Rediscovering business while distancing

A little over three years ago, a young lad who graduated from The Marshall School Of Business, returned to his hometown Bengaluru to join his family business. Hailing from an illustrious family and also having a history of being a star student and performer, everyone around him expected him to do something exceptional. And that’s exactly what Azaan Feroze Sait of The Safina Group did when he transformed a hotel started by his grandfather into The Hub Bengaluru, a co-living and co-working space that also intended to host a variety of events. Located at one of the city’s most famous landmarks, Safina Plaza, Azaan’s idea of propelling his family’s real estate business by creating a one-of-its-kind open space for Bengaluru’s creative minds, was an instant eyeball grabber.

With most other co-working spaces being member-centric, Azaan wanted to have an open community where people could get involved with them in different ways. From attending their events to using their space for work, from meeting new people and networking to offering mentoring, The Hub began engaging its members in an extremely interactive way. The venue has been special to a plethora of people who made it their first office or pitched their first idea from. An open and inventive platform, The Hub generously allows people to customize their space as long as the guidelines of ‘respecting others’ and ‘keeping it safe’ are followed.

COVID Chaos

However, the bustling business took a massive hit when COVID19 hit the country. Their entire co-working space had to be shut down, while the co-living space continues to house some residents, business was gloomy and so was the traffic towards their space. Their main motto of bringing people together offline was hit by the social distancing bomb — Azaan and his work mates were now asked to do the exact opposite of what they actually stand for! That’s when the sprightly Azaan and his team decided to take over social media by bringing over creative geniuses from across the world to engage with The Hub’s audience. Having already laid a strong foundation for their online presence, Azaan and his team decided to brainstorm and build their online community. They started bringing in different creative people onto their social media platforms and in a span of three weeks, they’d done over 60 live sessions on Instagram. The diversity of their current initiative is one to watch out for. From singer Behram Singaporia to business leader Mohandas Pai, the speakers and artistes represent the myriad facets of Bengaluru and the globe. While Mr. Pai spoke about the impact of the lock-down on Indian startups, they also had senior advocate Aditya Sondhi speak about ‘The Law, The Lock-down and The New World Order’. Another fascinating session was by a girl from Egypt, who did an aerial dancing show on the beach with live music in the background.

The Impact

This new wave of creativity garnered a lot of traction for their Instagram page, shooting up their number of organic followers by 2000! They’re also being bombarded by messages from various imaginative minds who are reaching out to them for collaborations. With the goal of keeping people engaged while staying at home, The Hub has a lot more in store for its audiences including cooking classes, health and wellness content, digital marketing guidance and more.

‘Carpe Diem’ seems to be the motto of Azaan and his work mates who’ve decided to make the most of this stay-at-home period. With people always complaining about having no time, Azaan feels that this is now the time for these folks to actually do that thing they’ve always been wanting to do — whether it’s taking a course or doing that artwork. Despite the COVID pandemonium, the 26-year-old entrepreneur is ensuring that his staff’s needs are well-met, and they have no salary cuts and is also keeping his customers satisfied by catering to them diligently.

Calling for collaborations

With The Hub taking over the virtual world like never before, they’re looking to collaborate with talented people of any kind — upcoming artistes, big brands, partners, entrepreneurs and creative individuals. With a lot more in store for its audiences and members, as they rediscover themselves as a business, The Hub wants to hear your story and make more connections. Are you ready to say Huba hubba?

Instagram: thehubbengaluru

Facebook: The Hub Bengaluru

Location: The Hub at Safina Plaza, The Hub at Peepal Tree, St John’s Road

Written by: Ikyatha Yerasala