Endrus Arge of Silen On Five Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career As A Commercial Designer

An Interview With Athalia Monae

…Community and quality social interaction take care and attention, and commercial design is a key part of that. A good example of this is parties, where very often the kitchen becomes the key place where everyone ends up. Why? Because for a variety of reasons, this is where relaxed and energizing excitement blooms the easiest. That said, you would never do your annual report in that kitchen during a party. For that, you would find the furthest and quietest room in the house for focus…

As a part of my series about the ‘Five Things You Need To Know To Create A Highly Successful Career As A Commercial Designer,’ I had the pleasure of interviewing Endrus Arge, CEO of Silen.

Endrus Arge is the Co-founder and CEO of Silen, with 25 years of experience in leading industrial companies. Seven years ago, while down with a terrible cold, he took a black pen and doodled a modular, soundproof, and adjustable office pod solution on a blank piece of paper. Today, those doodles have transformed into a thriving company, producing acoustic solutions that help people achieve focus, enhance their productivity, and improve their workspace experience in 60 countries across 6 continents. Starting from scratch, Silen’s market-leading office pods and privacy solutions are now favored by Fortune 500 companies around the world.

Thank you for joining us today! Can you share the story of what led you to pursue a career in commercial design?

Silen was born from a desire to redefine the concepts of focus, silence, and privacy for people working in noisy open offices. This concept is driven by the idea that the success of a product lies not in the beauty of the design, but in how much it enhances users’ lives in a place where many of us spend most of our waking hours. From that point of view, Silen goes beyond the conventional understanding of commercial design. Yes, our office pods and privacy solutions look beautiful, but their essence is the beauty of focus. Therefore, my team and I are less like designers and more like noise tamers, capturing focus where it is needed the most.

What’s the most interesting or amusing experience you’ve had in your career so far, and what lesson did you learn from it?

My favorite story is how Silen came to be. It happened behind my kitchen table while I was fighting a nasty cold. Doodling a modular, soundproof, and adjustable office pod solution with a black pen on a white piece of paper was my way to distract myself from how terrible I was feeling. It was in 2017. Today those doodles have become a thriving company producing products that help people achieve the best of their abilities in Fortune 500 companies around the world. Looking back, a case could be made that the common cold could be named as the fourth co-founder of Silen. The lesson in this for me is to embrace every moment, as success may lie in the most unexpected places.

Do you have a favorite life lesson quote? Can you share a story about how it has been relevant in your life?

Life has taught me that work is way too serious to be taken without a healthy dose of humor. I believe a lot of Silen’s success is also rooted in this approach. When we attend NeoCon, Orgatec, or other fairs, we’re there to have fun with like-minded people. Do we discuss business? Absolutely! But at Silen, business without passion and joy is unimaginable. We all know the saying ‘Work hard, play hard!’ Perhaps it’s because of the abundant access to all the office pods in the Silen Innovation Hub, but our team is committed to seeing work and play as a unified experience rather than separate endeavors.

As a successful business leader, which three character traits have been most crucial to your success? Can you share a story or example for each?

If there is a secret sauce to success, mine would probably have the following ingredients.

First, unwavering optimism for the future and new ideas. Second, viewing challenges as opportunities for new growth. Third, viewing responsibility as a source of motivation, not a burden. And I would actually add a fourth one as well, which is the ability to find joy in seeing and contributing to the growth of my team members over the years. The last one is also key for my personal growth.

As all of these traits are interwoven and work together, it is impossible to give an example of each of them individually. However, a great example where they all worked together was during the COVID-19 crisis. When the pandemic hit, Silen’s market was severely affected. With lockdowns in place, offices — our main clients — emptied out. Additionally, the wave of remote work changed the way people work and the workspace culture indefinitely. At a glance, this may have seemed like the end, but for us, it was actually a new beginning.

Instead of curling up in a corner, we decided to embrace the challenge and the changes it would bring. We started imagining the future post-pandemic. The fruits of our efforts were plenty. In 2020, we launched our budget-friendly Chatbox office pod series, transforming the design idea into the first product batch in an incredible two months. In 2021, we won our first NeoCon innovation award for our premium relaxation booth. In 2022, we won our second NeoCon innovation award for the world’s first wheelchair-accessible office pod range called Hybrid. And in 2023, we launched a revolutionary circular economy service for renting our market-leading privacy pods.

Of course, all of us would prefer that the COVID pandemic did not happen. But some things in life you can’t change. However, you can change how you approach it. Without embracing the new hybrid and employer health-focused ways of work culture that the pandemic brought about, Silen would not be where we are today. The innovations and discoveries made during that period have not only made Silen a known name in workspaces around the world but also sharpened our vision, which is poised to serve us for many years to come.

Can you describe a recent project you completed and what your specific contributions were?

