Square Plums-Container Homes
Square Plums has set its sights on a site close to Manyata Tech Park in Hebbal that covers 4000 sq ft, construction for which will start in the first week of December.
Company name: Urban Stay Technologies Private Limited (Square Plums)
Founder name(s): Rajesh Kotta & Hemant Attray
City it is based out of: Bangalore
Headcount/Strength of the team: 25
Industry: Real Estate Tech/Hospitality Tech
Investors & Amount raised: Seed round of Rs 3 crore from IAN; Series A details undisclosed
Meet Adam.
Adam moved to a new city.
Adam did not spend months crashing on a friend's moth-eaten couch.
Adam had a home within a week.
Be like Adam.
Adam's case might seem like an anomaly to a seasoned migrant, especially in a city like Bangalore where the high demand for low-cost rental homes is met with dismal supply. And while listings on platforms like NoBroker and Housing may be aplenty, the hunt can be relentless and unforgiving after factoring in societal biases that repress leasing apartments to singles.
This is where Square Plums chips in with an experiment that has never been attempted before.
"We are in the process of converting shipping containers into homes," was the straight-faced response from Hemant Attray, who along with his BITS-Pilani batchmate Rajesh Kotta, started Square Plums last year. "When ready, these are loaded onto trucks and eventually installed on a site that is pre-owned by a property dealer," he added.
The duo recently launched a demo unit in HSR Layout.
A model unit of Square Plums' studio home constructed out of a shipping container
A new territory
Defending this undertaking, Attray argues that in addition to being several grades cheaper than traditional apartments, his container-homes can be made ready in just two weeks, unlike its brick-and-mortar counterparts which can take anywhere between 18 months to 3 years.
"In addition to being being cost and time effective, these homes will be completely furnished," adds the ISB alumnus.
Attray's product offers a unique solution to the supply problem around affordable housing in India. Sourcing new as well as recycled containers from ports across India, it will be fabricated, welded and designed by the startup in several factories in and around Bangalore. With each unit sized at 200 sq ft, this is designed to mimic a small studio room meant for one individual.
"Although it has not been tried until now, the concept has been successfully demonstrated in places like Dubai, Hong Kong and some pockets of Europe for hostels, shopping malls, hotels and even hospitals," says Attray.
But, is the idea of being boxed up in a large steel container in a summer-strong country like India really the best solution to soaring real estate prices?
Attray has it covered.
The interiors of the container-home that mimics a traditional apartment
"Our homes are acclimated to suit extreme swings in weather, especially during warmer months of the year," he said. "The walls, ceilings and floors are built with four layers of insulation that keep the heat at bay. Secondly, cross ventilation ensures that the air in the container is constantly in circulation," he added.
Risks posed by natural disasters are also mitigated by the material used in its construction, the endurance of which has been tried, tested and proven against the travails of seismic activities which these containers are designed to withstand at sea.
Square Plums has set its sights on a site close to Manyata Tech Park in Hebbal that covers 4000 sq ft, construction for which will start in the first week of December. Slated to be its first container-based apartment complex in India, it will be a four-storeyed structure with 15 units on each level, taking the tally to 60 rooms - that is, 60 containers stacked 15x4 times.
"The construction of each unit on an average costs about Rs 5.25 lakh, the rent for which can be expected to go for anywhere between Rs 14,000 to Rs 20,000, depending on the location."
Welcome abode
Container-homes aside, Square Plums currently operates about 600 properties (or rooms) in Bangalore which provide plush, co-living options in gated communities to youngsters. These homes, like the proposed container-based studio apartments, are fully furnished, come with zero brokerage and hefty deposits, and are available on rent for as low Rs 6,500 a month.
Located in prime locations and strapped with top-end amenities, these are curated and designed specifically for singles and working professionals who otherwise have to settle for run-down PGs or dilapidated one-bedroom flats in questionable localities.
What is more, it assures landlords nearly 50% higher rentals even as tenants enjoy cheap yet quality stay. Explains Attray:
"A typical 3-bedroom apartment in Bangalore goes for close to Rs 30,000 (depending on the location), and the market price for many homes listed with us also come up to the same amount. Instead of selling the whole apartment as one unit, we fractionalize it and sell it either as six beds or three rooms. Now, six people will bring in about Rs 9,000 (a bed) on an average, bringing the total payment a month to Rs 54,000. Profits thereafter is shared between Square Plums and the landlords."
While as much as 90% of the startup's revenue comes through this channel, it has devised affiliate sources as well.
