How should new companies look like?

Brand new companies are witnessing a change in needs and necessities.
What’s the future perspective in the design and growth of startups and new companies? Which new tendencies, and trends do they have to face in order to keep up with their fast and quick growth?

What are companies asking for?

When companies start building their foundations, it seems they have all the same requests.
But that is not true. Every reality has a different culture, which brings people together and builds the roots for every company success.
When it comes to organizing the spaces, there is always the matter of open spaces. In the last years, the approach to open offices changed a lot, and there is so much variation in its meaning we cannot even imagine.
Of course, new trends arose. Open spaces implies everything with no door, and that has many consequences, such as disturbance and interruptions, but also communication and random inspiration. Young companies are still going for total open spaces, even though it may disturb people, and cause complaints.

Any solution here?
On one hand the solution to this issue is collaboration spaces, the evolution of co-working, which has been one of the fastest-growing entrepreneurial trends of the last decade. Collaborative spaces are in the spotlight because they are places where businesses can connect to a community for a richer working experience. Young companies are looking for places to network, find talent, make deals and, why not, events.

But on the other hand they opt for a total open environment because it brings people to a better connection, communication and contact. New companies have to work even harder to build a good and strong culture at the beginning, so they chose open spaces, like also cafeteria and lounge areas, in order to foster the achievement of that goal. Related to this, now more than ever there is an ongoing competition among companies that actually want to have the coolest area, like the coolest cafeteria, kitchenette, and lounges. This is the most typical difference in these days: a difference between public spaces for collaboration and public space as a workstation, with the idea that innovative thinking is born in front of a coffee.

The architect’s advice

We talked about this issue again with Setter architects from Israel. We asked them what is their advice for young companies that need to project an office, and Micheal Setter told us that companies in the process of a fast and quick growth, should start by renting …a big place.

Well, the majority of people would say the opposite: for young startups is better to rent a small, but cozy place because they do not need so much room.
Wrong. In that case, it is implied that sooner or later the company would need to change office again. Hopefully, the company will grow and will need more people and room for its operations. But changing office often may weaken culture and compromise work. Micheal Setter explained to us that growing companies should rent a big space from the beginning, and than sublet rooms to others until they need it. This would help keeping the culture, and reduce the efforts.

Being a young company or a startup is not easy, and there are so many things to consider that the office design and environment may go in second place. Well, again, wrong. The office can boost a sense of pride in the employees and be an attractive selling point to recruits. Depending on how you design the workplace, it can offer a host of benefits. The office space is where ideas are born, and it needs to reflect the culture, always.