If you’ve not heard, one of Malaysia’s most influential power couple, Timothy Tiah and Audrey Ooi has started a new business venture of coworking space which was tastefully put together and it got everyone super excited about it. Lady boss Audrey Ooi is here with us to spill the beans on how it all came about.
The team behind Colony
1. Hello Audrey! Please tell us more about Colony!
Colony is a new co-working space in the heart of KLCC. It’s in a fantastic place just a block away from Pavilion and the Petronas Twin Towers.
2. What’s the idea/story behind Colony?
The inspiration came to Tim while he was jogging around KLCC Park. He noticed that the people who were all heading to work around him looked glum or sien haha. It occurred to him that while technology and advancements have changed our lives over the years, our work experience hasn’t really changed. We still go to offices that look the same, we don’t get to choose where we sit, who we work with and heck we don’t even get to choose the laptops we use.
We did some research and found that a better work environment doesn’t just look better but it helps companies attract and retain talent. That’s a major issue that companies face now and often attribute it to a brain drain or a competitive labour market. The truth is there isn’t a brain drain, instead we’re not creating opportunities or work environments that the most talented people would want to work for.
Now this argument sounds great if you’re Google or Facebook and can spend lots of money on an office with facilities like a gym, cafe, massage rooms and the like but what if you’re not Google or Facebook and don’t have the scale to justify such an office. Well… that’s where Colony fills that in. Colony has regular office cleaning done to make sure your work enviorment is clean. We build workspaces that have all the facilities from a gym, to nap rooms, massage rooms and heck even a rooftop swimming pool with a view of the Twin Towers and we rent it out to companies of different sizes.
3. Who is your target audience?
Anyone looking for an office!
4. What’s the difference between Colony and other co-working space out there?
Our sell is really different from a lot of co-working spaces. Most co-working spaces follow the path of WeWork, having a purpose of putting entrepreneurs and freelancers together in a community so they can collaborate and network. That’s valuable and at Colony we naturally have a diverse community of people too.
Our main purpose though is to change the expectations of office. That if we do our jobs right, one day every office would be expected to have the facilities that allow you to build a lifestyle out of work.
5. What is a typical day for someone who is working in Colony?
You might come in for work in the morning, and you might stop by at Espresso Lab and grab a coffee or a croissant before stepping into your office. Later maybe you have a discussion so you and your colleagues settle down at the cozy beanbag area in the event space for a quick brainstorm. When it’s time for lunch, instead of walking out for food, you may opt to eat at Bold Grains instead. If you’re feeling sleepy after lunch, you might pop over to one of the nap rooms for some shuteye before resuming your work. After 5 pm, maybe you might head upstairs to the pool or the gym for a workout while you wait for rush hour traffic to subside. You may also use the showers available to freshen up before you head for dinner or go home. 🙂
6. What is the typical package for someone who wants to work in Colony?
We have a variety of packages available – private suite rental, reserved desks and open hot desks in the coworking area, prepaid time passes and membership packages. It depends on the needs of our clients. 🙂
7. Are you going to open more Colony in other places soon?
Yes! We’re already looking at several locations.
8. In your opinion, what would be the best working environment?
Besides the obvious beautiful work space, the flexibility to move around different areas to work, and the various lifestyle facilities as offered by Colony, I believe the best working environment is somewhere where you have peace of mind. To focus and to make the most out of your work day. That’s what we wanna do at Colony – not just put lifestyle into work but to take away any unrelated, unnecessary stress from you so you can focus on your business 100%.
9. What will be your vision of Colony in 5 years’ time?
Hopefully with locations not just around Malaysia but the region! Also I hope we will have changed people’s minds about what work life and offices should be like.
Picture credits: Colony
