JustCo Singapore Review

Brief overview of JustCo

Founded in 2015 by an enterprising couple in their early 40s, JustCo is an Asian coworking provider that aims to provides shared workspaces for freelancers, entrepreneurs, start-ups, and small and large enterprises in the Asia-Pacific region.

^[Despite JustCo having only started up just four years ago, it has already managed to establish itself in 5 key Asian markets, including Shanghai, Seoul, and our very own Singapore. In fact, it has nearly 20 coworking spaces just in Asia alone, and is setting its’ eye on jumping abroad Australia.

This makes JustCo worth watching, just for it’s meteoric rise alone. Just last year, it received USD 12 million funding from Thai developer Sansiri, making it worth over USD 200 million, showing their amazing aptitude for rapid growth in an area so many other companies have tried and failed in.

What’s doubly impressive is the fact that instead of being the brainchild of a well known, established company, JustCo is actually the creation of a husband and wife team.

Back in 2011, the husband, Kong Wan Sing had his own business named JustOffice, which provided serviced office solutions. After carefully observing the market for 4 years, he decided to turn JustOffice into JustCo.

At first, they faced sceptics and financial difficulties, and JustCo was self funded for the first four years due to trouble finding investors. Despite their struggles, the adamant entrepreneurs refused to give up and persevered. Today, they’re Southeast Asia’s largest coworking space provider in just three short years.

JustCo’s presence in Singapore

JustCo is Singaporean born and raised and is a local success story, and is definitely what coworking space singapore should aspire to match.

The very first and flagship JustCo coworking space opened in September 2015 and is located at Robinson Road, providing easy access and great connectivity. Just 5 months later, the second JustCo coworking space in Singapore opened up in Raffles Quay.

If you want to support truly local businesses, JustCo is an excellent choice that provides unparalleled coworking spaces and has an Asian heartbeat.

Just last year in May, they partnered up with Verizon, the American telecommunications giant to help and curate Verizon’s first Asian ideation community space in Singapore.

What kind of coworking arrangements does JustCo offer?

JustCo goes by monthly subscription “plans”, that are priced based on the level of amenities and amount of space provided. A wide variety of unique coworking plans unavailable in any other coworking spaces can be found in JustCo’s coworking spaces, and all of them are very reasonably priced.

On one end, for a budget friendly, no frills option, there is the basic JustDesk Basic plan, which is a flexible desk in a shared coworking space that’s similar to a hot desk. The downside to this plan is that you can only use it once a month, which makes it a bit pricy compared to the other locations. This plan is available at all locations and starts from 98 SGD a month.

If you’re looking for just a flexible desk but want unlimited access, you can upgrade to the JustDesk Unlimited Plan, which provides the same facilities as JustDesk basic, but with no constraints on time. JustDesk Unlimited runs from 398 SGD a month.

For companies that prefer a slightly more traditional layout for their employees, JustDesk Dedicated is for you. Like it’s name suggests, it is a dedicated desk that does not shift around, but in a creative and quirky environment that provides consistent creativity.

On the other end of the spectrum, if you or your company really need a private, wide open space to think out loud, there’s JustStudio, which is actually an exclusive studio that is secure, private and quiet. This option is good for if you are working on sensitive work, or simply have a larger number of employees you want in one space.

A JustCo JustDesk office.

Would JustCo be a good fit for me?

If you’re a newly started company, on a budget, or someone who delights in the unique and unconventional, JustCo’s a good fit for you. If the ability to move in and set up quickly is a priority to you, not having to fuss about the usual constraints of office spaces is a great boon, and saves you additional operating costs.

What if I already have an office?

While JustCo caters more towards new start-ups or creative individuals (having been one themselves), established companies are more than welcome. If you’re a company who’s curious about the world of coworking and want to try dipping your toes in, JustCo is beginner friendly and their customer support service is extremely helpful. After all, this company was started by a couple who had no other backers at first, so they definitely know what it’s like to be trying something out for the first time.

