An essay by John Melonakos
Common Elements of Tech Startup Offices
Today I spent time with an interior designer thinking through conceptual plans for an ArrayFire office space. We had both seen many startup office spaces and came up with a list of elements that are popular right now:
- Open floor seating with very few private offices
- Lots of glass and natural light
- Dry erase walls
- Nap rooms with hammocks
- Free drinks and snacks in the breakroom
- Large monitors with transparent business metrics on a software dashboard
- Exposed ceilings and great lighting
- Polished concrete in much of the office with some carpet for softer areas
- Small rooms for phone calls and demos
In addition to those elements, we are going to add a shop room to our office for hobbies. A number of our engineers build some really awesome technical things and could use space to work on those. Plus we like to have a bench press available for mid-day lifting. I’m excited about our shop/workout room wherever we land.
Ultimately, the goal is to create a productive atmosphere that provides a comfortable and upbeat environment for our people to really enjoy.
What other common elements have you seen in tech startup offices?