Having a mobile working environment can have its ups and downs – on one hand, you don’t have to be stuck in cubicles, but on the other, working in cafes and restaurants can’t possibly be a great way to get work done during crunchtime.
That’s the dilemma Kamal Mahyuddin, a Malaysian Ruby on Rails developer who also worked on ViiKii, the crowd-sourced video subtitling startup, aims to solve by opening co-working space Fluent Space. Based in Kelana Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia Fluent Space was inspired by the co-working spaces he came across when he went to a Barcamp in Portland, Oregon.
“It was a natural thing for me to create a co-working space,” said Kamal, who has been a freelancer for two years. “If you look at Portland, there are many independents designers and programmers working in small teams, and the only way for them to mix in a way that makes sense is to be part of a co-working collective.”
With Fluent Space, he’s planning to do more than create a space where strangers come to work, but rather develop a community environment where independent creative-type folks – developers, designers, multimedia industry people – can help each other in ways that they couldn’t if they worked apart.
“What’s important for the freelance community is the support group. There’s so many things that they can do to help each other, like give advice on contractual matters, how to deal with clients, and how to get more clients for example. I want to curate the space to include people who create things,” he said.
For RM600 (US$200) a month, what you’ll get is a desk, a comfortable SteelCase Think chair, unlimited coffee from a coffee pod machine (those Nespresso-like devices), daily breakfast, mailbox and the use of a fax/copier machine. There are also day passes available for RM40 per day, sold in pre-paid “packs” of 10 day-passes, and for those who don’t want a physical space at all, they can register a postal address here for RM80 a month.
For more information, follow Fluent Space on Twitter at @fluentspace. Fluent Space is at 50M-3 Kelana Mall, Jalan SS 6/14 Kelana Jaya, Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Check out the video here to get a tour of Fluent Space and the idea behind its design.
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