For Mexican Startups, Flexible Space Is a Must

Innovative entrepreneurship continues to lead business development. The growing tendency of recent university graduates who choose to take a risk and create a startup in Mexico remains steady. The country faces many economic, political, social, and technological problems that represent millions of windows of opportunities for innovative solutions aimed at fixing them.

"Mexico is the gateway to Latin America,” said Victor Pizzaro, CEO of Berry Whale “Besides the fact that there are many unsatisfied needs in the market, since it is brutally large, it is a very grateful market with users who give you feedback and that is gold for startups.” Moreover, Mexico has competitive economic and geographical advantages that accelerate growth opportunities for startups. The connection with the US market eases networking and venture capital funding. Meanwhile, Mexico has better interconnectivity than other countries in the Latin American region.

With such a busy business environment, Mexico also faces challenges that can hinder a startup’s expansion. One is the availability of workspaces that adapt to the needs and conditions startups demand, which traditional office leasing does not provide. With startups growing at an accelerated pace, their needs constantly change. For the most part, traditional offices do not allow the fast adaptation required by these processes. On the other hand, collective workplaces become obsolete once startups begin to grow their number of employees. A solution in between is required. 

"When Gerardo Vallarta, Alfonso Tinoco, and I were in London back in 2019 undertaking our first project together in an innovation consultancy, we gained a great deal of insight into startup needs granted by the collaborative work with more than 150 unicorns. This helped us to identify the common problem of these companies: workspaces," shared Martin Haiek, CEO and Co-Founder of Around. “Space becomes an important factor as a startup begins to grow because coworking spaces become obsolete when the company exceeds five people. In addition to how expensive and inconvenient they are for the company, the traditional lease is not an option because of its long-term contract, commitment, and investment to which these companies simply cannot commit,” explains Haiek.

Haiek, Vallarta, and Tinoco identified a clear inefficiency in the office market and designed a solution through Around. They seek to transform workspaces that are empty under the traditional rental model and transform them into a more flexible space that can adapt to startups’ needs. “What we see at the market level is that there is an excess demand for a product that is not abundant, a flexible workspace both in terms of contracts and in terms of being able to grow within the place, as well as the location," said Haiek.

Solutions like that offered by Around have gained relevance in the aftermath of COVID-19 and its impact on the office market. With the workspace transformation and migration to home office, many working spaces have been left empty. According to information from the Mexico City government, the sector has not fully recovered. Many companies find that traditional office rentals are no longer suitable for their current needs.

Companies today demand representation of the business’ essence, furniture, amenities, services, and a strategic location that allows the business to grow. Also, lease flexibility has become key, undersupplied and extremely attractive. Around offers an alternative for companies that are looking for a space that suits the needs, size, budget, location and flexibility tailored to each business.

Today, Around has more than 500 spaces available in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey, with ready-to-use facilities that offer everything a team needs to work. Services include Wi-Fi, furniture, cleaning, a coffee station and other amenities required to create a productive and enjoyable environment. Each space has undergone rigorous quality standards that provide security when hiring. In addition, all spaces can be rented on a monthly basis, without a deposit, and can be canceled at any time.

As startups continue growing in Mexico, more companies will need space to capitalize on market opportunities. Around offers the partnership startups require to push their business growth forward.

Website: https://around.to/