NestAway launches incubation programme Startup Labs; elevates market reliability

Eyeing the potential of the co-living market, and the growing need for organised housing facilities, especially in the migratory working entrepreneurial generation, NestAway has come up with a unique Startup incubation programme that is all set to help startups grow while living together.

Naming it NestAway Startup Lab, the company on the respective website has mentioned the aim behind the programme to give back to the startup community in form of free residential space to selected startups in the incubation programme without asking for any stake in equity.

NestAway is launching the programme in partnership with Bengaluru-based Excubator.

Apart from the housing facilities, the firm also commits to becoming a bridge for the aspiring entrepreneurs that helps them connect experts and investors while sharing its own wisdom. Most importantly, NestAway promises to let these startups access their customer base to facilitate testing the products and services, and a market from where they can grow.

Currently, the company claims to serve 70,000 customers with 30,000 properties. Hence, the offering by the company to budding entrepreneurs becomes uniquely wholesome.

The registration for the process ends in a few days, and the 6 month incubation period will start from 15th March 2019.

The development comes at a time when the Tiger Global, Goldman Sachs, and Ratan Tata backed company is looking to receive funds from new Chinese investors like Fosun RZ Capital and Shunwei Capital. The company is expecting these investors to participate as a part of the aspired $100 million round.

As a market leader in the home rental space provider, NestAway, has been facing severe competition in recent times, with large players like OYO Living, Warburg Pincus and Lemon Tree joining the game. Meanwhile, other smaller players have also been raising significant funds to tap into the humongous $20 billion industry that has the potential to scale up to $93 billion.

These players, however, are taking different routes to scale to their own success. While players such as Warburg Pincus with Lemon Tree, CoHo, Zolo, OYO Living, Stanza Living operate their own properties, NestAway acts as a middleman between the property owners and the tenants.

NestAway Startup Labs makes absolute sense for the startups due to the contribution it can make to the startup industry. It also creates a market reputation for being a reliable source for the housing needs of working millennial generation that is ready to pay reasonable prices for a comprehensive service kit.

On a larger scale, however, it also has started catering to families via Zenify acquisition and claims to be earning half the new bookings from that segment.

While the working generation creates most of the demand, the demographic tends to migrate frequently, creating an inconsistent occupancy. They also go on to start their own families, creating a different demand that NestAway doesn’t want to miss out on.