New York remains a powerful magnet for startups with massive amounts of investment, talent, and expertise across the city. While many startups bootstrap and work remotely to keep costs down, having a downtown or midtown presence can be vital for meetings and making a strong impression on investors, key hires, and partners.
A flexible office space helps your leadership feel at home, especially those outgrowing home offices. They provide a space where leaders can focus on making key decisions. It can attract workers who have perhaps had enough of the remote life and provide an impressive meeting place for investors, funding discussions, collaboration with other businesses or experts, and building your profile within the city’s business community.
Addressing The Rise of Flexible Working in New York City
Working in New York City also provides businesses with greater access to amenities. From expensable breakfasts and lunches, easier access to business events and meetups, and the huge amount of startup social and promotional activity that attracts founders to NY from around the world.
From loft-style offices in Soho and premises for the massive concentration of financial startups around the Financial District to offices around key locations like Madison and Park Avenue, the ideal office space, whether functional or designer, within a smart new-build office destination to a conversion, there’s the right vibe for your business somewhere.
With growing competition for low-cost office space, executive suites, and mixed-use spaces, there are plenty of options for a growing business. And as the market for office space in New York recovers, many knowledge, marketing, and vertical-market firms are moving to larger premises, leaving smaller opportunities for startups to claim a stake across popular areas like Flatiron and Brooklyn.
Wherever you plan to set up home, there should also be time to enjoy the benefits, from getting in early to crash the office or nearby gym, run around a local park, or enjoy city bustle without the distractions of the home element of the home/office equation.
The Startup’s Guide to Your First Flexible NYC Office
When planning to expand into an office or launch your startup in a dedicated space, you will need to understand your practical needs, set a realistic budget, plan your space requirements, and consider your future strategic options.
Practical needs include current and immediate hires, whether you need managed private offices or an open coworking space with access to offices for meetings, or if your company could benefit from private suites or a floor.
Consider where your workers are traveling from and look for somewhere that is a reasonable compromise. Each option comes with various costs and benefits, with low-cost options across Brooklyn and Dumbo for bootstrapped companies, or Union Square or Tribeca beckoning for those in their first or second round of funding.
Whatever the location and environment, expect extra fees for quality broadband, telecommunications, cyber, and physical security or privacy. Take the time to scout out locations and visit open offices and shared spaces at different times to get a sense of what the working reality is like in those places.
Look for somewhere with space to expand as your business grows, but don’t get too attached to any one place. Many startups move on an annual basis, shedding their old home as they grow and adopting larger premises.
Keeping the NY Founder Mentality
Whatever the stage your business is at, look for financial flexibility in any deal you sign, as company fortunes can rise and fall quickly in the startup world. Especially if your company spends most of its time investing in non-physical assets.
And when it comes to signing big property deals, always keep that NY hustle, even if you aren’t originally from the big city, in mind. Focus on cutting the best deal or walking away from opportunities that don’t feel right for your ambition or team’s needs.
Just because one of the CxOs fancies regular trips to Madison Square Garden (or similar venues) doesn’t mean the company can afford to spend excess budget on a single location. Especially when it should focus on business and team growth to meet and beat local and broader competition.
