A visionary leader and trailblazer, Sunil Thakur is the key driving force behind Livstations Home Services Private Limited, where he leads the charge in reimagining the future of urban living in India. With a deep understanding of the evolving needs of modern professionals, spanning tech start-ups, marketing, healthcare, and adult care, Sunil is spearheading Livstations’s mission to create premium, tech-enabled, and eco-friendly living spaces that foster community, convenience, and well-being.
The Key Inspiration behind Livstations’ Incorporation
Sunil’s entrepreneurial journey began with a drive to start his venture, driven by his experience working in a start-up founded by HealthKart’s founding team members. The experience gave him a well-rounded understanding of what it takes to build something from scratch and the confidence to pursue his aspirations. Initially, Livstations was launched as a product company focused on real estate, but after realizing the market wasn’t ready, Sunil pivoted to co-living spaces. By leveraging the lessons learned while working with real estate agencies, agents, and end-users, Sunil distilled these insights into Livstations and created unique solutions for addressing the urban people’s needs.
The Core Values behind Livstations’ Success
Sunil’s decision-making is driven by several values that shape the company’s direction. These values include customer centricity, where customers are at the heart of everything they do, driving direction, and innovation. He also prioritizes long-term thinking, focusing on sustainable growth over short-term gains to build a business that endures. The company’s adaptability in a dynamic market enables it to seize opportunities and stay ahead. Further, Livstations’ empowers its people to accelerate progress and fosters a strong culture.
Building Resilience: Amid Entrepreneurial Challenges
Sunil says resilience is like a muscle that builds over time through experience and consistent effort. The sooner you start developing it, the better equipped you’ll be to handle the ups and downs of entrepreneurship. As a founder, patience is also crucial, as your mindset sets the tone for the entire team. Much like a ship relies on its captain, the journey of a start-up depends heavily on the composure and clarity of its leadership.
Definition of Success as a Founder
For Sunil, success has a consistent definition. To him, success means creating happy customers, achieving sustainable business growth, and ensuring the personal and professional development of Livstations’ team members along the way.
This definition has remained unchanged since founding Livstations, highlighting the significance of customer satisfaction, sustainability, and team growth.
Operationalizing the Core Values
Sunil ensures core values are operationalized through a clear framework. These frameworks place the core values at the centre of everything Livstations does, guiding decision making and action across all properties. This clarity enables the company to consistently deliver on its promises and provide a seamless experience for its residents.
What Makes Livstations Stand Out?
Livstations stands out in India’s co-living and managed rental market due to its unique approach. Sunil’s aspiration is focused on being hands-on and in control of every aspect of the resident experience.
By building in-house capabilities across all key touchpoints like housekeeping, food, and laundry services, Livstations ensures higher quality and consistency. This end-to-end ownership creates a more integrated and seamless living experience for residents that truly differentiates Livstations.
Fostering a Strong Internal Culture
To build a strong internal culture, Livstations focuses on listening to residents, understanding their needs, and creating a sense of community in every property. With this, Livstations ensures that every tenant feels heard, supported, and at home, even as the company grows and expands to new regions.
Measuring Operational Success and Resident Satisfaction
Sunil and his team at Livstations track key metrics to assess operational success and resident satisfaction. Their main focus is on three indicators: Net Promoter Score (NPS), Average Tenancy Period, and Turnaround Time (TAT) for service tickets. These indicators provide a clear picture of resident satisfaction and operational efficiency, allowing Livstations to consistently maintain some of the best benchmarks in the industry.
The Evolution of Sunil’s Leadership Style: Over the Years
As Livstations grew from a simple idea to a scaled business, Sunil’s leadership style has evolved. At the core of his approach is a problem-solving mindset, a fundamental part of entrepreneurship. Over time, Sunil has learned to stay open to suggestions from his team, embracing the idea that the best solution should always win, regardless of where it comes from. A key takeaway for him has been that learning is a continuous process, and it is knowledge that truly empowers you to solve bigger problems. process.
The Post-COVID Evolution in India’s Co-Living Market
The Indian co-living market has experienced a strong resurgence post-COVID, driven largely by the rise of hybrid work. According to Sunil, the market has grown at a CAGR of 17%, fuelled by young professionals and remote workers seeking flexible, well-managed living spaces.
These individuals are exploring the spaces that offer both comfort and work-friendly environments. In response, co living operators are focusing on better amenities, hygiene, and tech-enabled services. As a result, the market is moving away from informal PG setups toward more organized, community-driven co-living models that prioritize experience, convenience, and long-term value for urban millennials and working professionals.
Shifting Lifestyle Expectations of Urban Working Professionals
Urban working professionals are driving a seismic shift in housing preferences, with over 68% of millennials and Gen Z renters preferring managed co-living spaces. They value “time and convenience” over owning a home, with 72% prioritizing lifestyle over liabilities. The demand for hassle free, experience-centric living is growing, with co-living operators allocating 30% of rental premiums to curated experiences. About 1 in 3 urban renters choose co-living for its “community and social perks.” With 82% of India’s workforce under 45, this trend is expected to increase.
Navigating Regulatory Frameworks for Growth
Regulatory frameworks and local governance play a major role in Livstations’ expansion plans. Sunil notes that the lack of a single-window clearance system creates operational challenges for managing multiple properties. The recent 18% GST on residential rentals has also had a temporary impact on growth, with industry reports indicating a 10-15% short-term demand dip. However, occupancy rates stabilized within 6-8 months. Despite these challenges, Livstations is confident that as policies mature, growth will accelerate, similar to other emerging sectors.
Words of Wisdom: Unlocking Opportunities
For professionals looking to enter real estate tech, Sunil highlights the vast potential for innovation in India’s real estate sector. As the second-largest employment generator, contributing ~7.3% to GDP, the industry goes through major inefficiencies in buying and renting a home, remaining surprisingly inefficient. This gap provides the opportunity to transform the industry. The challenges of f inding or leasing a property underscore the need for digital disruption, making it an ideal space for entrepreneurs and innovators.
Defining a Successful Entrepreneur in India
Sunil believes successful entrepreneurs in India today possess a unique blend of qualities. The two major traits that stand out are perseverance and future-readiness. Perseverance allows entrepreneurs to explore India’s complex business realm, where future-readiness enables them to anticipate trends in the fast-evolving digital economy.
The Long-term Vision of Livstations: Road Ahead
Livstations is already a lifestyle brand; we’re now expanding our ecosystem to redefine premium living experiences. Building on our strong brand equity, we’re soon going to launch an executive class short-stay concept – a natural extension of our commitment to curated, high-quality living spaces that cater to modern professionals’ evolving needs.
The Significance of Co-living in Smart Cities and Urban Housing
According to Sunil, co-living is a natural evolution of urban living, founded on the principle of convenience. He believes that co living spaces have emerged as a distinct asset class, delivering consistently higher yields for investors. Purpose-built properties designed for co-living are on the rise, demonstrating the model’s potential to shape the future of smart cities and urban housing solutions.
Creating a Lasting Legacy
Sunil’s hope for Livstations’ legacy is clear: to be remembered as the most trusted and dependable brand in co living. For him, true success isn’t about size but about building a reputation that residents and partners can rely on. That’s the legacy Livstations strives to create every day under Sunil’s dynamic leadership.