Kushal Bajrachrya at his newly-launched co-working space in Jhamsikhel. Photo: Kabin Adhikari/OnlineKhabar
Almost two years ago, Kushal Bajracharya, a young undergraduate, saw an opportunity in taking over a poorly-run business.
The business, which provided space to people looking for a co-working’ environment, was poorly managed when Bajracharya took over. The Platform Inc, which was based in Uttar Dhoka, Lazimpat lacked customers, even as it boasted space at the heart of the city.
The 2015 quakes and then the blockade that followed dampened business more.
“I saw an opportunity in the calamity,” says Bajracharya who bought 50 per cent of the business’s stake. When the partner with the other half of the shares went abroad for further studies, Bajracharya was responsible for the whole business.
He is now the owner-cum-marketing director of The Platform Inc.
Having run the business for a while, he soon realised that the reason the business was doing poorly was mainly because the people who were running it lacked of focus and time.
“To be frank, the company was running on its own,” he says.
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Bajracharya had a clear vision for the company and was focused on solving its problems from the beginning.
The work space at Uttar Dhoka could initially accommodate only six people. With a new-founded zeal in tow, he decided to redesign the whole space as well as the company’s service model. He focused on the services that could actually be provided.
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After going through a list of services that The Platform Inc had stated earlier, he crossed out several things that it could not afford to provide. He focused, instead, on core services which could be provided in an efficient manner.
He then took on issues that were the most pressing. Due to long power-cut hours, which increased following the malfunctioning of transformers across the city, corporate houses and INGOs would need his kind of work space, he thought, and he decided to do something about it.
He started to market his business in an indirect way.
Bajracharya, who also has interest in graphic designing, came up with interesting cartoons to show why his work space was the best when it came to dealing with daily hassles.
“Cartoons are fun. They easily grabbed the attention of a lot of people,” he remembers.
The newly-opened space in Jhamsikhel. Photo: The Platfrom Inc
It was only a matter of time before INGOs and freelancers started knocking at his door. The Platform Inc tried to accommodate everyone.
The company also focused on catering to volunteers who came from abroad to work for a few months and need a work place on a daily basis, but cannot not afford to open up their own. With a simplified pricing structure starting at Rs 500, it attracted quite a lot of customers.
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As business grew, thanks to word-of-mouth referrals, Bajracharya recently opened a new space in Jhamsikhel, a bub for INGOs and freelancers.
But not everyone seems to know what The Platfrom Inc is about and whom it caters to.
“I recently got a call from someone who was asking me if he could open a bicycle shop at work space,” he says. Another call came the following week asking if he could come and furnish a room.
Maybe those are new business opportunities for young people like Bajracharya to look into!
