Office Cribs: 6 Flatiron tech offices that'll give you office envy

by Anthony Sodd
June 23, 2016

When you walk through the Flatiron District, you'd likely have no idea that the area was home to many of the city's tech firms. There are no outward signs that the area is home to anything but small shops and an awesome Lego store. But, located high above the area's unassuming streets are some of the city's coolest tech palaces. We were lucky enough to tour six of these offices, and brought along a camera. Check it out: 

 

Wow! That's an impressive entryway! How long have you been in this space? We moved in on March 21st of this year.

Cool, so it's still brand new. How many people are working here? There are around 130 people. 

And how big is the space? It's right around 30,000-square-feet.

What's your favorite part of the space? Without a doubt, it's the open floor plan, the lounge areas, the ping-pong room and our library/video game room. 

Is there anything you wish the space had but doesn't? Ya, a rock climbing wall, a rooftop with a reflecting pool, a drone-helipad, and maybe a small yard for a putting green or bocce or even cornhole. 

 

Wow, that's one hell of an impressive entryway. How long have you been in this space? We moved into our office in January of 2015.

Cool! An in-house barista! How big is the space? We have 154,000-square-feet and each of our two floors runs the length of a New York City block. 

How many people work here? There are over 700 employees supporting G&A, User Operations, HR and training, and sales in this office. 

Is that a giant PacMan Lite-Brite? What's your favorite part of the space? I love the fact that our office celebrates the local businesses of NYC by naming each conference room after one. Jeremy's Ale House and the Apollo are my go-to for meetings. I also love our recreation of the High Line equipped with faux greenery and beer on tap.

A barista, a game room, a giant Lite-Brite, an awesome view... Is there anything the office doesn't have? People at Yelp NYC like to stay fit, so it would be amazing to have a fitness center in the office. Maybe one day...

 

When did you move into this space? We moved in late December right before the holidays and our first real full week was the first week of January!

How big is it? How many people are working here? It's about 22,000-square-feet.

Are those guitars in the corner? Do you every get a chance to break them out? We actually hold periodic "Hometeach" sessions where someone with a skill or something to share gathers a few of us and we learn! We've so far done guitar lessons, interview trainings, and are cooking up more for the future.

Sweet! This is a massive eating area, by the way. What's your favorite part of the space? My favorite thing about the space is having many multiple sub-spaces to focus. I am a pacer when I phone interview, so being able to walk all around the open layout when I'm on the phone, and then being able to settle in one of those cubbies to get some sourcing done, all really keeps it from feeling monotone. It really does feel homey, for lack of a better term!

 

When did you move into the space? About two years ago.

How many people do you have working here? Around 85 or so.

Wow, a Wang Chen table! You guys are serious. 

How big is the space? It's 8,880-square feet.

What's your favorite thing about the space? My favorite thing about the office is the open floor plan, the cooperative energy and the Signpost mural.

Is there anything the space doesn't have that you wanted? Ya, stadium seating around the PingPong table!

 

About how big is your office? We have three offices in a one block radius, one of which serves as our campus as well. We have 16,500-square-feet at our HQ on Broadway, 12,000-square-feet at our new space on 35 E 21st, and 40,000-square-feet at our campus on 21st which also houses some employees.

You guys are taking over the city one building at a time. When did you start? We signed our original lease at 902 Broadway in August 2010 and moved in early 2011.

About how many people do you have in New York? We have approximately 250 full time employees here. 

With so many spots to chose from, what's your favorite thing about the spaces? I love that we have a lot of multi-use communal space that is beautiful, but unpretentious. We have a library with couches for quiet work, where you can really focus away from your desk but still be with your colleagues. We also have a large and comfortable lounge where you can work independently, have more informal meetings, greet guests, host events and large team building activities, etc. There's no part of our offices or campuses that feels over-the-top or trying too hard — we use our space well to ensure people are able to do their work well, serve our students and get to know one another better.

 

 

I guess it would only make sense that a real estate tech company would have a cool office. How big is the space? The office is about 11,000-square-feet, but as you see, we're quickly growing out of the space. 

When did you move into the office? How many people do you have here? We moved to this location back in August 2015, and we currently have 70 employees. 

Holy crap! Is that a conference table made of Legos? We're big fans of Legos! The conference table is made of roughly 32,000 Legos, and is one of the few things we brought with us from our old space. If you pay close attention to our office, you'll notice there's a Lego theme - you'll see hints of Lego designs everywhere and we have Lego characters drawn on our walls.

Lego tables, bubblegum walls... What's your favorite part of the space? We're obsessed with dogs, so we love that the space is dog-friendly. We typically have one or two dogs running around the office each day. We also love the open layout — we're a very collaborative team so the open concept allows us to easily interact with each other. 

Is there anything the space is missing? Aside from a nap room, an in-house gym and shower would be awesome.

 

Know of a company that deserves coverage? Let us know or tweet us @builtinnewyork

Jobs from companies in this blog

NYC startup guides

LOCAL GUIDE
Best Companies to Work for in NYC
LOCAL GUIDE
Coolest Tech Offices in NYC
LOCAL GUIDE
Best Benefits at NYC Tech Companies
LOCAL GUIDE
Women in NYC Tech