Problem: For nomad workers who travel frequently or individuals who would rather live in a variety of locations rather than one location, one of the most inefficient and un-optimized costs is housing. Inspiration for this idea include Nikita Bier’s tweets, Anthony Avedissian’s Substack writing, and Levels.io .
Solution: This business would create a subscription platform for people to pay per month to access housing around the world in designated locations. Rather than paying rent for one apartment or having to put up money to buy a home, this platform would allow you to live anywhere in the world or perhaps even buy property in (and live in) a global portfolio of real estate. It’s almost like live-able REITs.
So how do we know that this wouldn’t just be a fad? Well according to Anthony Avedissian there seem to be several trends at play:
Technology has enabled remote work
Societal values have shifted away from ‘ownership culture’. Not everyone wants to own a home or car - renting and ride-sharing are viable options
People’s networks are increasingly internationally diverse
People are living longer and are healthier for longer
Rising house prices and rental shortages in the world’s most desirable locations has limited affordable housing
People want to collect ‘experiences’ and ‘memories’, not just ‘stuff’
As he continues to argue,
I believe there’s a huge opportunity in co-living and co-working spaces. Personally, I’d love to see something between Soho House and a modern hostel… “Your annual membership to high-quality co-living and co-working spaces across the world. With added elements for health, wellness, spirituality, community and education. Free gyms, regular events and more.” That’s why, this week, I searched to find exactly that. I built a Google Sheet with 34 coliving/coworking spaces across the world.
Unfortunately (or perhaps, unsurprisingly) this idea has been tried many, many times. Startups like Bungalow, Bluebook Cities, Creator Cabins, and Praxis Society have all attempted to create live-in communities with varying levels of success. As Bluebook argues, “In the 20th century, we lived where we had to work. In the 21st century, we will work where we want to live.” The founder of Creator Cabins, similarly, writes
It's not the place that matters, it's the density of creative ideas and interesting people. When I think about where I meet interesting people, it’s increasingly not in a physical place at all. It’s on Twitter threads and Discord channels and WhatsApp groups… For now, it's a place to get together IRL with your internet friends. In the future, I hope it becomes one node in a network of decentralized properties, owned and operated by small groups of independent online creators and entrepreneurs. The density of creative energy of San Francisco or New York, but wherever and whenever you want it to be. If you were designing a 21st century city from scratch, why would you put it all in one place?
While this thesis seems amazing, many argue that it has fundamental flaws to subscription global living.
Synthesized, there seem to be a few problems:
Coliving economics don’t usually add up: they actually become extremely expensive for the participants in order to break even.
The affordable coliving locations are not always the most popular locations (again due to real estate prices).
Real estate doesn’t scale like software and isn’t a venture capital type of business
Nonetheless, the remote work market is growing and trends are following suit. Currently, 70% of all workers telecommute and it’s estimated that 50% of the workforce will be remote by 2020. Moreover since 2005, the remote workforce has grown by 140%. In the next 15 years, could the same thing conceivably happen again? Finally, as DoughRoller breaks down, digital nomads can save up to $7,000 per year (or more!)
Monetization: Selling subscriptions to the service.
Contributed by: Michael Bervell (Billion Dollar Startup Ideas)