A Startup Coworking Tour of Asia

For some, the entrepreneurial dream is raising millions of dollars in funding and working tirelessly towards that $100 million exit scenario. For others, the dream is building something sustainable that you and a small team can be proud of while having fun at work and answering to nobody except yourselves.

This post is for the latter group.

Coworking is how many startups begin life. It's a big step up from the noisy and unpredictable nature of working at Starbucks, but doesn't come with the commitment and overhead of renting a whole office. Asia is fast becoming a hotbed of coworking spaces, which got me thinking...

If I were to cowork in a different country each month in Asia, what would that look like and how much would it cost?

If you've ever dreamed of taking your startup on the road for inspiration and amazing experiences, here's how you could make that happen.

For consistency, I've converted all prices to US$.

Singapore

Singapore is known as Asia 101. It's a geographical crossroads where Chinese, Malay, Indian and a whole bunch of other ethnicities co-exist. It's modern, clean, everyone speaks English and while accommodation can be expensive, food is cheap. It's also an excellent place to start your Cowork in Asia tour, as budget airlines such as Air Asia fly from Singapore to dozens of different regional destinations daily.

The Singapore Central Business District at night.

Tasty street food such as Chicken Rice can be had for around US$3 per plate.

If you have cash to burn on nightlife, Singapore has you pretty well covered from US$5 per glass casual wine bars such as Wine Connection to more extravagant US$20 per drink bars and nightclubs such as Avalon (above). There's also a rampant champagne-buying culture in Singapore...

Singapore also has a beach nearby at Tanjong Beach, where you can soak up some sun and go for a swim. There is a small fee (a few dollars) to get into Sentosa where the beach is located.