New Mobile App Wants to Be The ‘Groupon’ For Coworking Spaces

Raaly is a New York based tech startup that wants to be on the ground floor of technology created specifically for coworking.

In one sentence, this is how Justin Block, co-founder of Raaly, explained what the new mobile app is: “Last minute deals on coworking spaces.”

Although started only 3 months ago and currently operating only in New York, Raaly has already found more coworking spaces to work with in Toronto and Austin. The idea is quickly grabbing the attention of coworking operators, as it’ll provide an extra source of revenue when things slow down.

They want to move fast, which is why they are building the system to take international payments. They have also partnered with Texas Coworking to have a liaison between the app and the coworking operators.

According to Block, the value that Raaly offers workspace providers is that, “coworking spaces that sign with us open their doors to new eyes. We can help them in getting more clients through the door, allowing them to get a taste of the community and the space, which can later translate into a committed decision from our lead.”

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When explaining how the app works, Block compared it to how Groupon works for consumer-oriented businesses. Coworking spaces offer a unique deal or discounted price and Raaly places the deal in front of a fresh targeted audience.

The type of offer is entirely up to the coworking operator and buyers need to set the dates they will use the space at the time of payment. “It’s up to them (coworking spaces) to dictate how long they want the promotion to last (hours, days, weeks, or months), and the buyer can choose the date they want to use their deal, but the dates have to be set at the time of payment.”

Block and his business partner have been building the technology for the app for 2 years, and although at the time being they want to focus on offering unique deals, Block mentioned that the idea is to eventually offer various membership packages.

“We want to grow our network enough to be able to provide people with city, country, and global coworking passes.”

This isn’t the first mobile app tailored to the coworking industry. Croissant, founded in June 2015, is already offering an alternative way to book a seat in coworking spaces in New York, Boston, DC, and San Francisco. As coworking continues to evolve, we can expect to see more new disruptive technologies appearing and adding value to the workspace industry throughout 2017.