I love housing 22 startups under one roof.
I love witnessing (and participating in) the birth of new ideas.
I love having 80 people to vote on my new company name.
I love that we share snacks. I love that we share best business practices.
I love that people are willing to clean out the fridge every once in a while.
I love that we celebrate victories and get each other through hard times.
I love that our kickball team is on a 3 game winning streak.
I love that there are career opportunities sometimes 30 feet away.
I even love the nerf gun wars that my desk is perfectly in the middle of.
But here's full disclosure...fostering an environment of activity, brainstorming, and collaboration comes with a price: It can get noisy. There is a delicate balance (we haven't mastered it yet) of letting all this magic happen while also maintaining a noise level that others can work through (head phones recommended).
One interesting phenomenon is that some of the best seats in the house (near the windows, plenty of natural light, good access to the bathroom and kitchen) are avoided like the plague because they're too near the front entrance. Nobody wants to be mistaken for the receptionist. (Which we don't have.) With 22 companies, 5 conference rooms, and a speakeasy throughout our 2 floors, guests need to be pointed in the right direction. The problem is that on busy days that could easily mean 15+ interruptions...not ideal for productivity.
Here's our office's solution to not having a receptionist.
Top of mind is how can we help people find who they're looking for without constantly asking these guys...(note how the bike gets the sunniest, brightest view in the office)
