This Singaporean platform is the world’s first B2B space sharing ecosystem

Who are you and what business did you start?

I'm Pranav Krishna, a Year 2 Business Management Student in SMU. I've created the platform ShareRight, which is a B2B Space Sharing platform. Similar to why Airbnb was created, businesses tend to actually have more idle space - storage, warehouse, office (or even restaurant spaces) that are often not used during certain parts of the day or different periods across the year. Hence, we decided to create an ecosystem to allow businesses to lease out their idle spaces, and those that rent it out, will enjoy 30-50% savings compared to the standard market rate. It's a win-win for both sides!

What's your backstory?

Back when I was 19, I was taught this important concept which has inspired me to create ShareRight. I had the options laid out for me Fix the problem, Help the community to solve the problem, or Empower the community to solve the problem. The latter, meant that the community already has the resources required, and just needs support in learning how to make use of it, or a platform to utilise the resources better.

I always had an interest towards climate change and had wanted to do something for the environment, but I also wanted to create something that benefitted the community around me. What started as a journey to create a social enterprise, took a sharp turn when I realised there are already plenty of such out there. Thousands of SMEs and social enterprises were struggling out there in the market to expand in scale and everyone was just out there, doing their own thing, working in silos even though they have many common goals.

That's when COVID hit us all. The market went from bad to worse and smaller businesses were hit hard. I knew there was little I could do to help all these businesses increase revenue, but through the sharing economy, I could help them reduce their expenses. By maximising the efficiency of the spaces businesses owned, we've created an ecosystem that benefits both sides and completely change the way businesses utilise space and plan out their operational expenses in the future.

What should be the first steps to take to enter your industry?

Network with everyone, selectively. The irony is that to create a sharing economy, one would need contacts from every industry you could think of that would benefit from your service. In the case of ShareRight, it's not just businesses with employees, but even a freelancer who might require hotdesking space. The catch is to network with those high enough in the corporate ladder, who have the power to not just nod their heads to you in agreement, but also take the first step in signing up as your client.

How did you spend your First 100 Days of launching your business?

Personally, I made a mistake - I rushed to create the platform before doing one of the most crucial steps that I feel any business should do before starting their operations. Research. Took me a while to finally correct this mistake, but research really sets the baseline for the why, what, when and how questions that you would have to answer.

Creating a website, a platform or even talking to potential clients before doing research would risk you wasting time and effort working on something that wasn't necessary. Research for ShareRight meant talking to various industry professionals, mentors, and understanding what exactly is happening in the market, and how your solution should be angled to create the impact you set out to achieve.

Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain partnerships/customers?

Personal connections. Once again I'll admit, I'm still working on getting better at this, but I have a CRM with all the contacts from various clients and partners that I try to constantly keep engaged, every 2 months or so. Building that personal connection with them helps them to see you beyond your company. I've realised that beneath all the corporate aspects of running a business, having good people skills would win you half the battle.

What has taken you from 0 to 100?

ShareRight has just launched its beta platform a couple of months back, so we are nowhere close to 100, but we're hoping that joining communities like 100 Club, filled with other startups and entrepreneurs would lead us to growing our sharing ecosystem in the months to come.

What is one underrated thing in your industry that business owners should start doing/using?

Join ShareRight at https//market.buy-left.com. You might have space that you don't utilise, but that doesn't mean others won't need it. If you require space and would like to save on your expenses (who doesn't right?) then join our ecosystem as well. It's FREE anyway so why not share and benefit from it?

What was one failure you had to go through that others in your industry should look out for? Not really a failure in this case

Fundraising - it's really not for everyone. I have wasted plenty of time attending various competitions and pitches, and what we usually get is everyone in the room trying to challenge your idea and find faults with it. While there's nothing really wrong with the latter, especially when you are able to back up your idea, it's more important to try to find people who would stand by you and suggest solutions after finding faults with it.

If you have an amazing startup idea, it's important you know what it's weaknesses are, but when raising funds, always remember that you are giving the other side the chance to invest in your idea. If they only shoot you down and not offer any solutions, then it's their loss for not being able to see the value in what you have built.

I say this because I've had many people tell me ShareRight would not work, but reality has proven otherwise, so if fundraising doesn't work for you, keep building up your businesses, prove them wrong and try again when you reach a stage where the other side can't say no.

What platform/tools do you use for your business?

Airtable helps with keeping track of projects, having a CRM and many more due to its automations. Google Drive is our go-to for online documents and Canva for marketing purposes. Luckily we are students, so we maximise the use of discounts or even complimentary Pro plans.

How are you doing today and what does the future look like?

Within just the first few months, ShareRight has a couple of businesses on our platform, and we are in talks of partnering with even bigger firms who have seen the value in our ecosystem.

In 3 years time, ShareRight aims to be the go-to platform for businesses, to share any kind of assets that they might have, across various industries. With your help, yes I'm talking about you, we can get there for sure!