5 ms·

San Francisco Cafes as Ad-Hoc Startup Office Space

7 points by sah 19y ago

zach 19y ago
I made my local IHOP into an ad-hoc startup office space the other day. It may not have a plug for my laptop, but at least I didn't feel an exaggerated sense of importance about it.
antiismist 19y ago
This story is ripped off an article from the SF Gate, March 11, 2007: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/03/11/MNGKKOCBA645.DTL http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/03/... Original article: "I'm looking around and there's gotta be 50 people with laptops," said Brett Levine, 31, a co-founder and the company's lead programmer. "I got on a chair and yelled, 'Hey, are there any ActionScript programmers in the room?' People at the counter looked at me glaringly, but a couple of people looked around and raised their hand." New article: So Mr. Levine stood on a chair, and shouted out, “Is anyone here an ActionScript programmer? We’d like to hire you!” “I got some nasty looks from the baristas,” Mr. Levine recalled, “but that didn’t stop three or four people from coming up to our table and inquiring.”
- allertonm 19y ago
  It also says "Flickr, the popular photo sharing site, held weekly meetings there before it was bought by Yahoo." I am pretty sure Flickr was based in Vancouver before they were bought by Yahoo, so this does not smell right. Updated: the SFGate article mentions Flickr too, but says they meet there now - or at least "then" (i.e mid 2007), not pre-Yahoo. So the NYT piece is definitely a pretty poor cut & paste job.
  - antiismist 19y ago
    That's a good point. This looks like it is from nytimes.com, which is annoying because I think that they are one of the best media sites out there.
neilc 19y ago
I've never understood how people can concentrate and get real work done in a coffee shop. Sure, it's fun to take your laptop to a cafe and get some hacking done occasionally or catch up on mail, but as a substitute for an office or an apartment? No thanks.
- ardit33 19y ago
  Yes you can. But for a couple of hours at a time. I usually play trance on my headphhones. If you have been working for few hours on your room, and getting a sense you are lacking human interaction, just get your laptop, go to one of these cofee places with free wi-fi, put your headphoens on, sip your good coffee, and work. It is very refreshing actually. But I could do it only for a couple of hours a day. More than that, your back probably would suffer (seats and tables in coffee places are not the most optimal, and were not ment for long stays). When I walk back, all that cafeeine and the always constant San Francisco fresh breeze, makes me want to work more. Just saying.
  - aschobel 19y ago
    I find walks work well for me, gives me a chance to clear my head and the increased blood flow can't hurt.
- sah 19y ago
  Huh, it works great for me. Offices with closed doors are okay, but in a cube I get interrupted all the time such that it's difficult to prioritize more important work, and I get tired of sitting around at home all day. Even better than a traditional office is a room with a table a bunch of folks can sit around, or couches arranged in a circle, but with no people who aren't actively working together present. Cafes can provide that kind of thing pretty well.
- aschobel 19y ago
  Agreed, it is also more cost effective to work from home. And at home you have a fully stocked fridge, comfy chair, and nobody will kick you out when you are hacking away at 2am.
ardit33 19y ago
Cafe Cubano is one. I was once coding there (for a project for my company), and one girl started to talking to me (she thought I was a web dev). Three girls, would go there and talk about a shoe startup. Selling speciality shoes on the web. I trying to give as much advice as I could, (technically wise). I am not sure how it has gone thou.
dimitry 19y ago
any good ones in the marina? wifi is a pain to come by still
dzohrob 19y ago
I love Ritual -- and the fine folks that work there (behind the counter) -- but the preponderance of nerds-with-macs has definitely changed the vibe of the place over the years for the worse. My coworking space costs a little over $200/mo for 24/7 access, and it's less than 2 blocks from Ritual. Anyone spending $3/day on a latte can surely upgrade to a real workspace, and leave the cafes for meetings and -- just maybe -- people who just want to relax and have a cup of coffee without having to fight for elbow space with Rails hackers.

7 points by sah 19y ago

zach 19y ago

I made my local IHOP into an ad-hoc startup office space the other day. It may not have a plug for my laptop, but at least I didn't feel an exaggerated sense of importance about it.

antiismist 19y ago

This story is ripped off an article from the SF Gate, March 11, 2007: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/03/11/MNGKKOCBA645.DTL http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/03/... Original article: "I'm looking around and there's gotta be 50 people with laptops," said Brett Levine, 31, a co-founder and the company's lead programmer. "I got on a chair and yelled, 'Hey, are there any ActionScript programmers in the room?' People at the counter looked at me glaringly, but a couple of people looked around and raised their hand." New article: So Mr. Levine stood on a chair, and shouted out, “Is anyone here an ActionScript programmer? We’d like to hire you!” “I got some nasty looks from the baristas,” Mr. Levine recalled, “but that didn’t stop three or four people from coming up to our table and inquiring.”

allertonm 19y ago
It also says "Flickr, the popular photo sharing site, held weekly meetings there before it was bought by Yahoo." I am pretty sure Flickr was based in Vancouver before they were bought by Yahoo, so this does not smell right. Updated: the SFGate article mentions Flickr too, but says they meet there now - or at least "then" (i.e mid 2007), not pre-Yahoo. So the NYT piece is definitely a pretty poor cut & paste job.
- antiismist 19y ago
  That's a good point. This looks like it is from nytimes.com, which is annoying because I think that they are one of the best media sites out there.

neilc 19y ago

I've never understood how people can concentrate and get real work done in a coffee shop. Sure, it's fun to take your laptop to a cafe and get some hacking done occasionally or catch up on mail, but as a substitute for an office or an apartment? No thanks.

ardit33 19y ago
Yes you can. But for a couple of hours at a time. I usually play trance on my headphhones. If you have been working for few hours on your room, and getting a sense you are lacking human interaction, just get your laptop, go to one of these cofee places with free wi-fi, put your headphoens on, sip your good coffee, and work. It is very refreshing actually. But I could do it only for a couple of hours a day. More than that, your back probably would suffer (seats and tables in coffee places are not the most optimal, and were not ment for long stays). When I walk back, all that cafeeine and the always constant San Francisco fresh breeze, makes me want to work more. Just saying.
- aschobel 19y ago
  I find walks work well for me, gives me a chance to clear my head and the increased blood flow can't hurt.
sah 19y ago
Huh, it works great for me. Offices with closed doors are okay, but in a cube I get interrupted all the time such that it's difficult to prioritize more important work, and I get tired of sitting around at home all day. Even better than a traditional office is a room with a table a bunch of folks can sit around, or couches arranged in a circle, but with no people who aren't actively working together present. Cafes can provide that kind of thing pretty well.
aschobel 19y ago
Agreed, it is also more cost effective to work from home. And at home you have a fully stocked fridge, comfy chair, and nobody will kick you out when you are hacking away at 2am.

ardit33 19y ago

Cafe Cubano is one. I was once coding there (for a project for my company), and one girl started to talking to me (she thought I was a web dev). Three girls, would go there and talk about a shoe startup. Selling speciality shoes on the web. I trying to give as much advice as I could, (technically wise). I am not sure how it has gone thou.

dimitry 19y ago

any good ones in the marina? wifi is a pain to come by still

dzohrob 19y ago

I love Ritual -- and the fine folks that work there (behind the counter) -- but the preponderance of nerds-with-macs has definitely changed the vibe of the place over the years for the worse. My coworking space costs a little over $200/mo for 24/7 access, and it's less than 2 blocks from Ritual. Anyone spending $3/day on a latte can surely upgrade to a real workspace, and leave the cafes for meetings and -- just maybe -- people who just want to relax and have a cup of coffee without having to fight for elbow space with Rails hackers.