Business Insider's SF Sales Team Walks Us Through Our New West Coast Office

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TechSpace

This post is sponsored by TechSpace.

Ever since Business Insider was founded in a loading dock in 2007, our team has just kept growing. And growing. Our New York staff outgrew our old digs and moved into huge, shiny offices in the Flatiron District just last month, but that wasn't our first big move of the year.

In February, Business Insider opened a brand-new San Francisco office so that our SF-based sales reps and editors would have a place to call home. We were the first tenants in a two-floor office space owned and operated by TechSpace, which has similar spaces for startups, small and midsize businesses, and entrepreneurs in eight locations across the country.

Those of us not fortunate enough to live in San Francisco are still wildly curious about our Bay Area outpost. So we went straight to the source - our San Francisco sales team of Michael Jacobs, senior director of sales; Suzanne Galvin, senior account executive; and Carolyn Bartlett, account manager - to get the skinny on what working in the TechSpace office is like for them.

Interview conducted by Business Insider Studios director Patricia Chui. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

BI Studios: Where are the offices?

Michael Jacobs: The TechSpace office is at 77 Geary Street, on the corner of Geary and Grant, in Union Square. It's a block off Union Square. So it's right on the outskirts of all the shopping. It's in a good area.

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TechSpace

Were you involved in looking at other spaces besides this one? What were some of the considerations?

MJ: I just wanted it to be close to public transportation, because for Suzanne and me, it is quite a commute. I wanted it to be near public transportation, whether that was the ferry or BART, which is the transit system. And we are. It takes 6 minutes to walk to the office. It's great.

SG: It's close to two train stations, and it's really central. Downtownwise, it's easy to get to.

What were your impressions of the office when you moved in?

Carolyn Bartlett: For me, living in the city, the location is great. It's about a 10-minute walk. So I think just the location got me super excited. It's very bright; there's open space. Even on the nicest days, I don't feel like I'm crammed inside.

The overall environment is very comfortable. There's a kitchen, which is awesome if you want to have a group lunch, and you can see that there are a ton of people collaborating in the different meeting rooms. So it's user-friendly from a business perspective.

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TechSpace

How many other tenants were there when you moved in?

Suzanne Galvin: We were the first people.

CB: When we first walked in, I thought they sent me to the wrong place.

SG: But now the offices are definitely filling up.

What's the layout of the space?

SG: Every company has its own room, and within that room there's an open space. They have glass doors on the outside, so you can see into the center area. But each company or each team has a different-size room. So some rooms look like they could hold 30 people. Our rooms can hold four people each, and there's one for sales and then one for editorial.

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TechSpace

Can you tell me about the shared spaces?

MJ: You walk in and on the fifth floor there's a reception area, and then there's a huge kitchen to the left that has tables that you can sit at and have lunch. And then there's a huge conference room, almost boardroom style. You go up the stairs and there's an open area that's got a TV, and a ping-pong table, and some couches and pillows. It's bright and spacious. And then all the offices are around the outside.

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TechSpace

SG: There are also small conference rooms. Oh, and they have indoor bike racks. I had never seen that before, but it is so smart and convenient.

TechSpace SF Ping-Pong Table

TechSpace

What is the biggest benefit of working at a space like this, compared to working from home?

MJ: I've been working from home for almost six years now. So for me, there were a few things. When I'm in the office, it's just nice to have folks around, to have interactions, to be able to talk to Carolyn or Suzanne right there, to go to lunch with folks, that kind of thing. When we're having our weekly strategy meeting, it just spurs more conversation if we're there together versus being on the phone.

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TechSpace

SG: I agree. I definitely missed having coworkers. And it's nice to just have people in the office. I make Carolyn come with me to lunch and I tell her everything. And when people send me emails that might normally make me more frustrated at home, I just tell her and Mike about them, and it simmers me down. It's nice to have people around doing the same thing, so you can just say, 'Oh my gosh, can you believe this?'

MJ: Being in this location, there's something about walking outside your door and you turn right, left, or go straight, and there are a lot of restaurants around, gyms, there's good coffee. It's nice to have all that. It's nice to be able to just walk around and you're right there in Union Square.

TechSpace has collaborative office spaces in New York, Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Francisco. To learn more, go here.

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