As any city dweller commuting to work in the suburbs can attest, driving to the office on a snowy February morning can be a horrific experience. Fighting impassable roads and gridlock traffic is just one of the many reasons some tech startups have chosen to relocate their offices downtown.
Creating a thriving business with a collaborative company culture is impossible without attracting and retaining great talent. We spoke with three tech startups who picked up and moved their headquarters to the heart of the city. From having access to public transportation and good restaurants, to being closer to top-tier schools, here is what they had to say.
Relocated from Woburn to the Innovation District in Boston in 2013. Responses from Dena Upton, VP of People & Talent
What do the new LogMeIn offices have that the old ones didn’t?
We have a lot more space, an indoor half basketball court, an outside patio and a fully stocked coffee bar. One thing we have here is a central staircase which allows all the floors to connect to each other. The staircase leads to a lot of impromptu meetings,” Upton said, adding that there’s also a fully-stocked gym, tons of bike racks, a roof deck, and a large atrium that’s perfect for housing external events like tech meetings, hackathons and corporate social responsibility programs.
How has the new location impacted LogMeIn’s ability to attract tech talent?
While all these amenities are great, I think location gets talent in the door. When people get here and see the collaborative nature of the company manifested in the physical space, that’s when they’re really hooked. It’s important that when people are interviewing at LogMeIn there’s a bit of that ‘wow’ factor that’s indicative of the culture and the way we work together. The meritocracy of the organization is displayed in the building with its high ceiling and open space. You don’t feel boxed in like you’re in a small little cubby when doing your work.
Relocated from Boston's Fort Point area to a new space at 100 Summer Street in Boston's ‘Innovation Crossing’ area in 2016. Responses from Gordon Burnes, Chief Marketing Officer
How did Bullhorn choose its new office space?
There were a bunch of different reasons for choosing our current location. First and foremost, we call it ‘Innovation Crossing’ because it’s halfway between Downtown Crossing and the Innovation District. Secondly, we’re 100 yards from South Station. We’re less than a thousand yards from the Mass Pike and we’re incredibly centrally located for different transportation options. We have people commuting in from Boston neighborhoods using Uber Pool.
The commuting options are great but the biggest reason Bullhorn chose here is that it afforded us a very big footprint with an open floor plan, which really fosters a lot of collaboration and creativity. Our old building was brick and beam in the Fort Point Channel area and it made collaboration really hard. Now, we have sales, marketing, engineering and customer success all on the same floor right next to each other. There’s a real fluidity and flow of ideas.”
What amenities does the new office space have?
Because we have such a large floor plan, it afforded us the ability to have some things that foster a great culture here at Bullhorn,” Burnes said. “We have a big lunch room that overlooks the Charles River that’s really cool. We also have a large training room so that we can get new hires in and bring them together and get people up to speed really quickly. We also have a jam room that’s full of guitars, drums and a piano that allows people to go in and play music whenever they want.
Relocated from Waltham to Boston’s Seaport in 2015. Responses from Paul Sullivan, Senior Communications Manager
Why did Autodesk relocate to Boston from Waltham?
We have been a driving force behind a lot of innovation you read about with 3D printing. You cannot print anything without first having a 3D design model in your PC. Autodesk software is oftentimes that software. So, in moving to Boston’s Innovation District, we needed a facility that would allow us to do the complex research that we intend to do, and wanted to be in the heart of this town, with a vibrant startup community and large talent pool. We are so excited to be part of one of the country’s most innovative entrepreneur cities. Boston is truly an amazing city.
How has the relocation affected the company's ability to attract top talent?
Boston has a vibrant community of students, academia, startups and entrepreneurs. Because of the schools and younger people moving into cities, the talent pool for recruitment of future employees is an advantage. Location for visiting customers is easier and more central whether they travel by car, train or plane.
How has the move affected company culture?
The employees love the space. An incredibly unique feature of the new Autodesk Boston location is the BUILD Space. It is an acronym for BUilding, Innovation, Learning, and Design. The BUILD Space engages academia, practice and industry to experiment and discover—to fail or succeed in unexpected ways — building a shared vision of the future with our markets and customers.
The BUILD Space is just the place for exploration and innovation around making in the building industry — fabrication and construction. As a company focused on making, we needed places for our engineering teams to work out how our design software connects to hardware and for connecting with our customers and industries around a shared vision for the future of making, fabrication, manufacturing, building, and construction.
Photos via social media.
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