

Ask HN: Startup workspace - office or house? - dshankar

Pros/cons for having a separate office &#38; living arrangements versus a large house for all employees to live &#38; work in?
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staunch
Some people have no trouble working from home. They're more productive. Others
need a separate place to go to so they can get into "work mode".

Money is also a factor. If you have funding and a few employees it probably
makes sense to spend $2k/mo on an office.

If it's two co-founders bootstrapping it might not make sense for a while.

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thetylerhayes
There are definitely many startups in SF whose teams all live in the same
house together, and work there, who seem to be doing just fine. Some (like
<http://thumbtack.com>) even have an in-house chef and other perks.

In my opinion, early-stage startups should live together. Yeah, sure, it'd be
nice to have more of a distinction between home and work, but honestly 90% of
your day in an early-stage startup is work. However, an office is definitely
preferred during the later stages, which is not to say that a house is
inappropriate.

Key milestones which might be a good sign for getting an office space:

\- Not even two houses could hold all team members

\- You're on your third hiring wave (i.e. none of the new hires are considered
part of the core, or even secondary, team)

\- Your advisors tell you to get a house

\- Increasing tension among workers

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iuguy
Initially homes are great but the work/home split generally goes away
completely. I'd look to move to an office the minute you have (or are within a
month of) an MVP that has a good chance of being ramen profitable. It doesn't
have to be a big office, you don't all have to be there all the time, it just
needs to be something that isn't where you eat, sleep or relax.

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togasystems
I ran a startup that was based out of my house. The team would show and we
would work in my living room.

Pros: \- Cheap \- Always had good food and a full kitchen \- I could talk to
sig other when I wanted to

Cons: \- My sig other could talk to me when they wanted to \- When I was sick
or away, the team had to work from home \- Easily distracted

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kingsidharth
House: Bad for productivity. Office: Sucks at general. (IMO)

 _Garage: Best of both worlds_

As in some bootstrapped place which inspires you to work. Can be a room in
your home or even rooftop (like Mashable).

~~~
dshankar
Garages are attached to houses so...House? Haha ;) Also, I'm personally
noticing the reduced productivity, that's why I'm not sure I like the "house"
idea.

~~~
kingsidharth
Garages have different environment and physical set-up. >Take a room >Empty it
>Now just put bare minimum you need to work (a Computer, Table and Chair /
Beanbag) in my case. And let it fill up with inspiration. Being a designer I
like blank canvas to paint it with my imagination.

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pitdesi
I think it completely depends on the people. Some people find it too
difficult, but I think it's perfect. There's also another aspect, which is
time... it takes time to cook, clean, find a place, commute. Living together
eases all of these things and allows for sharing of other stuff.

Anyone know the tax implications? (Ie what can you write off?)

