On-demand laundry and dry cleaning app
Employees at location: 35
Funding: $13.27 million
Date founded: March 2013
Location: Santa Monica, CA
What were your considerations when picking an office space and designing its layout?
“The top priority was staying in Santa Monica and finding an open work space that would suit the needs of our fast-growing company. I wanted to create an environment for my team that would make them feel comfortable in their workplace. We spent most of our time focusing on the lounges and how to make the office welcoming.” – CEO Jordan Metzner
What are some of the perks of working in your office and why is this important to you?
“Having catered lunches is great because it brings the team together.” – CTO Bob Wall
“Having people bring their dogs helps to reduce stress levels.” – Marketing Manager Caitlin Bolnick
“Dogs… We have them” – Front End Engineer Ed Pratt
“We’re equally as friendly to dogs as we are to people.”- VP of Marketing Nick Greenfield
“The open floor plan makes other departments feel very accessible and creates a natural open door policy.” – VP of Operations Sam Nadler
How do you think office design affects work culture?
“Lounges and video game rooms are good for team building amongst different groups in the office.” – Office Manager Mara Leshin
“It’s nice to be able to have an informal meeting and discussion in the lounge areas. The couches and bean bags create a relaxed environment in which people feel more comfortable sharing their ideas.” – CTO Bob Wall
“Tall ceilings and natural light are good for thinking; an open space allows for a lot of collaboration.” -Front End Engineer Ed Pratt
“Natural light keeps the energy high throughout the day”- VP of Marketing Nick Greenfield
“I can jump and not hit my head” – Software Engineer Patrick Teague
“The TV screens are great for communicating information and can also be used for fun activities. ” – Lead Recruiter Angelica Acosta
Secure messaging platform used especially by the medical industry
Employees at location: 98
Funding: $31.1 million
Date founded: January 2009
Location: Santa Monica, CA
What were your considerations when picking an office space and designing its layout?
The TigerText office has an open floor plan and an open door policy. When we first moved into our new Santa Monica headquarters, our first order of business was taking down my wood door and replacing it with a glass door to promote an environment of communication and collaboration. Desks are not divided, and team members are encouraged to talk freely, ask questions and work together. We wanted to create a simple, yet esthetically-pleasing work environment with modern-looking furniture and pops of colors throughout. – CEO Brad Brooks
What are some of the perks of working in your office and why are these important to you?
BB: It’s without a doubt employees appreciate TigerText’s fully-stocked fridge (beer and wine included), the rock-climbing wall, ping pong table and free food-truck lunches every Wednesday, but it’s a core set of ideals that are truly responsible for our amazing work culture. In addition to our snack perks, a strong and happy company culture promotes, educates and encourages employees’ overall well-being.
We offer weekly in-office Yoga on Mondays, and “TigerTalk” sessions every month. “TigerTalks” are one-on-one interviews that feature a discussion between myself and a guest who is an expert in their field. Last week’s TigerTalk featured an expert on the biology of sleep who shared with the company how our sleeping patterns and cycles affect our work-life balance. When you provide employees with the tools and outlets to better themselves mentally and physically, you’ve found the winning combo.
How do you think office design affects work culture?
BB: Office design definitely impacts work culture. One of the main reasons why we picked our current office is because it’s open, airy, and lets in a lot of natural light. White walls and stuffy cubicles breed a monotonous, stagnant attitude. We want employees coming to work everyday feeling inspired. This is why it’s important to create a comfortable, yet inviting office design. The more an office space turns “coming in to work” into “doing what we love,” the happier and more efficient employees are likely to be.
Employee recruitment platform
Employees at location: 250+
Funding: $63 million
Date founded: March 2010
Location: Santa Monica, CA
What were your considerations when picking an office space and designing its layout?
Our growth has been so tremendous that it’s been a challenge to find the right space for us. At one point we were spread out over four different offices. We’ve been able to find great, modern spaces for our various departments, and are now down to three offices in two different buildings within walking distance from each other. – Allan Jones, Chief Marketing Officer
What are some of the perks of working in your office and why are these important to you?
AJ: Work-life balance and a commitment to wellness are two of our core values, which start with our founders and flow through the company. We have plenty of free healthy snacks and drinks, free lunches, discounted gym memberships, in-office massages, and our Zip court, where we play our own Nerf basketball version of Horse.
How do you think office design affects work culture?
AJ: Where you work really sets the tone for how you work. We have bright, open spaces to encourage the collaborative, creative work that comes out of hanging out with your co-workers in a modern, comfortable office.
Swagbucks
Online rewards network
Employees at location: 120+
Funding: $60 million
Date founded: February 2008
Location: El Segundo, CA
What were your considerations when picking an office space and designing its layout?
