Fighting to Belong: Building Places Where Everyone Can with Vibushan Thirukumar

Coworking Values Podcast

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Fighting to Belong: Building Places Where Everyone Can with Vibushan Thirukumar

What if the place you built was the one you needed growing up?

Bernie J Mitchell

Jul 01, 2025

Transcript

"It comes from being told no, being told to reduce yourself, and working for people who don't give a shit about your future, your culture, or the environment, or your community. And it comes from that place of, Fuck me, we have got to start doing something about this now."

Vibushan Thirukumar doesn't mince words.

The co-founder and CEO of Oru Space carries the weight of displacement, the memory of bunkers and burnt houses, and the fury of watching brilliant people conform to spaces that weren’t designed for them.

This isn’t a founder story about scaling and exits.

It’s a raw, essential conversation about what happens when someone who fled war as a toddler, grew up angry in Berrylands, and failed university at 21, decides to build places where no one has to shrink themselves to fit in.

Vibushan talks about what it means to create genuine belonging, not as a marketing slogan, but as a form of resistance.

About why coworking is becoming a property play for landlords and what it takes to hold the line.

About spending locally, designing for diversity, and taking a stand on Gaza while others stay silent.

We move from the Sri Lankan civil war to Sutton High Street.

From racist neighbours to 45,000 square feet of community. From anger to purpose.

From military metaphors to the language of care. From algorithmic distraction to human connection.

This episode is for anyone who’s been told to reduce themselves—and chose not to.

For anyone trying to build something real in their local area without losing their soul in the process.

And for anyone wondering what coworking could still be.

🕰️ Timeline Highlights

[00:06] Bernie introduces Unreasonable Connection – a networking event for people who hate networking

[01:10] Vibushan introduces himself as co-founder of Oru Space, with 60 staff and 700 members across workspace and programs.

[02:02] “I’d like to be known for not shying away from the discomfort and difficulties of being a first-generation person”

[04:43] The source of Oru’s "Wakanda energy" – being told no and deciding to act anyway

[06:00] "The coworking industry used to be purposeful. Now it’s becoming a property play."

[07:13] Coworking as local economy: know your neighbours, stop commuting for no reason

[09:41] Born in Trincomalee during the war, fleeing to the UK at two years old

[12:51] The council flat years – the happiest time, full of real community

[14:45] Suburban racism, school alienation, growing up angry

[16:46] The 21-year-old realisation: "My life is shit. I’ve achieved nothing."

[23:45] “We don’t ask you to reduce yourself” – the design philosophy behind Oru

[26:17] Why language matters: from ‘acquisition’ to actual community

[27:07] Taking a stand on Gaza: "That could have been me"

[33:41] Technology as the real enemy: echo chambers, manipulation, distraction

[37:59] The solution is painfully simple: grow local, eat local, trade local

[38:26] Final reflections on hope, property, and building forward from belonging

🧱 Thematic Breakdown

The Tamil War Most People Don’t Know About

Vibushan was born during Sri Lanka’s civil war, under British-induced divisions that left generations scarred.

His family’s escape—hiding in bunkers while their home burned—began a lifelong journey of seeking safety and voice.

From Council Flat Joy to Suburban Exile

The Kingston council flat was a real community. Berrylands wasn’t.

As soon as his family stepped into a whiter, wealthier suburb, things got harder: racism, silence, cold neighbours, and school staff who saw less in him than was there.

What Language Does to Belonging

What happens when you train staff to think in terms like "acquisition" instead of “neighbour”? The words we use shape how we see people—and how we treat them. Especially in coworking.

When It’s Not Just Business

This isn’t theory. Oru raised money for Gaza, cut suppliers complicit in destruction, and built infrastructure-level support into its operations. It’s not easy. It’s necessary.

Belonging By Design

Some spaces are built to flatten you. Some let you be anonymous. Others—like Oru—let you arrive and not know who you’re supposed to be. That disorientation is a gift: it gives people permission to be themselves.

Real Neighbours, Real Community

Forget the startup showroom. When you spend £1 locally, it circles four times through your community. When you spend it with a chain, it’s gone. Belonging is economic, not just emotional.

🧠 One More Thing

Coworking brings communities together, helping people find and share their voices.

Each episode of the Coworking Values Podcast explores Accessibility, Community, Openness, Collaboration, and Sustainability — values that shape the spaces where we gather, work, and grow.

If this resonates with you, rate, follow, and share the podcast. Your support helps others discover how coworking enriches lives, builds careers, and strengthens communities.

Community is the key 🔑