Start-up Spotlight
How a tech-enabled platform is pioneering the concept of rental co-living spaces
What is it?
Lack of good, comfortable and affordable living spaces for working professionals and college students, made Uday Lakkar, 32, and Amber Sajid, 42, start CoHo, a tech-enabled platform pioneering the concept of rental co-living spaces. CoHo, which stands for comfortable homes, is where residents, in the age group of 18 to 30 years, either working or studying, live together as a community at well-furnished, tastefully done properties with all essential utilities and maintenance taken care of by professional service providers. With three modules—apartments, villas and dorms, and rental varying between Rs 10,000 and Rs 25,000 per month, CoHo properties are not just crash pads but spaces where the young live together, create and share memories, socialise and entertain in-house. Leveraging technology heavily across different aspects of living such as online concierge, smart locks, pre-paid metering systems, and chat-bots in the resident app, CoHo seeks to disrupt the way Generation Y lives.
The growth
CoHo is spread across Delhi and NCR. It has ramped up three times in the last three quarters, and is looking to scale four times from current levels this year. “The 14-member team which operates out of Gurgaon, ensures that residents stay connected 24x7 through the CoHo app,” says Sajid.
The challenges
“Major challenges faced are in terms of spreading awareness about the concept and building trust, since the industry suffers an unprofessional approach from brokers,” says Lakkar.
The future
Optimistic, given the positive response to their start-up and follow-ups from new residents, Lakkar and Sajid intend to expand CoHo to the top eight cities in the country in next 12 to 18 months.
The co-living model is witnessing enough scalability in international markets such as China, US and UK. India is just waiting to explode in this space. Uday Lakker, co-founder, CoHo, Gurgaon