{"id":2239,"date":"2010-02-07T08:51:43","date_gmt":"2010-02-07T16:51:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redfindevelop.wpengine.com\/blog\/?p=2239"},"modified":"2025-07-01T05:52:22","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T12:52:22","slug":"the_garage_and_the_penthouse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.redfin.com\/news\/the_garage_and_the_penthouse\/","title":{"rendered":"The Garage and the Penthouse"},"content":{"rendered":"

When it comes to rent, entrepreneurs are sometimes too cheap for our own good. Up \u2018til Redfin\u2019s move last week, I\u2019d spent the last 15 years in Grade B & C office space and, as a point of pride, looked forward to spending another 30 more in the same.
\nIt was the only thing I knew. On my first day at Redfin, I sat in David Eraker\u2019s apartment at a desk beside the bathroom, listening twice a day to Bahn and Savan work their magic. Our first San Francisco office was an un-air conditioned sweat-shop next to a pile-driver that made the floor shake every few seconds.
\nRedfin got low-rent places partly to save money \u2013 I still sleep on friends\u2019 floors when I travel and none of us has an assistant — partly to avoid going soft, partly just to one-up our friends: entrepreneurs brag about controlling costs because it\u2019s the one thing at a startup we can control. And we love the camaraderie — is there a more potent startup symbol than the garage? — of everyone working together in close quarters.\"500px-Ho_Chi_Minh_at_Lijang_River_(China)_in_1961\"<\/a>
\nBut I\u2019ve seen startups take it too far, with eight people in a one-bedroom apartment working beneath the auspices of a Ho-Chi Minh poster. This sounds fun, but you get less done.
\nSo when rents plummeted in Seattle last fall, Redfin went on the prowl for a better space<\/a>. Now that we\u2019ve moved to a little building by a farmer\u2019s market<\/a>, overlooking the water and a few mountains, the whole office is energized. People smile more. Since all the walls are glass, folks feel more approachable. We are more likely to work things out in person, which is faster than emailing. Since the building doesn’t turn the heat off at 5, we are more likely to work late.
\nWas it worth the extra juice? Let\u2019s just do the math. Even for a hefty startup of 50 people, which requires about 7,500 square feet, the costs differences are small:<\/p>\n