Our headquarters is a full-floor space in an tech office park, Pacific Corporate Towers in El Segundo, facing the Pacific Ocean in the distance, and we can watch jets take off from LAX, so you really have a great sense of place in the heart of Silicon Beach. We originally sublet from a previous tenant whose left us a sea of boring high-walled, Dilbert-style cubicles that isolated employees and inhibited interaction. So when we had the opportunity to create our own environment, we sought an office design that was more flexible and fostered communication and collaboration within and among teams, featuring an open floor plan and lots of informal huddle and meeting spaces – the kind of cutting-edge creative/tech space we really wanted.
A highlight of the new design is the large reception/kitchen/lunchroom area that is a natural gathering spot for employees and where we have our “all company” meetings. One unique aspect is that the boardroom/main conference room has glass walls that slide away when not in use, so that space opens up to become part of the larger reception/lunchroom area. Our offices are now a great place for our 120+ employees to get work done in an informal, visually-appealing and team-building environment. – Stacey Olliff, SVP, Business & Legal Affairs
What are some of the perks of working in your office and why are these important to you?
SO: In addition to the open, collaborative office environment, we have free lunches brought in three days a week, supplemented by healthy and nutritious snacks and beverages every day to satisfy every taste and nutritional need (vegan, kosher, etc.). Our company culture is to have fun while doing great work, so we also have regular company meetings that typically operate like a game show with a new-employee talent contest and Wheel of Fortune-style recognition of employee tenure, as well as offsite events that allow people to socialize with their peers in a fun setting like a pub crawl or Dave & Busters.
We also have an unlimited vacation policy that doesn’t limit our employees to a fixed number of vacation days a year – as long as the work is getting done, employees are free to take time off when it works for them, contributing to our success on a more flexible schedule that fits their individual or family needs. And we offer regular chair massages, dry cleaning services, on-site gym, stand-up desks, game room, and other great amenities, as well as our own employee-recognition system called PERCs (Prodege Employee Recognition Currency), where employees can receive empowering rewards for a job well done from their peers.
How do you think office design affects work culture?
SO: Office design has a significant effect on work culture. As the leading Internet company in the incentive and rewards space, we work hard to make sure our 13 million members have a fun and rewarding experience on our site, so it’s important to devote that same attention to our employees. We do our best to make sure every member of our team feels good about their work environment from the moment he or she gets off the elevator. Our great, friendly office design with a dynamic creative/tech feel promotes teamwork and provides the right environment to create exciting and innovative services and products that our members will love as much as our employees.
Online media network
Employees at location: 10+
Funding: $500,000
Date founded: 2007
Location: Los Angeles, CA
What were your considerations when picking an office space and designing its layout?
We are a digital publishing company based on a movie lot in Hollywood, so we wanted to have a hip feel that says “entertainment meets tech” yet not spend a fortune and make our shareholders upset. Flow, comfort, cozy, the “wow” factor when you walk in, employee spacing, and even surveying employees were important. – CEO Jimmy Hutcheson
What are some of the perks of working in your office and why are these important to you?
JH: Being on a movie lot with golf carts, being surrounded by amazing people on our team, snacks, a cafe, open to moving desks around are all perks.
[These perks are important] because they make our team happy and because we like to show our office to clients and vendors. And, we like to show our creativity.
How do you think office design affects work culture?
JH: It helps the team feel valued, that they are working on great products, and that our executive leadership cares. It makes people feel that Hutch Media listens and appreciates having proper office space, but we are also being good stewards with our finances and not blowing money on overly expensive furniture. Servant leadership is a big philosophy that we follow at Hutch Media. The best leaders put others first, and don’t mind taking out the trash (and are good with spending wisely on things like furniture). As long as the trash can is a hip, cool one. Just kidding.
Hutch Media’s offices were designed by Los Angeles online interior design startup Laurel & Wolf. They are growing and doing some interesting work themselves; we recommend you check them out.
Geolocation data platform
Employees at location: 71
Funding: $27 million
Date founded: January 2007
Location: Los Angeles, CA
What were your considerations when picking an office space and designing its layout?
Keeping within the theme of location, one of the key considerations for Factual’s LA office was proximity. Factual surveyed its employees for their home location in order to pick an area that would be convenient to all or at least most of their employees. – Director of Finance & Operations Michael Birnbach
How do you think office design affects work culture?
MB: A beautiful functional space, along with exciting challenges, makes for happy and productive employees. Design and space planning is driven by our employees needs and wants, as it affects how we interact with each other and are key influencers of employee happiness. Providing areas to relax, concentrate, exercise, and have fun are vital to our employee culture. Factual’s LA office is a space for people to find creativity, collaboration, inspiration, and fun, and the bonus is that it exists 35 stories above Los Angeles.
Every Friday there is an on-site catered lunch. Friday lunches provide an opportunity for employees to gather together on the “Dancefloor.” (A big open, South-facing space dedicated to Friday lunches, meetups and company-wide Global All-Hands meetings). The SNUG is a dedicated board game room and lounge, where the weekly game night and monthly happy hours are held.
One of Factual’s top priorities is the health of the employees. Yoga and pilates classes are held regularly, while weights and other machines are available in the office gym.
From: Built in Los Angeles