StartUp Circle: How does MyBranch help you expand physical as well as virtual offices in India?

Finding the right office space can be one of the biggest challenges for any business. The times are changing, Tier II and III cities are witnessing a growth in the number of startups and companies based out of there. This also means that the requirement of office spaces is also growing in these cities, which is why MyBranch, A smart office space provider, is now helping the giants to smoothly open up their offices in Tier II and III cities.

CIOL in conversation with Kushal Bhargava, Founder of MyBranch to know more about the startup.

1. What is MyBranch about?

MyBranch was founded in the year 2016 out of Mumbai. We needed to experiment with then design & amp; layout of the office so we needed to be close to the manufacturing set up which is in Navi Mumbai.

We had to show our mock Sales office to Corporates and get their feedback before the soft launch of MyBranch. This would have been possible only where decisions are made, and it could not be any other place other than the financial capital of India- Mumbai.

And if we talk about the USP of MyBranch - we provide Sales Office across India for Corporates. We have positioned ourselves as the expansion partner in Tier II & III cities. Due to the same, we are not competing with any of the 300+ space partners across India.

2. How did you come up with the idea?

We are servicing the BFSI sector since the early 2000s. While interacting with the client for years, we realised that many clients wanted to spread their wings in tier II & III Indian Cities, as that’s where the real business lied. However, the cost of setting an office in those cities at that time was way higher than the businesses anticipated. Higher CAPEX investment, lack of compliant buildings and deep routed broker nexus added to the complications.

That’s where MyBranch stepped in with “MALL OF SERVICES” to empower modern businesses to materialize their business expansion plans and make more profits. The first year like every year has been the journey of learning. We were trying to understand if there was a need and whether we were addressing the same. Our clients who subsequently became our customers in MyBranch had more belief in us then what we had in ourselves.

3. What is your business/market growth?

We have over 70+ active customers for the Sales office and 250+ overall customers across all the revenue functions of MyBranch. Also, we have been witnessing over 40% growth YoY since inception.

We have added new streams: Virtual Office & Managed Office which has assisted in increasing the target audience for Mybranch. Since these two products are in the infancy stage, there is still some time before we can get the desired growth.

However, due to Covid-19, the decision making by Corporates have been postponed. So, we will be happy if we achieve growth of over 50% for the current financial year.

4. The work-from-office culture sector took a deep hit, how are you managing your business in such tough times?

The work-from-office sector has taken a hit only in Metro’s which were adversely affect by Covid. We are a Tier II and III player, where the impact of Covid was lesser. Baring a few customers, most of them have started reporting to office and attendance is back to normal.

5. How do you manage and track the hygiene of the places in COVID-19?

Safe & Hygienic office has always been important for MyBranch, just that COVID has brought in the limelight now. By ensuring the safety & Hygiene it leads to greater employee satisfaction & productivity. It will also help organisations to woo back employees to work from Office. At the same time, it is important for organisations to have continuous & correct communication with the employees on safety.

Since the business model of MyBranch is of providing private cabins, the COVID risks are lower since the interaction with the teams in the office is minimal.

6. What cities are you in, presently?

We have positioned ourselves as the expansion partner in Tier II & III cities. We are the only Company across India that provides a local Sales office to corporates across 25 cities in India. Currently, we are operating in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Dehradun, Delhi, Goa, Gurugram, Lucknow, Indore, Jaipur, Jamshedpur to name a few.

7. Who are your consumers?

We cater to the MSME and large Corporates. Our host of solutions include Sales Desk, SME Workplace, Managed Office and Virtual Office. At any given point of time, we can assist companies in setting up their office across 13 states in India. We do have a couple of MSME clients who have taken Virtual Office solutions across a couple of States for GST registration.

So yes, we have a solution for all.

w.r.t Clients, we serve all the sectors. We work with Franklin, SBI Cards, Carrier, PhonePe, Flipkart, Tata Communication, Bosch to name a few.

8. What are your Post-Covid plans?

We continue to expand and are still targeting to reach 100 offices by the end of 2021. We have a funnel of existing clients who want to scale up with us and new clients who would like to reduce their cost by expanding through Mybranch.

9. About the Funding

MyBranch is a venture which is completely owned and invested by our family. We have invested in the first round which has helped us to reach 25 cities. Currently, we are working with Promoter funds only. We have not yet approached the VC and do not have any intention to do the same in the near future.

The next round of expansion will be done through internal accrual and expansion through Managed Office, as Managed Office work is profitable from day 1. We are also looking at a partnership model with Landlords as COVID has brought out a great opportunity for expansion.