Where a Startup Finds a Commercial Real Estate Broker, and How to Narrow the List

Four places a founder gets broker names, and what each is good for

• Founders who leased recently at your size. The strongest source, because they can tell you which person did the work and what it was like after the pitch. Ask for the individual, not only the firm.
• Your investors and your attorney. Investors watch a whole portfolio sign leases, and a real estate attorney has sat across the table from many brokers. Both know who was prepared.
• Floors you have already seen listed. The firm marketing a floor is usually the owner's listing agent, so note the name with that in mind. It still tells you who is active in the buildings you like.
• Rankings. They count volume, which favors whoever handles the largest leases. Use them to collect names, never to choose between them.

A three-question filter before you book a single meeting

Ten minutes on each firm's website is enough.

• Does it show floors near your size, with street addresses and asking rents? For a team of 12 that means about 2,100 square feet at 175 square feet a person. The office space calculator gives the figure for any headcount.
• Does it work in the neighborhoods you would consider? Look for listings, client work or writing about those blocks.
• Can you tell who would run your search? A team page with names and roles is a good sign. A contact form and nothing else is not.

A firm that fails two of the three comes off the list.

Carry two or three firms forward, and send each the same page

One firm gives you nothing to compare. Four or more turns choosing into a job of its own. Send the survivors an identical one-page brief: headcount now and in 12 to 18 months, the date you need to be in, a monthly budget, the neighborhoods, and any must-haves. What comes back is where the vetting begins, and the playbook on choosing a tenant rep takes over from there.

Does a team of a dozen need a broker at all?

Not always. Until a team reaches about 15 people, a coworking membership tends to be the cheaper route, and it needs no broker. You can also call a landlord's agent yourself. Once you want a floor of your own, though, a 2,000 square foot lease raises the same questions about the guarantee, the escalations and the deposit that a larger one does, and in most transactions the landlord pays the broker fee. What a tenant broker does explains the role.

Finding Nomad, and what the first day looks like

Nomad Property Group is at 276 Fifth Avenue, Suite 402. Send three things through the start page: headcount, timing and budget. A broker reaches out within the hour during business hours, and from those three numbers a first shortlist can be ready within 24 hours, each floor with its address and asking rent.

On your search, we work for you. Nomad also offers agency leasing and owner representation. Put the same filter to us that you put to anyone. The floors below are sized for about 12 people.