What Startups Want From Flexible Workspace Now: Five Features, Not Brands

Five features startups ask for, and why each one matters

• Furnished and wired. Desks, chairs, cabling and internet in place on day one. It removes the buildout, the longest and least predictable stretch of any move.
• A short term. One to three years, matched to how far ahead the company can forecast.
• A layout that can change. Furniture systems in place of built walls, and at least one room that can turn into desks. Young teams reorganize more often than leases renew.
• Meeting rooms for hybrid days. When the whole team is in, everyone wants a room or a booth at once. A floor sized on average attendance fails on the busiest day.
• Managed services. Cleaning, pantry stock, repairs and a person to call. Otherwise these fall to a founder.

How each feature is had on a private floor

Coworking offers all five in a shared building, at a price per desk. A floor of your own can offer them too.

• Furnished and wired: a prebuilt or furnished floor, or a sublease from a company that left its furniture behind.
• A short term: a flexible lease. One year can be had; two and three are more usual and cost less per square foot.
• A changeable layout: ask what you may move, and whether the lease makes you put it back.
• Meeting rooms: check the count against your busiest day before signing.
• Managed services: a serviced floor such as Flex by Nomad, or a facilities contract alongside the lease.

The block on this page lists the furnished and prebuilt floors on our book.

Flexible workspace against a traditional lease, in one paragraph

A traditional lease runs five to ten years, opens with a buildout of 10 to 16 weeks, and rewards the commitment with free rent, an improvement allowance and a lower rent per square foot. Flexible workspace trades those concessions for speed and a shorter obligation: you pay somewhat more per square foot, receive little or no construction money, and can be working within weeks. A company that can forecast its headcount for several years should price the traditional lease. A company that cannot should pay for flexibility on purpose. Coworking, sublease or a private headquarters lays out every option.

Growing inside a flexible term

Flexibility is worth little if the floor is full in six months. Three things let a startup grow without moving.

• Spare capacity on day one. Hiring teams commonly add 15 to 25 percent to the space their current headcount needs.
• A right to adjacent space: an expansion right or a right of first offer on the suite or floor next door, written into the lease.
• A path within the term. Ask whether the landlord or operator will move you to a larger floor in its buildings and release you from the first one, and get the answer in writing.

What to verify on a tour of flexible space

• Sit at a desk and test the internet. Ask who the carrier is, and whether the circuit is yours or shared.
• Count the meeting rooms and booths against your busiest day.
• Ask which furniture stays, who owns it, and who removes it at the end.
• Ask what the monthly figure includes and what is billed on top: electricity, cleaning, air conditioning after hours.
• Read the notice period and the renewal terms before you leave the building.

The office tour checklist has the longer list.