As a founder and CEO, I find it important not to micromanage and to let Silen’s talented team do their thing. In fact, I measure my success by how little I am needed in the context of specific projects. Silen is not a one-rockstar show; it is a team sport. My role is to be the best coach on the sideline. It would be a bleak day for any team if the coach starts kicking goals. Thus, I am proud to say that at Silen, there is no contribution I can claim as solely my own. I, like everyone else at Silen, am part of a team, and as a team, we’ve made waves.

Recently, we successfully delivered probably the world’s largest single order of office pods to a US tech giant. We opened a permanent showroom at THE MART in Chicago. We won our fourth Best of NeoCon award for our innovative and sustainable solo work pod, Space 1.5, and were recognized as a HiP Awards Honoree for our acoustically enhanced room divider family, Bridges. These are just the first achievements that come to mind, but underneath, there are countless achievements at every level of what I regard as the world’s best team.

How do you approach balancing aesthetics and functionality in your designs?

In regards to aesthetics and functionality, Silen’s approach is and always will be user-first. What good is a beautiful office pod if it does not offer you focus, privacy, and comfort? This is where our design essence lies — design thinking. What do focus, privacy, and comfort mean? For sure, it means market-leading two-way noise reduction and comfortable furniture. But it also means endless and easy customization options when office design or needs change, easy assembly and disassembly when moving to a new office, hidden wheels for effortless relocation within the office, a minimum of double the standard fresh air flow within our pod, modularity for scaling up or down, a 20+ year lifespan, echo-free speech-optimized space, inclusive accessibility with wheelchairs and walking aids, and so much more. Of course, we want our pods and room dividers to also look good. That is a given. But to us, the look has to be the last in line once the user needs are 100% covered. Once again, what good is a pretty pod if it does not serve its function?

What is your design philosophy when it comes to commercial spaces?

There is only one functional design philosophy for commercial spaces — a holistic one — recognizing the diverse and dynamic needs of individuals. Workspaces should function as adaptable ecosystems, accommodating various tasks and preferences while balancing remote and in-person work, privacy, and collaboration.

That is why Silen has the world’s largest selection of privacy pods and acoustic solutions. When it comes to focus and privacy you need to address a wide range of needs, from quick phone calls to extended solo work, and from large team reviews to outdoor focus areas.

The design also needs to extend beyond privacy. This is the essence of our acoustically enhanced Bridges room divider range, promoting spontaneous meetings and inclusive huddle stations within open offices.

And the final piece of the puzzle is maximum flexibility. That is the reason why all Silen products are movable, modular, and customizable. This adaptability supports evolving teams and changing needs without the expense of renovations. At Silen Innovation Hub in Tallinn we reconfigure our workspace multiple times in a year to enhance productivity and well-being.

Ultimately, the goal is to create workspaces that evolve with their occupants, prioritizing mental health, productivity, and overall experience.

Where do you draw your inspiration for your designs?

Walking around the Silen Innovation Hub is one of the biggest sources of inspiration for me. It’s easy to see what products and their features people love and connect with, and what leaves them indifferent. You also spot problems that often can be solved with simple solutions like an occupancy light. Other times, these discoveries lead to totally new products, such as our latest Bridges Mobile acoustically enhanced room-dividing meeting module that you can roll around your workspace. But the design innovations that inspire me the most are the ones you don’t even see. A good example of this is the feature that all our office pods are echo-free and speech-optimized. While it may not sound all that exciting and you can’t see it when inside our office pods, the positive impact of it to how you are feeling during meetings and video calls is indescribable.

What strategies do you use to ensure your designs meet the needs of the end-users?

When it comes to an office pod or privacy solution, the end-user is always right. The product either improves your work life or it does not. In both cases, this information comes back to you one way or the other. We welcome this feedback with open arms, both good and bad. A case could be made that bad feedback is even more valuable for us. It’s great to live within awards and praise, but in that, you stop evolving. It is the hard truth that pushes you forward, and we love to seek it out from all our clients across 60 countries and 6 continents. Anyone who says their product is perfect is lying. Nothing can be perfect. Perfection is something one can endlessly strive towards. The only fuel needed on this journey is feedback from end-users. In this regard, we at Silen feel really lucky, as our products go through thorough testing on a daily basis across the globe. That gives us an opportunity to always be in direct conversation with our target audience. And that conversation is key, as there is no point in imagining your target audience or their needs.

How do you approach sustainability in your commercial projects?

Sustainability for Silen is in its DNA and is non-negotiable. Much like the pursuit of perfection, it is an endless journey towards NET ZERO. Like everything else at Silen, we approach this as a whole. Sustainability is not about relying on carbon offset programs and integrating sustainable materials here and there. True sustainability is an all-encompassing strategy where a product’s lifecycle is built sustainably from source materials to end of life and every part in between.

This is the approach Silen has adopted from the start. Yes, our products use only quality sustainable materials such as sustainably sourced wood and marine plastic fabric, but we want to go much deeper. While invisible to the naked eye, our core sustainability lies in the design thinking approach to how the product is built and used.

