What to Do When Your Startup Outgrows the Label “Startup”
More Than Anything We’re Focusing on Talent
A Space Is as Important as the Community That Fills It
Our first office was located in a neighborhood shopping center in East Sacramento, sandwiched between a laundromat and beauty salon. It was 1000 square feet that held an arcade basketball hoop and six employees. It wasn’t fancy but it was more established than any garage or spare bedroom. In the beginning it felt palpable and certain.
When I left my real estate practice to start a software company, I went all in. And that’s the thing about 1000 square feet; as legit as our little office felt, going all in didn’t really seem like enough. It had a finite capacity and I wasn’t content with six employees and a basketball hoop.
In order to grow and attract more talent we needed a bigger space. We looked at six or seven different spaces until we came across this old brick building on the edge of downtown. It was the former headquarters for the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency—and being a real estate software company, the space seemed fitting.
Our new building had a ton of personality. It had exposed brick, raw wood, concrete floors, high ceilings, huge windows, and lots of nooks and crannies. We personalized it and made it our own. It was warm and inviting, and at 6500 square feet, it gave us an opportunity to grow.
Early Lessons and Creating Culture
Lately, I’ve been reminiscing about those early days, the environment we created and the lessons we learned.
Like when we thought it would be awesome to have a hot tub on the patio. Good thing we didn’t have HR back then! Honestly, I think the only people who actually used the hot tub were homeless people.
Despite our stupid hot tub idea, we did provide some other fun frills. Like any good startup, we had a ping-pong table. Some serious battles happened and the rivalry was fierce. Eventually the ping-pong table had to be replaced with desks when our support team grew out of their space.
One of my fondest memories is our first Employee Appreciation Day that we held in our parking lot. It was a huge stepping stone for us. It solidified the type of culture we wanted to establish as our little startup began to expand. From that point forward, we saw our employees emotionally invest in what we were doing. They genuinely cared and were willing to do whatever it took to help us be successful. Who knew that taking a day off to hang out with co-workers would have long lasting effects on our productivity and employee buy-in?
Taking the Next Big Step
We’ve signed a lease on 24,000 square feet of office space in the heart of downtown Sacramento. It’s going to be a big change. It has a very different feel than our old space and in a way it’s a sort of renaissance for us. In our old building we moved with speed and we made decisions quickly and purposefully. It wasn’t unusual to see people sprint up the stairs or hustle past each other in the hallway to troubleshoot with another department. We established urgency in that building.
It’s hard to imagine what life will be like in our new location. I know a lot of what we cultivated will carry over. That’s the thing about culture and values, they are instilled in the people who embrace them.
Growing Gains
I also know that we are going to keep growing. It’s inevitable. It’s part of the plan. This move is setting us up for big things to come, for even more talent, for bigger and better ideas.* And this all stems back to the original goal of this company; to create the best product with unmatched service so our clients love us and can’t live without us.
Each time I get a little uncomfortable and have to make big decisions, I welcome it because it’s an opportunity to grow as an individual and as a company. If we didn’t make that first move, we might not have been able to recruit the great talent that we have today.
Honestly, SkySlope could occupy a vacant store front in a stripmall. We could trick out a suburban office space or a suite in an industrial business park. And we would still be a desirable place to work. It’s truly about the culture that we cultivate and it’s important that our space accommodates and supports that.
An office doesn’t make the people but it is our home. It’s where the real work happens and it has to have the resources and tools to set people up for success.
Intrigued by our unconventional culture? Follow along here or on our Facebook page as we document our journey.
