Listen to this articleUpflex is the world’s first sustainable and flexible co-working booking platform providing access to more than 8,000 workspaces in 200 cities across 65 countries. Below is our recent interview with Christophe Garnier, CEO of Upflex:
Q: Could you provide our readers with a brief introduction to Upflex?
A: You could liken us to an Airbnb for office spaces: co-working providers list their open spaces on Upflex and individuals or businesses can browse and choose from thousands of spaces around the world. In a world where a significant portion of real estate is unused at any given time, we firmly believe this new model makes financial sense and also helps corporations embrace sustainability by being a bit more environmentally aware. Using coworking space can cut down on costs, travel times (and emissions), and make the most of unused space.
We believe in sustainability so much that we’ve partnered with Trees.org to plant one tree for every area booked using our platform – thanks to our first 100 clients we have already been able to plant 10,000 trees.
Q: You’ve recently raised $4.1M in Seed round; could you tell us something more?
A: We are so excited to have officially launched our platform and announced our Seed funding. Our seed round of $4.1M consisted of $1.6M from angel investors and micro-funds such as Right Side Capital and Splash Capital in 2018. Following that, we sought additional funding in 2019 and raised $2.5M from Ecosystem Integrity Fund, who’s very focused on backing companies that have a positive impact on our planet.
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Q: What are the benefits for teams & management?
A: Upflex focuses on the needs of the changing workforce, reducing costs, and making a positive environmental impact. Because we help companies of all sizes find workspace quickly, we are providing a way for businesses to ease the burden of a long-term lease, which saves money, time, and resources. Additionally, companies who use us are able to offer remote employees offices instead of working from their own homes which can often be unproductive and lonely.
Q: Can you give us insights into your features?
A: Features are divided into 2 platforms:
1. The Employer dashboard: an easy to use platform which allows employers to add teams members and teams, appoint usage limits and admin rights. The activity dashboards let you track bookings, time used, and see who’s working where and when. Our advanced reporting gathers valuable information and gain insight about employees behavior, allowing employers to make smart, data-driven decisions.
2. The employee app: an intuitive mobile app for the team to book desks and meeting rooms anywhere and anytime among our network of 8,000 spaces around the world. The app allows for filter based search based on inventory types, locations and amenities ranging from flat screen to dog friendly spaces. You can favorite spaces, and the app is also equipped with geo-fencing which allows for the user to be automatically checked out if her forgets to do so, but also allows the employers to prevent fraud. Finally, all spaces are curated and designed for productivity.
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Q: What can we expect from Upflex in 2020?
A: In 2020, Upflex will seek to lead the new vanguard in co-working. Specifically, Upflex will be able to offer solutions for both small businesses as well as enterprise companies who are scaling their remote working strategy. With the funding this year, we also announced the opening of 8,000 individual locations and increased our offering to include both individual desks along with conference rooms in addition to the standard office options. This will give more businesses even more flexibility than they had before.
Last Updated on March 9, 2020
