Nihar Manwatkar
Clay’s more than just a place to work’
A co-working
space set in an old Portuguese villa in Goa, with the beach just a few minutes’
walk away. Sounds like a dream place for anyone from Millennials and Zoomers to
us older folks, whatever our connection with the creative universe, looking to
make the most of remote working. Nihar Manwatkar, founder of Clay,
takes Sharad Kohli through the journey
Q How
did you come up with the Clay concept? What was the inspiration?
A It really started as a
need. Maybe as a little bit of an experiment too. I’ve personally been a remote
worker since 2015. I started a design consultancy firm back then called The Banana Design Collective, and from day one had a
vision to keep the consultancy remote-friendly. It’s a trend that I’d seen had
gained some traction outside India, so figured I’d try it out here too. Close
to a decade ago, remote-working seemed, well, like a remote dream. A series of
some very fortunate events led me to make Goa my home for (what back then was
supposed to be) a very short time; a few months, in fact. In that time, as I
started operating my business out of coffee shops and bars—and sometimes
sea-facing shacks—I realised that the infrastructure, for someone who really t
very reliable. The Internet kept seeing downtime, there were power surges and
power outages, and loud music and people—all this made it a little difficult at
times to feel like, and even come across as, a serious professional. So, I
decided to search for a studio for my design firm and in that hunt stumbled
upon this glorious 95-year-old Portuguese villa in the middle of one of the
most popular villages in Goa, Anjuna. Budgets worked out but the space was way
too large. So, we decided to put in a few more tables and chairs and ask some
friends who we made along the way to come work out of the space. Need was our
inspiration.
Q Of course, this is
more than just a co-working space, as your tagline, ‘Do More’, indicates—what
‘more’ does Clay offer to the community?
A While we started
purely as a co-working space, we realised over time that we have some amazing
folks spending almost their entire days, weeks, even months here with us.
Through observation we realised there were so many things we could help them with:
Nutritious food, reminders to drink water, good coffee, good break-time
activities, networking opportunities through events and meet-ups, etc. For us,
our DO MORE tagline really translates into enabling our members to consider
Clay to be more than just a place to work; it’s a place to grow out of and
become more than what you were. A weekly open mic that happens every Thursday
has become an extremely successful and sought-after event where members and
non-members (walk-ins) use the stage to share thoughts and feelings through
song, poetry, comedy and even just a chat. To facilitate more meet-ups and
casual hangs, we also created a secret bar in the backyard and called it The
Shed—because we actually built it inside a shed! The bar, over two years old
now, has its own brand following and its own vibe in the evenings.
Q Too few co-working
spaces have tapped into the collaborative potential of the concept—where and
how does collaboration fit into the Clay template?
A We interpret
collaboration not as people coming together just to work, but coming together
to grow as individuals through conversations and shared experiences. While we
have an active WhatsApp group which over 400-plus people use almost daily, to keep
sharing both local and work-related requirements, for us collaboration happens
when people get together at the space and decide to pursue pottery together, or
start a small music project, or perhaps a social endeavour. As for
collaboration through work, truth be told, there are far more evolved solutions
and softwares that exist that can allow people today to get discovered for
their skills and subsequently join forces. We have no plans on competing with
them!
Q It’s great to see
Clay prioritising the mental well-being of the community—share what you guys
are doing to ensure that everyone in this space is fit enough in mind and body
to be able to contribute to the best of their abilities, individually and
together…
A By access, and by
creating an environment where honesty, vulnerability and openness are upheld
daily. By access here, we mean access to therapists, movement experts, Yoga and
breathwork facilitators, meditation experts, stargazing communities, fitness
groups, and so much more. We even have a plan listed on our website called the
Desk & Destress plan which gives you a full day of work at Clay plus
full-body massage for 45-60 minutes at our neighbours-vetted Ayurvedic Kerala
Massage parlour. Imagine wrapping up your week’s tasks on a Friday evening,
getting a full-body tune-up by a highly-trained professional (leaving your
entire body just so relaxed), after which you go and catch the sunset near the
beach to call it a week!
