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CoHive

Real Estate · Jakarta, Indonesia · Founded 2015

CoHive began as EV Hive in 2015, an internal project by venture capital firm East Ventures to provide a workspace for its portfolio startups. In 2017, the business was acquired by entrepreneurs Jason Lee, Carlson Lau, and Ethan Choi, who took over and rebranded it to address a significant gap in the Indonesian market: expensive and inflexible office leases that often required 12 to 24 months of rent upfront. The new leadership team brought a wealth of experience from investment banking and the startup world. Lee had a background at Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch, while Choi had experience in investment banking, private equity, and even music production. Under the new management, CoHive embarked on an aggressive expansion, fueled by over $37 million in funding from investors including SoftBank Ventures Korea, Insignia Venture Partners, and H&CK Partners. At its peak, the company operated approximately 30 locations across major Indonesian cities like Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bali, serving over 9,000 members. A major milestone was the launch of the CoHive 101 building, an 18-story high-rise in Jakarta that served as its headquarters, making it the first coworking operator in Indonesia to manage an entire building. The business model was centered on flexibility, offering everything from daily passes and hot desks to private offices and long-term leases, catering to freelancers, startups, and established enterprises. Revenue was generated through a subscription-based framework for its workspaces, supplemented by ancillary services such as event space rentals and business support. Beyond traditional coworking, CoHive diversified its offerings to create an integrated ecosystem. It launched CoLiving spaces in partnership with Keppel Land Indonesia, CoRetail for flexible retail space, and dedicated Event Spaces. The core value proposition was to build a community, providing networking opportunities and events to foster collaboration among members. However, the business model, which relied heavily on long-term lease agreements for its properties, proved to have high fixed costs and little resilience to market shocks. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 led to a dramatic drop in demand for physical office space as remote work became the norm. With occupancy rates plummeting, the company's revenue could not cover its substantial rental overheads. Despite efforts to salvage the business, CoHive officially declared bankruptcy in January 2023. Keywords: coworking, Indonesia, real estate, shared office, flexible workspace, community building, venture capital, business support, coliving, startup ecosystem