In a series of blog posts under the theme “Movers and Shakers”, we will be sharing the success stories and milestones of our members. Read on to find out more about the companies that are transforming industries through constant innovation.
The Bulgarian capital Sofia ranks 19 in Europe by the stock of coworking spaces, according to the European Coworking Hotspot Index by Cushman & Wakefield. Meet one of the driving forces behind the local coworking ecosystem and one of the biggest names on the global market - the award-winning startup (this Tuesday the company was named Startup of the Year by the Central Startup Awards) and a Campus X member, OfficeRnD.
Reinventing coworking
Started in 2015 by co-founders Miroslav Miroslavov and Miroslav Nedyalkov, OfficeRnD has set out on a mission to redefine how people work. The coworking management software helps flexible workspace operators manage and grow their business more efficiently by automating administrative tasks such as billing, bookings, and more, improving member experience and providing valuable insights on key business metrics.
Before launching their own company, Miroslavov and Nedyalkov have had extensive experience working for the software company Telerik, which was acquired by Progress in 2014.
“I’m a software engineer and an entrepreneur. I love building products. I love architecture and workspaces. Most of all, I love optimizing things. With OfficeRnD, we managed to combine these all,” comments Miroslav Miroslavov.
He adds that Telerik's culture has always encouraged problem-solving, whereas stimulating the entrepreneurship spirit. At the time, they were facing difficulties with managing and optimizing the space, desks and other resources in the workspace they were using. This made them think about solutions that would make workspace management easier, flexible and frictionless. That's how OfficeRnD's founders came up with the idea of building a software system for managing dynamic or “agile” workspaces.
“Soon after, when we moved to London [in 2015 OfficeRnD took part in the London-based accelerator program Property Innovation Labs], we discovered the world of coworking and thought this workspace concept really resonates with us and our belief in a world where flexibility is the norm. So we decided to focus 100% on it.”
In the last four years, the company has established a global presence with offices in the UK, the US, New Zealand, and Bulgaria, and more than 1500 centers using the software. The company also secured $1.5M in funding and grew its team to over 50 teammates.
Conquering the coworking market
“The market is growing crazy fast”, as Miroslavov says.
According to him, OfficeRnD manages to distinguish itself through three key differentiators, which are rooted in the company's culture:
1) Excellent Support and Customer service;
2) User Experience;
3) Strong Engineering team.
Although the market is evolving now, it can be described as a still small one.
“The small market has lots of pros but also comes with big challenges, such as, if you screw up once, everyone will hear about it. Also, it’s hard to convince investors, as in a small (but super fast-growing) market it is hard to become a $1b company,” Miroslavov shares.
The power of the coworking community
We're proud to have OfficeRnD as one of the first members of the Campus X ecosystem. Here, we strive to be a unicorn factory - creating a tight-knit community of movers and shakers, where we help each other do better and grow.
When asked why OfficeRnD joined the Campus X community, the co-founder Miroslav Miroslavov replied: “Well, we're on our way to becoming a unicorn so … where else should we be? Jokes aside, as an ex-Teleriker, Campus X was a no brainer. We grew up in these buildings. We grew up with these people, in this community. Now, it’s even more exciting because everyone’s working on something new, something that can change the world.”
One of the main benefits of working in a coworking space is the community itself. As Miro puts it: ”The fact that you can always grab one of the Telerik founders for a coffee, or another entrepreneur who’s fighting with the same problems, it’s an incredible opportunity.”
Furthermore, member companies don't have to deal with anything in the physical/office world that frees up time for what really matters: “We just write to the support and all the problems disappear. Having the office provided as a service is the best thing discovered after bread.”
What's next for OfficeRnD?
The company is experiencing exponential growth with an upcoming capital G investment round.
“We need to double our team over the next couple of months, from 50+ people now, to probably a 100. That, of course, comes with also growing the business, getting more awesome customers and making coworking the way of working,“ as Miroslavov concludes.
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