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Coliving concept - have you tried it?

Assumptions: solo DN, spends >30d in each location, seeks budget over luxury but is over hostel life

Accommodations: you can find lots of affordable options with decent reviews, yet none guarantee the remote worker necessities: reliable Internet and a decent workspace
Food: eating out, ordering in, or cooking - they either take time or money
Social: living by yourself means your social life may require more active effort

Coliving is supposed to address this: bed, good wifi, communal kitchen (cooking + eating together), like-minded people (develop friendships), long-term stays (develop collabs)

Have you tried coliving? Did it check these boxes? What did it miss? What could it do better?

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    I really like this concept, and I have spoken to a number of VC's about it and the problem I find is that they don't fundamentally understand the problem and value proposition.

    what the VC's think:
    -we can take advantage of these stupid upstarts by selling this elite co-living BS and making them pay MORE to have the PRIVILEGE of living with like-minded and motivated people.
    -example: you can rent a 1 bed apt. for 1k/m, but lets charge $1.5k to get a room in a shared co-living environment for the privilege of living with other "smart" people and starting a business together. - and then if they come up with an idea we get a piece of it because we helped facilitate it.
    -they also think that they can decide whos "smart" and start forms and "VIP" lists "exclusive" - maybe even interview people make sure they got the right "culture".

    This model is fundamentally flawed and backwards. The problem is:

    1. Rents are too fucking expensive, people cannot save enough income to reinvest in themselves. Co-living is about driving the cost of rent DOWN, while at the same time maximizing your productivity with people that want to work on the same things together.
    2. there is no way to centrally predict accurately what the next "Papal mafia" team looks like, this has to happen spontaneously with those individuals finding and deciding to work with each other.
    3. There is no platform on which people can find other people which are interested in working on other projects. A "craiglist" for look "heres a cool problem I want to work on, who else is interested in this problem in my area, lets meet for a coffee and see if we like each other, then lets decide to combine resources to solving this problem and co-live together in a place that can make things easy and cheaper for us.".

    Solution:
    There is a weird correlation between successful companies starting roots and proximity to the individuals involved to each other and them pooling resources to win ....in a dorm ...same neighborhood... parents garage... so if you facilitate the combination of proximity and pooling of resources for people interested in working on the same projects together (and make a little bit of money doing so), its a win,win,win.

    Its so simple.

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      I appreciate the insights shared - I agree that the referenced model is flawed. While I was curious as to the coliving experience as opposed to the business opportunity, I'm glad you mentioned it.
      We have some aces up sleeves: for example, rural areas become a viable option which drastically drives down cost of living, while supporting a healthier lifestyle (closer to nature and food sources). It also minimizes distractions and light/noise pollution (maybe I'm the only sensitive one). This assumes a good Internet connection (4G does OK, 5G may not be viable in rural areas, Starlink is coming)

      you can rent a 1 bed apt. for 1k/m, but lets charge $1.5k
      Not at all that; instead of basic 1bd for $1k, get a much bigger 6bd for $2.5k (or rural house for $1k)
      if you facilitate the combination of proximity and pooling of resources for people interested in working on the same projects together (and make a little bit of money doing so), its a win,win,win
      Couldn't agree more - that's exactly what some of these coliving places end up being, from my perspective.

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      This comment was deleted 4 years ago.

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        Those are great examples - I wonder what startup embassy costs...

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          This comment was deleted 4 years ago.

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            How about making it free? Check out this coliving concept by Edo at Sende:

            Your place will be free (without paid membership) and anyone can access it. You can only split monthly costs among all members and visitors (electricity, internet, water, garbage costs).
            You will make a living from projects that are built on your own and with other visitors (that’s why you will get access to our online camp).
            You will even get access to our already tested tiny business ideas. Your job would be to launch and run them.
            Your place will host many people from all over the world and they will also network with locals from your village.

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    There is a big one in Singapore called www.Hmlet.com => raised money from Sequoia (50m+) and is working pretty well.

    I think it depends on a location as for SG, a lot of expats are coming into town, they don't know anyone, want to be around like-minded people, socialise and just spend a good time in a good company. They overpay, but not that much compared to normal long-term leases with random people. The social factor is pretty huge here and I think it works well as a value proposition. Connecting the right people together was always a big value.

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      Connecting the right people together was always a big value.

      And I think it's becoming more valuable as the prior barriers are shed, like accommodation availability or wifi connectivity. Optimizing social is the cherry on top of the nomad lifestyle.
      Kirso, what do you think about plopping the same amenities in a rural area, for a third of the price? What do you think would be the biggest frictions preventing DNs from trying it out?

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        The only problem is that its the WeWork model... you rent long-term cheap and re-sell refurbished real estate which looks cool with a great community. So margins are gonna be as slim as Kate Moss on a juice fast. So it doesn't really matter where you rent / buy, since the people in the area probably won't be happy with paying 1000 USD a month in the area where the average cost is 200.

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