The Evolution of a Startup

Monthly Costs:

>$15,000>$15,000

Co-working/Shared

First Office Headquarters National/International

500 - 3,000ft2

Number of Employees

Monthly Costs:

10-100 $75,000$75,0003,000 - 20,000ft2

Size of Space:

Number of Employees

Monthly Costs:

100-500 $500,000$500,000$500,000

20,000 - 100,000ft2Size of Space:

UP TO

Number of Employees

Monthly Costs:

500-10k >$500,000>$500,000

>100,000ft2Size of Space:Size of Space:

1-10Number of Employees

A startup is a unique specimen. From a co-working office and a flip-flop sporting founder, to international headquarters and a high-powered CEO, these high-growth, technology-oriented companies have an evolutionary pattern all their own.

1stage

3stage

4stage

2stage

Headcount Funding Stage CRE Decision Makers Office Type

1-10

10-100

100-500

C-Suite, Cofounders, Single Biz Dev, Small

team of Engineers

Coworking, Shared, or Own Office

Own Office

HQ, minimal multi market expansion,

usually by acquisition

HQ, large national/international

presence, talent acquisitions

C-Suites, Cofounders, HR person, office

manager

Facilities Director and team, CFO, less

involvement from CEO

COO, Facilities Director, Csuite still

involved

Series A-B

Owner, Angels

Series B-Eventure funding

Private or Public500-10k

500 - 3,000 ft2

3,000 - 20,000

20,000 - 100,000

>100,000

Getaround, Kiip, Udemy, AppsStores

Creative, OpenHigh density, 50-150sq per person

Mid to high density

More diversity in space, common

areas, 100-200 per RSF per person

150-200 per RSF per person, different divisions

have different densities, permanent and free

address, different offices specialize

Creative with limitations

Preserve some startup feel, less

creative

Building Amenities, Campus, Less

Startup and more Corporate

Betterworks, Thumbtack, Foursquare

Square, Dropbox, Etsy, Ngmoco

Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Salesforce

1stage

3stage

4stage

2stage

Startups in the Space Characteristics Size of Space Density

$300 - <$15,000

$15,000 - $75,000

Month to month or 1-2 year deals

None or minimal

Modest to create identity and the right

“look and feel”

Upfront costs for IT infrastructure, imrovments

to maintain brand and creativity, and tenant improvements shared

between tenant and landlord

Expensive to create best-in-class space

2-5 years

4-10 years

5-15 years, may consider purchasing

1stage

3stage

4stage

2stage

Terms Up Front Costs Monthly Costs

Up to $500,000

>$500,000

!

Keep costs low, but important to recruit

initial team, maintain startup feel but build

camaraderie

Flexibility, intimate community,

collaboration, focus, freedom

First bigger office, shorter term, find creative spaces, remain in core

markets/submarkets

Global presece, go where the talent is,

outsource, scale

May achieve startup characteristics, better idea of time to volume growth patterns and

annual headcound goals

Greater monthly budget, anticipating

growth, greater downfall if grow or

shrink too early/late

Time to Volume, Scale

Facilities department, national

and international expansion, lease

vs buy

Distraction, security, cost

Tough to time a scale, higher rental obligation relative to

funding, revenue

Term and Scalability are a challenge

Significant real estate expense, unavoidable corporate space, lost startup mentality and

real estate

1stage

3stage

4stage

2stage

Considerations Advantage Challenges