Where do great ideas come from? In the world of business, that is the million dollar question. Ask the founder of a startup, and they will probably tell you their idea came from a life changing conversation; or years of iteration.
The meeting of minds in a college dorm or a university pub is a familiar story in the start-up world, but to turn a brilliant idea into a successful business you need a team of talented and passionate people that work together and give more than they take. This is what carries successful teams further than larger and better resourced rivals.
Throughout human history cities have emerged for the purpose of knowledge exchange. People gathered to train, learn, and create things that were bigger than themselves. They came seeking the buzz and excitement of urban life and new opportunities.
The meeting of minds in a college dorm or a university pub is a familiar story in the start-up world, but to turn a brilliant idea into a successful business you need a team of talented and passionate people that work together and give more than they take.
Fast forward to 2021, and the pandemic has undoubtedly changed the way we work and our relationship with the office (and each other!). While millions of workers made the switch to a remote set-up in the long months of lockdowns, the experience of working from home is not universal. Some people thrived, others discovered a new set of challenges.
With the arrival of vaccines and the reopening of cities, the post-pandemic world of work has begun to take shape, and companies now face an important decision: should they ditch the office for good?
To answer that question, here at Particular Audience we spoke to our team about what they wanted, and the resounding answer was: flexibility.
With resources like Slack, Jira, Gsuite and Asana, you can take your work anywhere you want, and our team will always have the choice of remote work and flexible hours. We’ve even tackled remote design sprints, so believe us when we say it’s possible.
So does a start-up really need an office? We reflected on the things we love about work (mentorship, fireside chats, whiteboarding, post-it-note-a-thons, Friday drinks!) and realised that we NEEDED a space to call our own.
We considered who benefits from working in an office, and overwhelmingly it is new and junior team members. With our company rapidly growing we want to give our new team members the same opportunities to find mentors and experience the culture that makes startups so unique.
- Learning by osmosis, overhearing or helping others solve problems.
- Developing a network, never feeling like you can’t ask questions or disturb coworkers and bosses.
- Fun! The invisible gel that forms bonds and holds a hardworking startup team together.
We considered who benefits from working in an office, and overwhelmingly it is new and junior team members.
So in November we moved from a co-working space into a four storey office complete with a jungle of plants, comfy break out spaces and a rooftop terrace.
As we grow into our space, we’ll be using our office as a forum for talented people and fantastic ideas. With such an awesome team, we know great work will happen wherever we are at any time of day, but it has been incredible to see everyone collaborating in person. The walls are covered in post it notes and the windows in dry marker scrawls! We’re committed to fostering a culture and an office that people genuinely want to be a part of, and we’re so excited for this new chapter in our story.
