When 91Springboard kicked off, nobody set out to build a coworking company. The plan was to launch an accelerator. But while they were still figuring out the funding, the founders did something simple, maybe even a little accidental. They just opened their doors to founders who needed a spot to work.

Out of the $150,000 they’d scraped together, they sank $100,000 into that first space. No fancy vision, no real estate dreams. A family friend handed them a garage in South Delhi, free for a year. Honestly, it was a bit of a dump. They called it a bat cave, and that wasn’t a joke. Still, they got to work, cleaned it up, and somehow crammed in desks for 150 people.

It didn’t take long for the place to fill up. At one point, 169 people squeezed into that old garage. Founders kept turning up from all over Delhi, not because the place looked great or had perks, but because something was happening there. The energy was different. Ex-entrepreneurs, first-timers, freelancers, people just trying to figure things out, they showed up, pitched in, and started building momentum without anyone telling them to.

That’s when it clicked. The real value wasn’t the accelerator. It wasn’t the desks. It was the community.

Over time, that lesson just got clearer. At build3, the founders say it straight up: their biggest asset isn’t IP or fancy programs. It’s the community, people showing up on purpose, bringing their own spark. That same idea runs through the Startup EcoAshram too. The details changed, but the philosophy stuck.

This story matters. It explains why coworking works when it actually works. Spaces don’t magically spark collaboration. People do. And when you focus on the community instead of the square footage, the model grows naturally, across cities, across formats.

That’s why the need for affordable coworking spaces in Pune doesn’t feel like some new thing. Pune’s founders, freelancers, and hybrid workers aren’t looking for glossy offices. They want places with life, places that actually help them get things done. The lesson from 91Springboard’s early days fits perfectly. Don’t start with real estate. Start with people.

So, in the end, 91Springboard’s story isn’t really about coworking at all. It’s about what can happen when you give a community the space to form and then just let it be. Spaces don’t build communities. Communities build spaces.