Startup or Growth Stage: How Commercial Real Estate Brokers Run Two Different Searches
Nomad's commercial real estate brokers run two different searches depending on stage. For a startup taking its first private floor, the brief looks about a year ahead, the term is short, and the target is a pre-built or furnished floor that can usually be occupied two to four weeks after signing. For a growth-stage company the brief looks 18 months ahead or more, the term is longer, and the search adds a custom buildout of 10 to 16 weeks and rights to expand. The broker is paid the same way at either stage: in most transactions the landlord pays the broker fee.
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Send me floors for 40Updated 2026-10-03 · Nomad Group
Startup brief and growth-stage brief, side by side
We write a brief at both stages. What goes in it changes on three lines.
- Headcount horizon. Startup: the team today plus the hires already planned, roughly a year out. Growth stage: the number in the plan the board has seen, 18 months out, often sized for the midpoint with a right to take more.
- Term. Startup: one to three years, usually on a pre-built floor or a sublease. Growth stage: a direct lease, with five to seven years typical on a full floor that gets a custom buildout.
- Budget. Startup: a monthly ceiling, set against the current coworking bill. Growth stage: the total obligation across the term, with the monthly figure second.
What our brokers push on for a startup, and what changes at growth stage
For a startup the push is for speed and for a way out. That means a floor that needs no construction, a short term, security kept in proportion to a young company, and a sublet right so the space can be handed on if the team outgrows it.
For a growth-stage company the push moves to the long run of the lease: an allowance sized to a priced buildout, free rent, a right to expand or a first offer on the floor next door, and assignment language a buyer or a new entity can inherit. From Series A to Series B covers that stage in full.
Pre-built or custom buildout at each stage, with the timing
- Pre-built or furnished. Usually move-in ready within two to four weeks of signing, which puts desks about six to eight weeks after tour one. This is the startup default: no construction to manage and less capital tied up. What pre-built means.
- Custom buildout. Typically 10 to 16 weeks of work, with four to six months passing between the first tour and move-in. It suits a growth-stage company that wants the plan drawn around its own teams and will stay long enough for the landlord to fund part of it. The design, the permit filings and the contractor are handled by Nomad's own construction management group.
The floors in the block here fit about 40 people, the growth-stage end of the comparison.
What happens after a space is chosen, at either stage
The order is the same. We ask the landlord for a proposal, settle the economics in a letter of intent, and negotiate the lease alongside your attorney. A startup then moves in. A growth-stage company goes into design, which can begin before the lease is signed, and then construction. Facilities management can take over the running of the office once the team is in.
Tell us which stage you are at and send headcount, timing and budget. A broker reaches out within the hour during business hours.
Floors that fit a team of 40
Live from our listings · 6 of the 13, smallest firstA team of 40 plans on about 7,000 square feet at 175 a person. 13 floors on our book sit in the range that fits, 7,000 to 12,600 square feet, asking $43 to $200 per square foot per year on the 11 with a published rent.
- Floors
- 13
- Sizes
- 7,047-12,500 sq ft
- Asking rent
- $43-$200 / sq ft
- 104 West 27th Street, Entire 9th Floor 7,047 sq ft $59/sq ft Chelsea about 40 people
- 520 Madison Avenue, Partial 21st Floor 7,092 sq ft $125/sq ft Midtown about 41 people
- 5 Bryant Park, Entire 33rd Floor 7,500 sq ft $96/sq ft Bryant Park about 43 people
- 45 West 45th Street, Entire 10th Floor 8,230 sq ft rent on request Midtown about 47 people
- 137 East 25th Street, 6th Floor 8,308 sq ft $43/sq ft Flatiron about 47 people
- 1239 Broadway, Entire 12th Floor 12,500 sq ft $62/sq ft NoMad about 71 people
The full guide
This page is the short answer. The long one, with the numbers worked through, is here:
Related topics
- Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Services: What a Broker on Your Side Negotiates
- Commercial Leasing for Startups: The First Lease After Coworking
- Commercial Brokerage Services, and What Each Delivers to an NYC Office Tenant
- A Commercial Lease Broker for Growing Companies: A Lease With Room to Grow
At what size does a startup search turn into a growth-stage search?
Roughly between 30 and 40 people. A Series A team is typically 15 to 30 and a Series B team 40 to 80. The real change is the horizon: once you can forecast headcount 18 months out, a longer lease and a custom plan start to make sense.
Should a startup take a custom buildout for its first private floor?
Usually not. A custom buildout takes longer, costs more up front, and landlords usually fund it against a longer term. A pre-built or furnished floor gets a first team in quickly, and coworking, sublease or a private HQ compares the routes.
Is the broker paid differently on a growth-stage lease?
No. In most transactions the landlord pays the broker fee at either stage, whatever the size of the lease. Startup or growth stage, ask us before the brief is written what we would want signed and for how long.
Can one broker take a company from its first floor to its next?
Yes, and it helps. The broker who placed the first floor knows how the team used it, which is better evidence for sizing the next one than a guess. Nomad works for you on that search, and the firm also offers agency leasing and owner representation.
Talk to a broker
Want this answered for your team?
Tell us three things: team size, timing, budget. A first shortlist can be ready within 24 hours, with the asking rent on every floor that publishes one.
- Within the houra broker reaches out during business hours, no automated triage
- On your sidewe work for you on your search, and the landlord usually pays our fee
- Open pricingasking rent published for 46 of 49 floors, size and address for all
- 300+ officesdelivered in New York, 2M+ sq ft leased
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