"Leasing out existing property is our primary business and the rentals make up a big margin of our returns. But whenever we have a community of a similar age band living within a building (like the one envisioned for the 60-room container complex), there can be other mediums to supplement this," says Attray. "For instance, if a food outlet decides to occupy one or two of these rooms, it opens the door for us to juice up a share from their sales. Similarly, fitness brands can conduct their classes in our clubs (if we open one) because it will comprise of the same target segment that they are also trying to reach," he adds.
Constructing a new trend
A close familiarity that fostered over 20 years, coupled with independent entrepreneurial experiences, brought Kotta and Attray to join forces and start up Square Plums last year. Kotta, who prior to this, was building SaaS-based solutions for the hospitality sector, saw a lot of innovation happening there, but they jointly decided not to chase the marketplace route where most of the industry was headed.
"We wanted to get into something where we would have better control over customer experience and where the ticket size would also be bigger," says Attray. "Most importantly, we wanted to draw upon an existing demand rather than manufacture one," he added.
As per the duo, there is no existing solution in the organized market for people relocating for a duration longer than 2-3 weeks. Coupled with opportunity that lies in leasing real estate over simply selling it after gauging market cyclicals or regulatory reasons, they felt the need to start Square Plums, counting their inventory in terms of the number of rooms that they keep.
"Time is money in this business because the sooner you can start collecting rent, the better. With 3 years going in building a property, we started looking at how we can accelerate delivery of supplies and that is when we decided to supplement it with container-homes," says Attray. "Customers also cannot tell the difference when they enter the rooms, but it is only natural that they will want to know whether the benefits outweigh the risks that they are taking. So about 30% of our supply could come from this model, but our business remains the same for both," he adds.
Unlocking an exciting opportunity
Square Plums raised a small seed round of funding from Indian Angel Network (IAN) in August last year and just completed a Series A round. Currently available only in Bangalore, it will soon look to onboard more properties in cities like Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi-NCR.
"I have dabbled in many startups before and come to the realization that the biggest challenge for any business is to find the customer. That is not the case with this business," says Attray. "And once you get the first mover advantage, it becomes difficult for a new player to disrupt it, unless their product is significantly better. We are hoping that 10-15 years from now, this will look like a no-brainer, like it did with something like Naukri. This is what we hope to achieve," he adds.
The company has grown 10x since it first started off and now it is profitable, with business running in just one city.
Finally, as curiosity conquered constraint, why the name Square Plums?
"We wanted a very neutral name and not have our users confuse it with a 'myroom' or a 'bookyourroom' or the like. Also, a square can be translated to mean a room and we also wanted it to sound plush," says Attray. "But most importantly, the domain name was available," he adds sheepishly.
Founder name(s): Rajesh Kotta & Hemant Attray
City it is based out of: Bangalore
Headcount/Strength of the team: 25
Industry: Real Estate Tech/Hospitality Tech
Investors & Amount raised: Seed round of Rs 3 crore from IAN; Series A details undisclosed
Meet Adam.
Adam moved to a new city.
Adam did not spend months crashing on a friend's moth-eaten couch.
Adam had a home within a week.
Be like Adam.
Adam's case might seem like an anomaly to a seasoned migrant, especially in a city like Bangalore where the high demand for low-cost rental homes is met with dismal supply. And while listings on platforms like NoBroker and Housing may be aplenty, the hunt can be relentless and unforgiving after factoring in societal biases that repress leasing apartments to singles.
This is where Square Plums chips in with an experiment that has never been attempted before.
"We are in the process of converting shipping containers into homes," was the straight-faced response from Hemant Attray, who along with his BITS-Pilani batchmate Rajesh Kotta, started Square Plums last year. "When ready, these are loaded onto trucks and eventually installed on a site that is pre-owned by a property dealer," he added.
The duo recently launched a demo unit in HSR Layout.
A model unit of Square Plums' studio home constructed out of a shipping container
A new territory
Defending this undertaking, Attray argues that in addition to being several grades cheaper than traditional apartments, his container-homes can be made ready in just two weeks, unlike its brick-and-mortar counterparts which can take anywhere between 18 months to 3 years.
"In addition to being being cost and time effective, these homes will be completely furnished," adds the ISB alumnus.
Attray's product offers a unique solution to the supply problem around affordable housing in India. Sourcing new as well as recycled containers from ports across India, it will be fabricated, welded and designed by the startup in several factories in and around Bangalore. With each unit sized at 200 sq ft, this is designed to mimic a small studio room meant for one individual.
"Although it has not been tried until now, the concept has been successfully demonstrated in places like Dubai, Hong Kong and some pockets of Europe for hostels, shopping malls, hotels and even hospitals," says Attray.
But, is the idea of being boxed up in a large steel container in a summer-strong country like India really the best solution to soaring real estate prices?
Attray has it covered.
