JustCo is a Singaporean company that provides coworking workspaces for individuals and companies. Headquartered in Singapore, JustCo was founded in 2011 by Kong Wan Sing, its current CEO, alongside co-founders Liu Lu and Kong Wan Long,[1] as a response to increasing demand for flexible workspaces.[2] Initially focused on Singapore, the company expanded to provide office space in cities across eight countries in the Asia-Pacific region: Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, China, South Korea and Taiwan.
 | |
| Company type | Flexible Workspace Provider |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2011 |
| Founder | Kong Wan Sing |
| Headquarters | Singapore |
Number of locations |
|
Key people | Kong Wan Sing ( Founder and CEO ) |
| Products | Flexible workspaces for entrepreneurs, startups, small and large businesses |
| Brands | JustCo |
| Services | Shared workspaces, coworking spaces and related services |
| Website | www |
History
editJustCo was founded in Singapore in 2011 by property developer and businessman Kong Wan Sing.[3] Kong had originally started a finance firm in Boston in 1998 after graduating from the Stern School of Business. He then worked in the real estate branch of Sing Long Group, a Malaysia-based company owned by his family.[4]
Kong moved to Singapore where he worked for Mapletree Investments prior to starting JustCo. By 2015, it was the largest coworking space in Asia[4] and rebranded to JustCo.[5]
In 2018, JustCo expanded overseas to Thailand, opening four coworking spaces in Bangkok after an investment by Thai developer Sansiri,[6][3] followed by an expansion into Indonesia in mid-2018.[7] Expansion into other markets, including Taiwan, Australia and South Korea, was supported by investments by Singaporean wealth fund GIC and real estate company Frasers Property.[8][9] The same year, it opened its fourth property in Seoul, a 16-storey tower in Gangnam District which was the largest property leased by the company at that time, and the first time it had leased an entire building.[10][11]
In December 2019, the company secured a partnership with Japanese construction and real estate firm Daito Trust to develop office spaces in Japan[12] By April 2020, JustCo serviced 1,400 companies in Singapore across 19 locations, as well as 42 centres in Asia and Australia.[13][14]
The company continued to opened office spaces in Singapore in November 2020 at OCBC Centre East and The Centrepoint, with the latter housing the Singapore offices for L'Oréal and Riot Games.[15][16]
Business structure and services
editJustCo redesigns the interiors of large office spaces and buildings, subletting them to companies and individuals upon completion.[17] All locations feature common areas such as event spaces, meeting rooms and cafe.[4] Large-scale corporations make up more than half of clients, compared to traditional coworking tenants who target startups or freelancers.[9][17] All JustCo locations feature common areas, such as event spaces, meeting rooms and café.[4] In 2018 the company opened its first curated business community space, the Verizon Innovation Community in Singapore, formed with Verizon Communications as a space for digital and technology companies.[18]
In 2019, JustCo created a start-up incubation programme called JustCo Labs, developed as a partnership with Trive Ventures.[19]
JustCo at The Centrepoint office in Singapore was opened in 2020 and is the first location to offer pay-per-minute space for members of the public to rent.[14] The JustCo app allows members to access any office globally, to book spaces or resources.[20] In June 2020, the company partnered with NewCampus to offer a business networking and workshop service entitled JustCo Campus.[21]
In December 2020, the company launched the Digital Future of Work Platform, allowing users to book office space in JustCo centres and shared office locations not a part of the JustCo company. The service incorporates the AI SixSense, which monitors office traffic, allowing users to have real-time information on crowdedness of spaces, to ensure social distance in office spaces.[22]
References
edit- ^ "JustCo plans to dominate Asia". Retrieved 2018-06-22.
- ^ "Working Hard, Or Hardly Working: Are Coworking Spaces As Good As They Look?".
- ^ a b Ambler, Pamela (29 August 2019). "On The Brink And Back: What Coworking Space JustCo Has That Others Don't". Forbes. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- ^ a b c d Wee, Marie (15 January 2020). "Co-Working Spaces Aren't Just About The Desks, Says JustCo CEO Kong Wan Sing". Magazine A. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- ^ Tan, Alanna (May 14, 2019). "S'pore Coworking Chain JustCo Entered 5 New Markets Since 2018 - Now Adds Taiwan To The List". Vulcan Post. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
- ^ Chow, Cecilia (20 November 2017). "JustCo to open four co-working spaces in Bangkok and 30 in Asia-Pacific in 2018". Edgeprop.sg. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ^ "JustCo, Gunung Sewu in joint venture to develop co-working in Indonesia". Digital News Asia. 22 December 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ^ Ellis, Jack (16 May 2008). "Co-working firm JustCo and sovereign wealth fund GIC team up with $177m mega-investment". Tech in Asia. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ a b Setboonsarng, Chayut (31 May 2018). "Singapore's co-working space firm JustCo plans 100 centres in Asia by 2020; eyes deals". Reuters. Retrieved 5 July 2021.[dead link]
- ^ "Singapore's JustCo to lease 16-storey Seoul tower, seeks new markets". The Business Times. 21 July 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ Seow, Joanna (1 August 2019). "JustCo to lease 16-storey building for fourth co-working centre in Seoul". The Straits Times. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ "JustCo to expand to Japan with US$74m investment from Daito Trust".
- ^ Phua, Rachel; Co, Cindy (22 April 2020). "Tenants in limbo as some coworking firms work out arrangements for rental rebates". Channel News Asia. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ a b Chow, Cecilia (17 April 2020). "JustCo: Working from home to lead more companies to embrace flexible workspace". Edgeprop.sg. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ Choo, Yun Ting (August 7, 2020). "JustCo opening 2 more workspaces in S'pore". The Straits Times. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
- ^ Tay, Timothy (November 19, 2020). "JustCo unveils its first tech-enabled workspace at The Centrepoint". Edgeprop.sg. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
- ^ a b Tan, Alanna (11 December 2019). "Analysing Coworking: Is The Fall Of WeWork Part Of A Bigger Problem?". The Bangkok Post. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ^ "Verizon launches first Asian innovation-community space in Singapore".
- ^ Tay, Peck Gek (11 February 2019). "Co-working space provider JustCo Lab, VC firm Trive unveil incubator programme for early-stage startups". The Business Times. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ^ Sabpaitoon, Patpon (April 6, 2020). "The future of work". The Bangkok Post. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
- ^ Kor, Valerie (June 12, 2020). "JustCo Campus offers online workshops, networking events". Edgeprop.sg. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
- ^ Kor, Valerie (16 December 2020). "JustCo launches Digital Future of Work Platform that allows users to book co-working booths". Edgeprop.sg. Retrieved 4 July 2021.