- Headspace is a co-sharing space in Subang Jaya that charges RM0.20 per minute with a flat rate of RM18 all day after 90 minutes.
Built in the heart of SS15, Headspace is a co-sharing space that was founded by two like-minded entrepreneurs—Jessie who has built a successful startup in Boozeat, and Thresa who has been in corporate settings for the past 15 years including the advertising and media intelligence industry.
To explain the terminology used in this piece: A co-sharing space differs from a co-working space; co-working spaces are generally ideal for startup businesses and entrepreneurs looking for a better alternative to working from home. A co-sharing space is open for anyone to use and get their work done.
Also, co-working spaces usually lease to members for a period of 3 to 6 months. That’s not the case for Headspace, they charge the rates by time at RM0.20 per minute, with a flat rate of RM18 all day after 90 minutes.
As both of the founders hustle non-stop, they have come to a realisation that having the right working environment helps to reduce the amount of time working.
Jessie added, “It’s almost impossible to be productive in non-conducive work places such as distracting cafes with patrons or in corporate office settings that are soul-sucking.”
The Psychology That Gets Into Your Head
Headspace was created with the psychology of the working environment in mind. This basically means that it was made to satisfy all five senses for an optimum work environment. Jessie brought up the example of 3-star Michelin food that stimulates all the five senses.
“The smell, aesthetics, plating, texture, temperature, even the way you bite it and everything. It’s all of it that comes together that makes it a 3-Michelin-star meal; that makes it perfect,” said Jessie.
There are usually 3 common options for workplaces: corporate offices that are mostly cubicles, cafés that are usually very noisy and distracting, or even working at home where it can be too comfortable.
“For work that needs around 10 hours, if you really have the headspace and productivity, if you can really focus and do it without stress, worry, and or distractions, you can actually get it done within 3 hours,” added Jessie.
As there are now so many co-working and some co-sharing spaces out there, Headspace wants to stand out thanks to their ambition and vision. The team puts in a lot of time in studying the psychology of working environment and making sure every single detail gels with it.
For example, they found out that different people have different choices of furniture depending on their mentality. For example, people who like to sit on sofas to do their work are dreamers and visionaries who need comfort to hash things out in their heads, whereas people who sit at a proper desk and table are more technical and need to get set amounts of work done.
“It has to be right for people—all five senses. The smell needs to be right, temperature needs to be right, the lighting needs to be right, the music needs to be right, the quietness needs to be right, these things are very important,” Jessie explained further.
The design of the space is very Nordic and simple, but they are very particular about what goes in. Everything was put in with a purpose and motive.
“We want to do something and we want to do it right.”
– Thresa of Headspace
Expanding Their Horizons
Although Headspace is located in the heart of SS15 where there are many students, the space is open for everyone from kids, parents and anyone who wants to get their work done efficiently and productively.
Additionally, their vision is to have more locations around Malaysia and this will help people who are always on the go.
“If I know about this place and it has more locations, I will know I can go to this place if I’m at a certain area and do my work there,” said Thresa.
Their plan for 2019 is that after running the current space for two months, they will be planning to open another 10–20 more locations around Malaysia.
Jessie also mentioned that in the future when they expand to multiple locations, Headspace would be as human-less as possible where everything will be self-serviced and automated.
“There’s WeWork who is the unicorn of working spaces, so Headspace wants to be the unicorn of co-sharing spaces.”
- If you would like to know more about Headspace, you can check out their social media here and website here.