Something that’s really helpful for those who already have an existing office is the fact that you rent individual seats, not full offices (unless you want to). This makes it an easy, low risk option if you want to send just a small group of employees to try out JustCo and report back, instead of sinking a few thousand a month into a large space that your company doesn’t need.

If you aren’t quite ready to give up traditional office spaces, JustCo allows you to book a tour around their coworking spaces and discuss the perfect workspace solution for you.

Why else should I pick JustCo out of all the coworking spaces out there?

That’s a great question. After all, there is indeed a glut of coworking spaces in Singapore, so what makes this particular one so special?

There are three other points to consider.

Firstly, JustCo’s home and flagship locations are in Singapore. That means that if you sign up with JustCo, you’ll be the first to experience new, innovative workspaces, unlike other coworking spaces that may have just picked Singapore as an afterthought.

Secondly, you’ll be supporting a truly local company without compromising on quality. Too often, we hear the words “Support local!”, which is all well and good on first thought.

Lastly, JustCo’s membership plans can be used anywhere in the world that has a JustCo space. This makes things far easier if you’re a frequent traveller, as it negates the need to search for a quiet workspace in a foreign country.

Unfortunately, local products here often try to sell themselves on being homegrown but are not up to the par when it comes to quality. JustCo however, is a company started by a Singaporean couple, and has managed to fufill its’ big dreams of being the most successful in Southeast Asia.

If the quality wasn’t there, it would have floundered and failed, just like many other coworking spaces here. So, you’re practically assured of quality.

Location/Accessibility

JustCo’s 14 Singaporean locations (15 if you include their new Verizon Innovation Centre) are located in prime city area locations such as Robinson Road and AXA Tower. Their target audience are city area workers who are looking to cut down on commute time as much as possible.

In terms of pricing and location, JustCo’s locations are a great deal – they’re well priced for normally expensive areas which have excellent access to amenities and connectivity. To view a full list of their locations, click here.

Amenities

When it comes to amenities, JustCo definitely has the edge.

Many coworking spaces here only offer very basic amenities that are often insufficient to meet a growing company’s needs. In fact, some local coworking spaces seem to consider having working lights in the place a celebratory achievement!

What I really like is that no matter whatever plan you purchase, JustCo allows you full access to its’ impressive set of amenities that includes stand outs like in house cafes and private phone booths. For a full list of amenities, please click here.

The in house cafes make it easy for your employees to grab a quick bite without leaving the workspace and potentially losing their concentration and getting distracted.

If you’re looking for privacy or need to make a discreet call, the private phone booths are a big bonus. They’re completely secure, and prevent potential competitors from overhearing important business plans.

Additionally, JustCo membership plans also come with a dedicated community team that will help with any requests or enquiries you might have. They’re universally praised as being really polite and professional, and is a boon to an already attractive coworking space.

Design

Besides amenities, this is yet another area that JustCo truly shines in. While the bulk of coworking spaces tend to be drab, grey and four walled affairs, JustCo makes a concerted effort to strike out on their own and deviate from the norm when it comes to design, and this clearly shows in their workspaces.

For reference, here is their coworking space in JustCo on Robinson Road.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s pleasingly light and airy, isn’t it?That’s one of the most striking points about JustCo Singapore’s coworking spaces – their coworking spaces take into account the amount of space and lighting needed for important work, and deliver it in a unique and distinctive way that both relaxes and energizes you.

In general, even though there are plenty of coworking companies here in Singapore, too many of them tend to try and stick too close to the traditional office style look for fear of looking too different, which to me defeats the purpose of coworking at all.

After all, the purpose of coworking is to try sharing your office space with others, which in itself is a new and exciting process. If a coworking space is afraid of looking different and standing out, creatives and small start-ups should avoid them.

If you and your company aren’t afraid to think outside the box and want a coworking space to match your style, JustCo would be an excellent choice.

So, if you’re interested in booking a coworking space with JustCo and getting started on your entrepreneurial journey with a company that’s made the journey themselves, just contact us below. You’ll soon be contacted by one of our customer service representatives who will assist you through the booking process.