For example, we have the most prefabricated office pods and privacy solutions in the world. Sounds boring, right? But what it means is that it is easier and less wasteful to ship, assemble, disassemble for moving, and maintain. It also has no obsolescence technology that you would need to change over time. And whatever changes are needed will happen with ease. The Silen Dynamics refurbishing options offer endless snap-of-a-magnet changes of skins and trims. The same goes for furniture and the electrical plugs and wiring should you need to move to a region with different outlets. All of this adds up to a product that creates minimal waste and assures you a staggering 20+ year lifespan. Furthermore, the modular build as well as integrated wheels offer you a chance to change or move your workspace with minimal wear and tear to the surrounding built environment. So to us, sustainability is not only a flashy word in the context of our product, but we see it as a wider impact our products have around them.

To take these endeavors further, we have launched the Silen Zero program, seeking out even more ways to limit our impact or to turn it positive. This year at NeoCon, we actually created brand merch — Silen tote bags — out of leftover fabric from Silen products. It is exciting to see what else could be done on this continuous journey to a more sustainable world around us. And we at Silen are determined to be on the leading side of that conversation.

What impact do you think remote work and digital transformation will have on the design of commercial spaces?

As I described before, the pandemic has changed the way we work forever — for the better. It demolished the old ideas of what a workspace is or should be and introduced the idea of a smart, all-inclusive office. In order not to repeat myself, I would like to add to the ideas I mentioned earlier that the biggest transformation in workspace culture is creating offices where no one has to be, but where they want to be. I love the approach Airbnb took on this matter, which was that it is not about on-location first or remote first — it’s flexibility first. I not only echo this statement but can confirm it based on what we see on the sales side. The demand for our products has not gone down, but up. The need for focus and privacy has not disappeared. However, the way, where, and how it is needed has changed. And we cater to that changing world, evolving our offering as workspace culture moves into the new era of flexibility.

What are the five things you believe are essential for creating a highly successful career in commercial design?

My five essentials would be the following:

1. The ability to think outside of the box.

2. A strong, technically capable team behind you.

3. Patience and perseverance in building your ideas into reality.

4. The ability to sell your ideas.

5. Luck.

Here as well, you need all the essentials to find success. For better or for worse, none of them on their own will cut it. You can be the most innovative, determined, sales-savvy team leader, but without luck, you may see no success. And yet, you could be the luckiest person in the world, but without a way to use this luck to your advantage, you will end up with empty hands. All of these features above have built Silen into what it is today. And much like all the features, strategy, and concept around the product, they work holistically here for moving towards success. That said, it is equally important to note that even if you have the aforementioned five elements on your side, one must not rest on laurels. As soon as that happens, the essential pillars of success are sure to fall like a house of cards.

What role do you think commercial design plays in community building and social interaction?

The short answer is everything. It is funny how common it still is to think that community happens on its own. That you just take a bunch of individuals, squeeze them into one space, and expect fruitful interaction to bloom on its own. Community and social interactions are much more like building a garden. There, you’d never throw different plants and vegetables aimlessly around and expect to have a great yield. But in workspaces, it is often still the case.

Community and quality social interaction take care and attention, and commercial design is a key part of that. A good example of this is parties, where very often the kitchen becomes the key place where everyone ends up. Why? Because for a variety of reasons, this is where relaxed and energizing excitement blooms the easiest. That said, you would never do your annual report in that kitchen during a party. For that, you would find the furthest and quietest room in the house for focus.

Approaching a commercial space and workspace with that in mind is key to successful design. A successful commercial space needs both a “kitchen” for laughter and relaxing, effortless interaction, and a focus space for crunching away on an annual report, and all the nooks and crannies in between. By designing the spaces from the get-go with that in mind, you will already be ahead of the curve compared to everyone else. And if you add the ability and openness to be flexible in changing the space based on how people use it and how to increase the flow of meaningful social interactions and sense of community, you are invincible.

Given your influence, if you could inspire a movement to bring the best results and solutions to the greatest number of people, what would it be? You never know what impact your idea might have!

When we launched Silen six years ago, our goal was to enhance one product for our clients in a single country. Today, there are tens of thousands of Silen office pods distributed across 60 countries spanning 6 continents. Looking ahead, if I were to think ambitiously, by 2030 we aim to enhance the lives of at least a million people through our products.

How can our readers follow your work online?

You will find all the market-leading Silen office pods and privacy solutions on our website at silen.com. And if you have any questions at all, our team is promptly at your service, wherever you are!

Thank you for your time and excellent insights! We wish you continued success.

About the Interviewer: Athalia Monae is a product creator, published author, entrepreneur, advocate for Feed Our Starving Children, contributing writer for Entrepreneur Media, and founder of Pouches By Alahta.