3 ms·

Ask HN: Startup workspace - office or house?

8 points by dshankar 16y ago

Pros/cons for having a separate office & living arrangements versus a large house for all employees to live & work in?

kingsidharth 16y ago
House: Bad for productivity. Office: Sucks at general. (IMO) Garage: Best of both worlds As in some bootstrapped place which inspires you to work. Can be a room in your home or even rooftop (like Mashable).
- dshankar 16y ago
  Garages are attached to houses so...House? Haha ;) Also, I'm personally noticing the reduced productivity, that's why I'm not sure I like the "house" idea.
  - kingsidharth 16y ago
    Garages have different environment and physical set-up. >Take a room >Empty it >Now just put bare minimum you need to work (a Computer, Table and Chair / Beanbag) in my case. And let it fill up with inspiration. Being a designer I like blank canvas to paint it with my imagination.
thetylerhayes 16y ago
There are definitely many startups in SF whose teams all live in the same house together, and work there, who seem to be doing just fine. Some (like http://thumbtack.com http://thumbtack.com) even have an in-house chef and other perks. In my opinion, early-stage startups should live together. Yeah, sure, it'd be nice to have more of a distinction between home and work, but honestly 90% of your day in an early-stage startup is work. However, an office is definitely preferred during the later stages, which is not to say that a house is inappropriate. Key milestones which might be a good sign for getting an office space: - Not even two houses could hold all team members - You're on your third hiring wave (i.e. none of the new hires are considered part of the core, or even secondary, team) - Your advisors tell you to get a house - Increasing tension among workers
iuguy 16y ago
Initially homes are great but the work/home split generally goes away completely. I'd look to move to an office the minute you have (or are within a month of) an MVP that has a good chance of being ramen profitable. It doesn't have to be a big office, you don't all have to be there all the time, it just needs to be something that isn't where you eat, sleep or relax.
pitdesi 16y ago
I think it completely depends on the people. Some people find it too difficult, but I think it's perfect. There's also another aspect, which is time... it takes time to cook, clean, find a place, commute. Living together eases all of these things and allows for sharing of other stuff. Anyone know the tax implications? (Ie what can you write off?)
togasystems 16y ago
I ran a startup that was based out of my house. The team would show and we would work in my living room. Pros: - Cheap - Always had good food and a full kitchen - I could talk to sig other when I wanted to Cons: - My sig other could talk to me when they wanted to - When I was sick or away, the team had to work from home - Easily distracted
staunch 16y ago
Some people have no trouble working from home. They're more productive. Others need a separate place to go to so they can get into "work mode". Money is also a factor. If you have funding and a few employees it probably makes sense to spend $2k/mo on an office. If it's two co-founders bootstrapping it might not make sense for a while.

8 points by dshankar 16y ago

Pros/cons for having a separate office & living arrangements versus a large house for all employees to live & work in?

House: Bad for productivity. Office: Sucks at general. (IMO) Garage: Best of both worlds As in some bootstrapped place which inspires you to work. Can be a room in your home or even rooftop (like Mashable).

dshankar 16y ago
Garages are attached to houses so...House? Haha ;) Also, I'm personally noticing the reduced productivity, that's why I'm not sure I like the "house" idea.
- kingsidharth 16y ago
  Garages have different environment and physical set-up. >Take a room >Empty it >Now just put bare minimum you need to work (a Computer, Table and Chair / Beanbag) in my case. And let it fill up with inspiration. Being a designer I like blank canvas to paint it with my imagination.

thetylerhayes 16y ago

There are definitely many startups in SF whose teams all live in the same house together, and work there, who seem to be doing just fine. Some (like http://thumbtack.com http://thumbtack.com) even have an in-house chef and other perks. In my opinion, early-stage startups should live together. Yeah, sure, it'd be nice to have more of a distinction between home and work, but honestly 90% of your day in an early-stage startup is work. However, an office is definitely preferred during the later stages, which is not to say that a house is inappropriate. Key milestones which might be a good sign for getting an office space: - Not even two houses could hold all team members - You're on your third hiring wave (i.e. none of the new hires are considered part of the core, or even secondary, team) - Your advisors tell you to get a house - Increasing tension among workers

iuguy 16y ago

Initially homes are great but the work/home split generally goes away completely. I'd look to move to an office the minute you have (or are within a month of) an MVP that has a good chance of being ramen profitable. It doesn't have to be a big office, you don't all have to be there all the time, it just needs to be something that isn't where you eat, sleep or relax.

pitdesi 16y ago

I think it completely depends on the people. Some people find it too difficult, but I think it's perfect. There's also another aspect, which is time... it takes time to cook, clean, find a place, commute. Living together eases all of these things and allows for sharing of other stuff. Anyone know the tax implications? (Ie what can you write off?)

togasystems 16y ago

I ran a startup that was based out of my house. The team would show and we would work in my living room. Pros: - Cheap - Always had good food and a full kitchen - I could talk to sig other when I wanted to Cons: - My sig other could talk to me when they wanted to - When I was sick or away, the team had to work from home - Easily distracted

staunch 16y ago

Some people have no trouble working from home. They're more productive. Others need a separate place to go to so they can get into "work mode". Money is also a factor. If you have funding and a few employees it probably makes sense to spend $2k/mo on an office. If it's two co-founders bootstrapping it might not make sense for a while.