Coworking Space Provider Friyey Shuts Down Due To Funding Crunch

Pune-based coworking space provider Friyey has become the latest startup to shut shop amid an ongoing funding crunch in the Indian startup ecosystem.

Friyey founder and CEO Yogesh Thore took to LinkedIn to announce the shutdown. “With mixed emotions, I share the news of the closure of Friyey, a venture that has been close to my heart for the past four years,” he wrote.

Speaking to Inc42, Thore said the funding crunch was one of the reasons that led to Friyey’s shutdown. He said that receiving investments for idea-based startups is more difficult than for product-based businesses in India.

Founded in 2019, Friyey took a unique approach to transform restaurants, pubs, and clubs into coworking spaces in the morning hours, when these places witness less footfall. 

Thore, in his social media post, said Friyey had over 500 restaurant partners and more than 24,000 remote workers accessing its spaces.

It is pertinent to note that Thore also pitched his startup recently on TV show Shark Tank India’s second season. 

As per the CEO, Friyey failed to create constant demand and its expenses were also much higher compared to the top line. In the absence of further external funding, shutting down was the most rational decision for the company right now.

In 2020, Friyey raised seed funding from angel investor Tarun Bhalla. 

“We tried to create the Airbnb of coworking and in the last four years, we have faced multiple ups and downs. The Covid-19 pandemic also came as a major hit to the business,” said Thore. 

The ongoing funding winter has forced many loss-making Indian startups to wind up operations. In 2022, eight Indian startups shut down, with five of them from the edtech sector. 

Friyey’s announcement comes almost a month after social media app Tiki also announced its decision to shut operations from June 28. Vernacular content platform Bluepad also shut shop in April this year.

Meanwhile, the funding winter refuses to loosen its grip on the Indian startup ecosystem. As per Inc42’s ‘Indian Tech Startup Funding Report H1 2023’, Indian startups raised $5.4 Bn in total funding in H1 2023 as against $19 Bn in the corresponding period of last year. The deal count also dropped to 462 in H1 this year from 617 in H2 2022 and 900 in H1 2022.