness, says the head of the project. Even to celebrate their opening they are going to replace ‘ribbon cutting’ with a party.

What’s Next

Creative States are not planning to limit themselves with a single ‘state’. Creators of the project are planning to open two more spaces by the end of 2019. Due to competition, not much information has been disclosed so far. The second coworking is going to copycat the concept of the first one — about 2,000 sq.m., business center, downtown Kyiv.

The third location is going to be a far cry. As Ilia Kenigstein explained it, the area is going to reach up to 6,000 sq.m. with the capacity to accommodate up to 1,000 people. This is going to be a separately standing building with its own adjacent territory. Furthermore, the team is planning to expand the project activities beyond the coworking business based on the third coworking. It is not clear what the team is going to do, but it is going to be related to learning or education space for kids. According to Kenigstein, the demand for this service is easy to forecast — children of most residents are 2 to 6 years old.

The maiden workspace of Creative States has already made a step towards reaching out to children. There’s a separate conference room for kids in coworking with a lower table and armchairs. One wall of the room is adorned with paintings while the other is writable. There’s even a separate toilet for kids, and ladies’ room is equipped with a changing table. As Ilia Kenigstein puts it “It is unfortunate that the table is installed only there. Changing tables should be in men’s toilet as well, but the society is yet to understand this.”

Children’s Conference Room

Another initiative is still in the making — they want to launch a hire a nanny service in Creative States. A dedicated person would spend a day with a child while parents would be able to work.

Price Policy

Creative States position themselves as a coworking of upper tier, but not a premium segment. Price per workstation — starting $300 (hot desks) and starting $390 (offices). There are more expensive offers on the market, but the States are confident that such positioning is adequate for the project.

In addition, the firs residents got some extra perks: some got a great deal for singing long-term agreement (for half a year), some were allowed to move into an office for 10 persons with only 8 employees — this way the companies literally got room for growth. Moreover, Creative States do not share the idea of ‘extra charges’, when on top of a fixed rent residents pay for additional services, like access to a printer or scanner.

Kitchen in mid-20th Century Retro American Diner Style

As far as investments are concerned, creating space from scratch is a matter of approximately $500-600 per square meter. According to Kenigstein, this indicator is below market average due to previous experience of the team, relatively low organizational expenses and in-house design development. He did not respond to the question about the amount invested directly, but explained the following:

In order to launch a similar coworking space one will need to have at least $1 million. The amount includes not only the necessary repairs, but also installation of equipment, salaries, marketing costs, etc.

According to preliminary calculations, it will take 4 years to recoup the investments made in the project. In his conversation with AIN.UA reporter Ilia Kenigstein preferred not to disclose the identity of the project’s investor. According to him, they have developed strong partnership relations. Day-to-day business is primarily run by Kenigstein.

The entrepreneur emphasizes that this time he has an ironclad protection against the risk of losing his influence and share in the project: all agreements and terms have been scrutinized and underwent multiple legal and personal review. He says:

You should never neglect agreements. If you cannot reach a general consensus — don’t rush it, put it on hold and resume work when all issues are taken care of.

According to OpenDataBot, legal name of the project is Kreatyvnyi Shtat Senator (Creative State Senator) LLC with shares in the hands of two holders. 60% belong to К.А.N LLC with ultimate beneficiary via Austrian firm Deverte Holding GmbH is Aleksandr Spektor, the owner of Senator business center.

Another 40% belongs to Kreatyvna Krayina (Creative Country) LLC, which is solely owned by Ilia Kenigstein.

The Future of Coworking Spaces

Ilia Kenigstein is not worried about business prospects. In his forecasts he relies on statistics. According to the most modest calculations, Ukraine has around 150k IT specialists with roughly half of that number living in Kyiv and vicinity. This is a market with 70-80k potential clients — it has room for a few dozen new large locations.

It is possible to ‘nip off’ 10k people from the market already at this stage. 20k is more difficult, but still possible. We are not talking here about behemoth companies, like the largest outsourcers.

He is also confident that 8-10 years from now virtually all businesses would transition to coworkings. Offices would only be viable for behemoths that are capable of building own campuses and facilities.

Needs of others would be met by the new format. In addition to being simple, it would make things easier for businesses: a bank or an IT company would not have to have an expertise in designing spaces, arranging for office equipment and catering. And whereas now a coworking at best occupies a single floor of a business center, in the nearest future it would be able to devour an entire building.