Do you work from home and get tired of being in the same spot every day? Or wish you could pop out to a cafe or gallery to work remotely to mix things up?

Look no further, WFHere is a new community-driven platform which is looking to revolutionize working from everywhere.  

We spoke to founders, Polly Wong and Periklis Maraveilas, to find out more about their plans and what makes their platform different.

What is WFHere? 

WFHere is a community-driven platform that connects local businesses with vacant spaces to remote workers. Our mission is to maximise the sustainable use of vacant spaces while meeting the growing demand for remote work environments.  

This creates a win-win situation for our local ecosystem, enabling everyone to perform their best work together. 

Tell us a bit about the team? 

Polly Wong, Co-Founder of WFHere 

I founded WFHere after witnessing a wave of local businesses struggling to recover post-pandemic. As a remote worker for four years, I often needed a place to work outside of my home. Discovering a local eatery that welcomed remote workers, I realised it was a brilliant way for businesses to gain footfall and for remote workers to find alternative workspaces. This made me question why more businesses weren’t tapping into this emerging market and why it was so difficult to find such options online. 

Periklis Maravelias, Co-Founder of WFHere 
 
I shared similar experiences to Polly, often struggling to find suitable spaces to work outside of my home. When I eventually found an alternative workspaces online, the user experience was often subpar. The information was fragmented and the discovery process was not cohesive. As an experienced software engineer, I recognised the potential to create a better solution, so I decided to join forces with Polly to co-found WFHere. 

Give us a brief overview of your company? 

WFHere leverages geolocation technology to identify nearby work-friendly places and ‘off-grid’ options for remote workers.  

For businesses, WFHere serves as a powerful promotional platform and a new revenue stream. Local businesses can build a loyal customer base by tapping into the growing remote-working market. This innovative approach allows both users and businesses to find solutions that fit their needs without long-term commitments to renting office spaces or letting out vacant areas that might disrupt core operations. 

What makes you excited about the problem you are solving? 

The rise of remote working has created an increased demand for alternative workspaces, which coincides with the availability of many underutilised local spaces. This intersection presents a unique opportunity to support local businesses and provide remote workers with diverse, flexible work environments that aim to connect. 

Why did you choose the Geovation Scotland accelerator programme? 

Geovation Scotland is an excellent fit for us because we want to benefit from expertise in location data around Scotland. Additionally, we are eager to be mentored by and collaborate with industry experts to enhance our business and better serve our community.  

At the same time, we hope to gain funding to help us prove our concept and later expand to the next city. 

What are your main goals for the accelerator programme? 

Our initial goal is to validate our concept with local businesses and our waitlist users. We aim to refine our solution using feedback and real-life usage data, ensuring we make improvements based on solid evidence. 

To achieve this, we want to extend a warm invitation to local businesses and community organisations keen on innovative ways to optimise vacant spaces and support remote work. We’re excited about the potential for collaboration and the shared innovation that can create vibrant, work-friendly communities. 

Next, we plan to form partnerships to launch our platform, gain valuable insights from industry experts, and leverage the Geovation Scotland network to secure our next round of funding.  

In the long run, we aim to establish a strong foothold in the UK remote working market and use this as a springboard to expand into Europe. 

What does it mean to you / your team to be part of the Scottish tech startup community? 

Scotland’s tech ecosystem is continuing to grow. We are renowned for our creativity and resilience, making it the ideal launching pad for WFHere.  

We’re thrilled about the opportunity to play a role in this synergetic community and drive transformation towards the future of remote workspaces. 

Lastly, being part of the Scottish tech startup community is truly rewarding. It feels surreal to be a part of such a nurturing environment for not only the growth of WFHere but also for our own development. 

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If you are a local business interested in WFHere you or remote working looking for new working spots, you can join the waitlist on their website (www.wfhere.app) or follow on LinkedIn or Instagram for updates.