A short jaunt from Central station is The Garage Society – yet another new co-working space. This two-floored, 8,500 square-foot space was co-founded by The Hive’s former director Elaine Tsung and private equity guru Edward Man, and will be celebrating their launch this afternoon.
We went by the space for a chat with Elaine, and she told us about the inspiration behind Garage Society’s name and the value it plans on bringing to Hong Kong’s ecosystem.
Inspired by the great companies such as Google, Amazon and Apple that were born in garages, Elaine and Edward branded their co-work space as such. Once they had the name, Garage Society’s value-add came easily. “We started thinking about what those [successful entrepreneurs] needed to get to the next level – they needed education, connections and investment,” she said.
According to Elaine, Garage Society members will have access to a panel of private equity advisors lending advice ranging from how to build a scalable business to how to secure capital.
For those interested in joining Garage Society – pricing levels range from the ‘Light Garager’ (hot desk) for $2,000/month to the ‘Office Garager’ (dedicated office) for $10,000/month. Services include administrative, mailing and printing.
As the 22nd co-work space to launch in Hong Kong, Elaine says she believes every service provider will help bring the entrepreneurial scene to the next level. “We’re in the phase where we need to move on as a city – banking and finance is great, but we’re also becoming an up and coming creative and tech hub,” she said. “So it’s great that we can create a good base, network and service for people.”
Join us in congratulating Central’s newest co-working space (9/F, 33 Des Voeux Road Central) at their launch party from 2:30-10:30. Also, the new co-work space is offering free trial days for anyone interested in trying out the space for all of April. Get in touch with them at [email protected].
As an added bonus, Elaine gave us a video tour of Garage Society:
The Garage Society on Startbase.HK: The Garage Society
Elaine Tsung on Startbase.HK: Elaine Tsung
Wow! Another startup co-working space launched in HK… Personally I think this is a way for the ever-greedy HK landlords/property owners to squeeze even more money of out their commercial premises. Work out the price per square foot and you’ll be pretty amazed what even a hot desk will cost you in this town… I bet the property owners/developers had $$$ in their eyes when they saw what they could charge for a desk in the fashionable startup world…
However it’s great news for the consumer/startup as it means even more competition into what is already looking like a saturated market. More competition in co-working spaces should mean lower prices for startups which is great and welcome news…
I wouldn’t be surprised if 20-30% of the co-working spaces in HK had closed their doors within the next 12 months as it will be pretty hard for all to compete and survive….
Congratulation!