Startup of the Month: Daysk

We launched Daysk in October 2016, with the aim of connecting individuals and professionals with a space to work whenever and wherever they need it. For small teams, freelancers, digital nomads, sales reps and so on, it’s often wasteful to have permanent offices. Rent is expensive and half the time there’s no one there. We offer a quality alternative. With Daysk you can choose the best workspace for your day ahead. 

I had been working for two years as a freelance consultant, moving from one client to another on a daily basis. I didn’t have an office, so I usually wound up in Starbucks, which is a good place to be if you want a Frappuccino, but not the best environment for getting work done. After growing tired of noisy cafes and bad internet connections, I started to think, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to have a resource handy to tell me all the places nearby with available work spaces and be able to book the perfect spot at a moment’s notice?’ Think about how commonplace it is to book a taxi on demand. Daysk gives you the freedom to do that with offices. 

Part of the challenge of building this platform is balancing the supply and demand. First we scout out an area for any places our users might want to work—from empty desks in bigger corporate offices and comfortable coworking spaces, to cafes and bars. The more people rely on Daysk and the more bookings we get, the more quality spaces we have to provide. 

Currently we have more than 150 spaces indexed, and we’re moving quickly to activate them. Each one will have photos and a description of its features—whether or not it has a terrace, free coffee, etc.—to give our clients a glimpse of the atmosphere and community there, so they know ahead of time if it’s a good match for their objectives that day. In the future there will be a more social layer, where users can check in and then rate a place after their work day finishes. 

Our team works in the spirit of Daysk, from home offices to different coworking spaces around the city. Originally this digital nomad existence was a logistical problem, but we solved that! And more than finding and booking the perfect workspace, we want to facilitate connections between the creative and digital nomad community in Barcelona. We want to be a catalyst for experiences that can further our clients’ careers.

My advice to anyone with an idea for a startup is to get out and talk about it as much as you can. Build your network and launch as soon as possible. Don’t bother spending months or years perfecting every last detail. Send out an email or create a landing page—this is the only way to gain real insight into how the public will react to what you’re proposing. Once you understand what your audience truly needs and wants, then you’ll be able to fine-tune the product, hopefully guaranteeing its success. Any work before that is futile because you’re only working off assumptions.

Find out more about Daysk at daysk.com.