Co-working space Colony raise US$1.8 million for expansion projects

Colony, a work-life balance themed co-working space was launched yesterday in Jalan Kia Peng, Kuala Lumpur.

The firm has also raised RM8 million (about US$1.8 million) for its expansion plans in which will be used to construct at least two more locations at the Mid Valley and Sunway area within the next five years.

A new entrant in the co-working space, Colony operates an estimated 300-seat space. According to its co-founder and executive director Timothy Tiah who owns 73% of Colony, it has achieved a 42% occupancy rate and the company is targeting to hit 60% by December.

The firm does not limit its clients to just startups and small companies but also targets larger corporations as well.

The co-working startup aims to create an office environment where employees can achieve a work-life balance. Its design embodies this concept as the building has nap rooms and massage rooms where tenants can hire an on-call masseuse.

Meanwhile, the place also has a rooftop gym and swimming pool where tenants can work out with a full view of the KL city skyline. The lobby area, on the other hand, also reflects a café concept by the Healthy Food People, having equipped with Espressolab and Bold Gains.

Audrey Ooi, the co-founder of Colony said “We have a strong belief that work doesn’t need to be all drudgery, that motivated employees perform best when they are happy. Work takes up at least 40 hours of our lives each week and it needs to feel great for us to do great. This is where Colony comes in.”

Colony believes this employer-centric concept can help reduce staff turnover rate and help companies cut staff retention costs. But the challenging part, according to Tiah, remains at convincing employers to operate in such a space.

“My competition is not really other co-working spaces, but rather offices in general,” said Tiah. “I’m trying to get companies that are occupying the buildings around here to move out into these kinds of spaces.”

“If there are more co-working spaces copying our plans, we would consider ourselves successful in achieving our goal,” he added.

On a related development, another Malaysian co-working space CO3 has also launched their first office location in Puchong today targeting millennials by building one of the coolest offices in Southeast Asia.