Create It First
For years, we’ve emphasized the importance of creating your ideal office solution before going to market. Why? Because searching without clarity is inefficient and ineffective. Touring buildings with multiple brokers often means being steered toward spaces that serve their commission, not your needs. AI makes the create process easier than ever.
What does it mean to “create” your office?
It means defining why you need an office, what you want it to achieve. Common drivers include:
Team collaboration
Culture-building
Client interactions
Brand presence
Recruitment
Retention
If your company believes an office best supports these or similar goals, the next step in the create journey is answering some simple questions:
How many people will the office serve, and over what timeframe?
Where should it be located and why?
What design will best support your objectives?
What’s the capital budget for securing the office?
What’s the ongoing rent budget?
This process works best with input from finance, people, and operations leaders, noting each will have different priorities. Yet these priorities are also relative, meaning they’re not all equal. For example, finance may push for low cost, but a cheaper space that fails to attract talent could become wasted spend.
For young, growing companies that don’t have experience leasing office space, AI tools can help in drafting an initial brief which can be used to properly engage a real estate advisor. For example, here’s a simple prompt:
We’re a 30-person AI company, growing 10% annually. We need open, creative office space with natural light in San Francisco.
We prefer a 3-year lease, no tenant improvement spend, and need to budget for rent, furniture, IT, and AV.
Which submarkets should we consider to attract and retain engineers? How much should we budget for up-front spend and rent?
Size: 5,000–6,000 SF (assuming 150–180 SF per person, with modest growth built in).
Location: Focus on SoMa, Mission Bay, and South Financial District—close to transit and tech talent pools, while signaling credibility with investors and clients.
Layout: Primarily open space with flexible seating, 2–3 small meeting rooms, 1 boardroom, and collaborative lounges; maximize natural light.
Term: 3-year lease with expansion rights if possible.
Budget:
Rent: $40–$65/SF/year, translating to roughly $18,000–$32,500 per month depending on submarket and building class.
Furniture/IT/AV: $20–$30 per SF upfront, or about $120,000–$180,000 total for plug-and-play setup.
Special Considerations: Look for spaces already built out to avoid tenant improvement costs. Sublease opportunities may provide turnkey creative layouts at below-market rents.
Once you’ve created a clear brief like this, the smart move is to hire an experienced real estate advisor. Unlike landlords’ brokers, a true advisor represents your interests, helping you secure the right space at the best possible terms.
Create it first. Then go get it.