Alumni Umang Sood: Future Proofing Real Estate & Co-Working

We met Mumbai alumni Umang Sood in 2017 when he hosted our 8th fellowship at his cool new co-working space in Powai, Mumbai. It’s been a couple years since he went through the UnSchool Mumbai fellowship with 16 other wonderful humans, so we checked back in to see what he is up to, how his space is evolving and how the UnSchool experience has helped him make positive change.

Can you give us an introduction to yourself and your work?

I am the founding partner at Of10, a co-working space located in the heart of Hiranandani Gardens, Powai (Mumbai, India). I am on a mission to prove that any of us can champion ideas that change the world around us.

What motivates you to do the work that you do?

We have seen too many good ideas perish simply because their creators are too scared to leave behind a traditional professional life to go against the grain and pursue their ideas. We have all personally experienced the monotony of a corporate job that confines people to a box and conditions them to believe that work is simply following orders and not pushing boundaries.

This is one of the reasons why I started Of10; here my cofounders and I hope to inspire millennials like ourselves by showing them that there is absolutely nothing stopping them from changing the world. We hope to give people so much more than just a co-working space; rather, it’s a community that they can learn from, be inspired by, work hard and play harder. Good ideas and unconventional wisdom need to be championed, and we intend to promote the people behind them.

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How did you find out about the UnSchool, and what motivated you to come?

I found out about UnSchool when they were looking to find a venue to conduct their Mumbai event. The fantastic mission and vision of the founder and the dire need for the kind of work that UnSchool is doing motivated me to attend.

What was your experience at the UnSchool like?

The experience was fabulous. From the highly engaging method of instruction to the planning and logistics, everything was top-notch. I think meeting people from different backgrounds from around the world was a fantastic perspective-widening experience for me. I was able to get out of my comfort zone and take a long hard look at the way I was running my business.

What was the main take away you had from coming to the UnSchool?

I learnt that everyone has the power to make changes that will save our planet from climate change.

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Tell us more about your initiative(s), and how is it all going?

Through Of10 I am committed to building an experience that is not only better for the planet, but also better for the people living on it.

Real estate in Mumbai is notoriously unavailable and extremely expensive. I think building more real estate is NOT the answer, and instead, believe in better utilizing the current real estate in Mumbai, like by converting previously un-utilized or defunct spaces (dead spaces) to community centers and co-working spaces for small businesses. For example, our current office space in Powai used to be a defunct gym lying vacant for over 2 years. We came in and transformed the space into a state-of-the-art, profit-generating, co-working and events space. There are millions of square feet of dead spaces around the city Mumbai, and probably in many other cities around the world, whose potential is waiting to be unlocked. Throwing money and constructing new buildings is not the answer to Mumbai’s real estate problems. Instead, I feel we should future-proof real estate by creatively and sustainably making the best use of the resources at our disposal.

We’re only as strong as the community around us, which is why our mission is to support the micro-communities which began in 2016 as a way for us to give back to the communities that support us. We only hire from the local neighbourhood, and all our spaces are designed by local architects, furniture makers and contractors. We believe in giving talented young people a chance. All the material used in our spaces is sourced responsibly from our immediate surroundings. Our mission is to empower the micro-communities we are a part of. No international teams, no national teams. There’s no need to outsource when our communities themselves have an abundance of talent we can tap into to create a space made by the community, for the community.

Most businesses in India are either riding the startup wave or catering to large enterprises; however, the future of the country rests on its small and medium businesses. So all Of10 spaces are built with the needs of these small business owners in mind. The only way for a business to succeed in India is through building better networks and working together. We are big on collaboration and bigger on events.

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How did the UnSchool help you start/evolve it?

I think UnSchool was able to give me a much more macro perspective on the problems we are trying to solve. What it taught me most importantly is how to think about a problem rather than just execute and ideate. It made me a better problem solver as a result.

UnSchool has allowed me to make more actionable changes in my current business model so as to become an example for other coworking spaces to follow in terms of building a culturally and environmentally-aware business.

How have you amplified this change you do in the world?

The creative arts are the backbone of a truly entrepreneurial community. At Of10 we have hosted experimental theater, music gigs, comedy, design workshops and even short film screenings. We give local artists a platform to showcase their talent.

India’s unemployment rate is the highest in 45 years, and the jobless rate stands at 6.1% in 2019. The demographic most affected by increasing unemployment is the youth. At at Of10 are committed to change that. The only thing the youth in India lack are the opportunities to prove themselves. We provide opportunities exclusively for people under the age of 25. After 2 years of being with Of10, we encourage all of our employees to start their own businesses.

My team and I believe in building better and more socially-responsible businesses, and our mission is to use our planet’s limited resources better and for better. We are committed to building a product that is not only better for the planet, but also better for the people living on it.

How can people engage with, support, or follow your work?

Our Instagram
Our Facebook
My LinkedIn
Come visit us!: Of10, Ground Floor, Prudential, Hiranandani Gardens, Powai 400076

Any other thoughts you want to share?

On a personal level, UnSchool has helped me realize that an optimistic approach to problem solving is way more effective when dealing with seemingly insurmountable problems like climate change. I am able to work through harder problems and iterate and resolve them.

On a professional level, I am hoping to make my business, Of10, an example for an eco-conscious, circular economy brand, rather than just a profit-making enterprise.

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If you are keen to have a unique UnSchool experience, apply for one of our 2020 programs here.