The interiors of the container-home that mimics a traditional apartment
"Our homes are acclimated to suit extreme swings in weather, especially during warmer months of the year," he said. "The walls, ceilings and floors are built with four layers of insulation that keep the heat at bay. Secondly, cross ventilation ensures that the air in the container is constantly in circulation," he added.
Risks posed by natural disasters are also mitigated by the material used in its construction, the endurance of which has been tried, tested and proven against the travails of seismic activities which these containers are designed to withstand at sea.
Square Plums has set its sights on a site close to Manyata Tech Park in Hebbal that covers 4000 sq ft, construction for which will start in the first week of December. Slated to be its first container-based apartment complex in India, it will be a four-storeyed structure with 15 units on each level, taking the tally to 60 rooms - that is, 60 containers stacked 15x4 times.
"The construction of each unit on an average costs about Rs 5.25 lakh, the rent for which can be expected to go for anywhere between Rs 14,000 to Rs 20,000, depending on the location."
Welcome abode
Container-homes aside, Square Plums currently operates about 600 properties (or rooms) in Bangalore which provide plush, co-living options in gated communities to youngsters. These homes, like the proposed container-based studio apartments, are fully furnished, come with zero brokerage and hefty deposits, and are available on rent for as low Rs 6,500 a month.
Located in prime locations and strapped with top-end amenities, these are curated and designed specifically for singles and working professionals who otherwise have to settle for run-down PGs or dilapidated one-bedroom flats in questionable localities.
What is more, it assures landlords nearly 50% higher rentals even as tenants enjoy cheap yet quality stay. Explains Attray:
"A typical 3-bedroom apartment in Bangalore goes for close to Rs 30,000 (depending on the location), and the market price for many homes listed with us also come up to the same amount. Instead of selling the whole apartment as one unit, we fractionalize it and sell it either as six beds or three rooms. Now, six people will bring in about Rs 9,000 (a bed) on an average, bringing the total payment a month to Rs 54,000. Profits thereafter is shared between Square Plums and the landlords."
While as much as 90% of the startup's revenue comes through this channel, it has devised affiliate sources as well.
"Leasing out existing property is our primary business and the rentals make up a big margin of our returns. But whenever we have a community of a similar age band living within a building (like the one envisioned for the 60-room container complex), there can be other mediums to supplement this," says Attray. "For instance, if a food outlet decides to occupy one or two of these rooms, it opens the door for us to juice up a share from their sales. Similarly, fitness brands can conduct their classes in our clubs (if we open one) because it will comprise of the same target segment that they are also trying to reach," he adds.
Constructing a new trend
A close familiarity that fostered over 20 years, coupled with independent entrepreneurial experiences, brought Kotta and Attray to join forces and start up Square Plums last year. Kotta, who prior to this, was building SaaS-based solutions for the hospitality sector, saw a lot of innovation happening there, but they jointly decided not to chase the marketplace route where most of the industry was headed.
"We wanted to get into something where we would have better control over customer experience and where the ticket size would also be bigger," says Attray. "Most importantly, we wanted to draw upon an existing demand rather than manufacture one," he added.
As per the duo, there is no existing solution in the organized market for people relocating for a duration longer than 2-3 weeks. Coupled with opportunity that lies in leasing real estate over simply selling it after gauging market cyclicals or regulatory reasons, they felt the need to start Square Plums, counting their inventory in terms of the number of rooms that they keep.
"Time is money in this business because the sooner you can start collecting rent, the better. With 3 years going in building a property, we started looking at how we can accelerate delivery of supplies and that is when we decided to supplement it with container-homes," says Attray. "Customers also cannot tell the difference when they enter the rooms, but it is only natural that they will want to know whether the benefits outweigh the risks that they are taking. So about 30% of our supply could come from this model, but our business remains the same for both," he adds.
Unlocking an exciting opportunity
Square Plums raised a small seed round of funding from Indian Angel Network (IAN) in August last year and just completed a Series A round. Currently available only in Bangalore, it will soon look to onboard more properties in cities like Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi-NCR.
"I have dabbled in many startups before and come to the realization that the biggest challenge for any business is to find the customer. That is not the case with this business," says Attray. "And once you get the first mover advantage, it becomes difficult for a new player to disrupt it, unless their product is significantly better. We are hoping that 10-15 years from now, this will look like a no-brainer, like it did with something like Naukri. This is what we hope to achieve," he adds.
The company has grown 10x since it first started off and now it is profitable, with business running in just one city.
Finally, as curiosity conquered constraint, why the name Square Plums?
"We wanted a very neutral name and not have our users confuse it with a 'myroom' or a 'bookyourroom' or the like. Also, a square can be translated to mean a room and we also wanted it to sound plush," says Attray. "But most importantly, the domain name was available," he adds sheepishly.
