CEO Elaine Tsung disrupts traditional office industry with co-working spaces

By Han Yoon-ji

When Elaine Tsung bursts into the conference room, the first thing one notices is her impeccable style.

Sporting a silver lame bomber jacket ― “COS,” she later whispers conspiratorially to me ― and flared black pants that swish with each stride, she might have you think she's just come from directing a photo shoot, or from curating an art exhibit. But Tsung commands a different ship.

She is the founder and CEO of Garage Society, a co-working space in Hong Kong. Started in 2014, Garage Society has expanded rapidly, with four distinct “garages” within Hong Kong and seven across Asia.

Contrary to her artsy pixie cut and bubbly demeanor, Tsung's first job was in investment management. Despite the good money and prestige of the job, she quit after five years. “I don't want to be a screw in a big machine, because, well, it's not fun,” she says with a grin during our interview. “I want to be the one operating that machine.”

Tsung started a food import business called European Gourmet ― she loves eating and drinking ― before leaving the company and turning toward real estate. This would prove to be the launch pad for her career in co-working.

“It was a bit of a coincidence,” she said. “I met an investor who was looking into co-working spaces in Asia and that's when I was invited to join the Hive as a founding director. After three years, I wanted to start my own co-working space, and that's how Garage Society began.”

But what is co-working and why is it booming in so many cities? The premise of a co-working space is simple: A company rents out a shared office space for businesses and individuals to work in. They often also offer perks for their members, from social events to discounts at nearby shops and restaurants.

“Garage Society is a platform that aims at serving a wider community, from startups to international tech companies, SMEs (small and medium enterprises) and local businesses,” explains Tsung. “It's designed to be a space for an exchange of ideas, a community for freelancers and smaller companies who don't have the immediate community found in a large corporate workspace.”

When it comes to deciphering the popularity of co-working spaces, Tsung cites two primary factors. The first is the tough real estate conditions in cities like Hong Kong ― the most expensive city in the world, with a 95 percent occupancy rate for prime commercial property. This makes it more difficult for smaller companies and individuals to find office spaces. (“It's a pain in the ass,” she whispered to me.)

“People don't want to deal with crazy fees and difficult landlords in this supply-driven market, and co-working spaces do all that for them, providing an efficient solution to their problem,” Tsung says. “That's why Hong Kong's particularly expensive and at times difficult real estate market actually provides more opportunities for co-working spaces to thrive.”

The second factor is the influx of Millennials into the workplace, which is rapidly changing the industry structure around the world.

“The traditional work culture in Hong Kong is very corporate, very finance, with a lot of investment banks and the like,” Tsung says. “The older generation had limited choices, and many worked in these traditional corporate jobs because they needed to survive. They needed money. But because people have more freedom now, you see more freelancers, creatives and people working in startups. And these people want something different, something fun. They want more than just a bricks-and-mortar space. They want a community.”

Community is so important, in fact, that Tsung made it a central pillar of her business. Garage Society has designed several unique programs for its members, from Garage Academy, which offers regular panels and workshops, to Garage Jobs, a recruiting platform. Garage Capital Partner is their investment arm, where they ― and sometimes other members ― invest in strategic business venture ideas.

“So we're providing not only physical and financial capital, but intellectual and human capital as well. You have this incredible cross-pollination of ideas and capital, creating a huge communal network,” she explains, her eyes lit up.

But it's not just all work and no play, even for the effervescent CEO of a rapidly growing company. After a long day of back-to-back meetings and endless streams of emails, Tsung unwinds by cuddling her dog, a 14-year-old mutt named Pei Pei. “She's ugly, but I love her,” she laughs.

Korean dramas are another way for her to de-stress. “The actors are so beautiful and I love their fashion,” she exclaims, pulling up Netflix on her phone to show me a couple she's been binging on ― “Legend of the Blue Sea” and “Romance is a Bonus Book.”

Tsung's passion is clear as she speaks, her gold hoop earrings swinging back and forth. But while she makes running a successful business look easy, it's been anything but, especially as a female entrepreneur.

“Women in Hong Kong are lucky, in that the city is relatively more developed in terms of gender equality compared to other countries,” she says. “That said, we're only equal up to a certain point. The glass ceiling is still there.

“As a female founder, for example, it's tougher for us to raise money. Investors see a young woman and they ask, 'Are you going to have kids?' and 'Won't you have to stay at home to take care of your family?' I understand where they're coming from, but you wouldn't ask those questions to a male founder.”

Tsung's ambition and passion have gotten her this far and she doesn't plan on stopping now. Garage Society recently opened three new locations in India, and the company aims to have more than 20 garages in the Asia region, including Korea and China, by the end of the year.

“We need more disruptors at a senior level,” Tsung says. “We need more heroines. We need more female founders, more female professionals who are able to break the ground and tell the world that we are as good, if not better, than men. Then the conception will change and that's how we create a fairer world.”

Her characteristically easy smile slips, just for a moment.

“But I think we still have a way to go.”