Q How crucial is it
for Clay to curate a schedule of events and activities that caters to everyone
in the community, and keeps them creatively and mindfully engaged?
A Very. It’s almost a lifeline.
And this is something we strongly promote as an advice to any of our community
builders in Goa. Clay, being so accessible and open, can really be used by
anyone who’s looking to start a group of people who connect around a central
subject, be it Mycelium, Permaculture, Microgreens, Birdwatching, Board Games,
Improv, Figma Design communities—you name it. The only key here is consistency.
It’s got to happen regularly, at least once a week. Open mic is an excellent
live example of how, almost two-and-a-half years ago, a small community of
performers got together every Thursday just to play. We had nine people in the
audience the first time we did it. Today we get over 80-150 people almost every
Thursday to experience this.
Q And how important was it for
you that Clay embrace a diverse menu that combines nutrition and
deliciousness?
A If someone is spending
over four-five hours of their time at a space working, I feel it’s the space’s
responsibility to ensure they get well nourished. The absence of a
well-thought-through balanced menu or lunch plans is honestly almost in the same
territory as gross negligence. To not care about your patrons and their
well-being because one feels their relationship with them is over after they’ve
taken a desk and paid for the day, is probably the same dark side of capitalism
that many don’t relate to. Having good food, good coffee, good lunches, and
great juices and smoothies, is almost as important as having a good functioning
AC.
Q Also, you’re quite proud of
your range of artisanal brews, and your coffee ‘programs’! So, what is so
special about Clay’s coffee bar?!
A That we went back into
the textbooks, read, learnt it through experts in the field, spoke with them,
took their advice and then created something that we are absolutely proud of.
We not only provide artisanal espressos but also a collection of hand-brewed
coffees (AeroPress, Pour Overs, French Press), along with my grandfather’s
filter-coffee recipe. I mean, work without a good cup of coffee is just
unfathomable to me—and now by extension, everyone who comes to Clay as well!
Q What are the rates for the
different plans and packages, and how did you arrive at these?
A Observation and
constant feedback from our members. We started off with a basic day plan with
your first day free. Over four years and having serviced thousands of people,
we realised everyone’s requirements were unique but could still be fitted in
categories. So, we studied their behaviour, figured out what they needed and
arrived at this pay-as-you-go model where your first hour is free, then +2
hours is for Rs.199/- and full day is for Rs.399/- (offseason rates will be
corrected when the season starts). Also, another important aspect was us
realising that most cafés and spaces aren’t really a big fan of people with
laptops—’cause you end up giving away a full table to someone who’s really just
going to have a cup of coffee, and a food/snack, but occupy that seat for the
whole day. And for a business that depends on a high churn rate where more
people can and should come to eat/drink, a locked seat is loss of revenue. We
figured out a hack for this by splitting our desks so co-workers can share
them, creating pay-as-you-go plans and giving them 20% discounts on the menu to
incentivise them further to consume more from our menu. This technically makes
us one of the more expensive co-working spaces in Goa, but we like how it
filters out our audience for us.
Q Finally, is Clay an
extension or a reflection of Nihar Manwatkar’s personality?!
A Not entirely but I
guess I’d be lying if I said certain values I hold dear aren’t a part of Clay’s
core fabric. Values such as respect, safety, ethics and being kind to strangers
are really core to everyone who works at Clay, and it’s what I truly believe
has created a loyal brand following for us.
Nihar’s favourites:
Comfort food Sabzi-Roti,
Daal-Chawal
Coffee Clay’s Iced Café Mocha
with Almond Milk
Alcoholic drink The Passionita at The
Shed (Clay’s backyard bar)
Hobbies Reading, Creating
Music, Cooking
Music Everything that
happened in rock from the 1960s onward
Films Sci-Fi, Biographies,
Period Dramas
Book ‘Freakonomics’ (Steven
Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner), ‘Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance’
(Robert M. Pirsig), ‘The Psychology of Money’ (Morgan Housel)… really, the list
is quite long!
