58
/ BUILDING DIALOGUE / DECEMBER 2014
Trends Matter: No Tuna, No Popcorn
N
GKF, along with Knoll and Elements, recent-
ly hosted the Second Annual “Start Up Cribs”
panel, a Denver Startup Week event that
profiled six tech company founders and CEOs who
explored how place making, culture, identity and
growth are inexorably linked to funding, employee
recruitment andbranddevelopment. 2014 participants
included startups UBER, Gutcheck, Sign Post, Rally Soft-
ware, One Reach and Full Contact.
Eachpanelist talked about the importance of creating
open environments with a limited number of private
spaces, which are reserved for teammeetings or person-
al phone calls. This openness fosters an environment of
collaboration, allowing for an instantaneous transfer of
knowledge. The closeness is critical in the formation of
teamwork, an invaluable asset to a company’s growthand
success. Not everyone is comfortable in these types of en-
vironments, and recruiting like-minded individuals is a
priority.
While Gutcheck bases its new hire criteria on com-
petency and skill set for each respective position, it also
created GASI, short for “Give A Sh*t” Index. Matt Warta,
founder and CEO, says his firm will only hire talented
people who possess that desire to care, which they have
found is critical within their culture. He has found that
the GASIest people are comfortable in these close-knit
environments because they value teamwork and overall
success over the need for individual privacy.
Operating in such a tight environment also requires
many different professional and personal courtesies.
UBER City Manager Will McCoullough outlined one of
the firm’s hard and fast rules: “No tuna, no popcorn.” This
simple rule was developed out of its first office experi-
ence. UBER staff were cramped into a small office above
restaurants on East Colfax – and the smells emanating
from the alley were tough to bear, and ultimately unpro-
ductive. This rule remains even after moving to cozy digs
at Galvanize, and now Industry.
Elias Parker, managing director with One Reach, shared
a similar byproduct of the close-knit working environ-
ment, with the house rule “Food, Outside,” limiting where
food is eaten. The company found that by eating outside,
many team members take it upon themselves to have
impromptumeetings outside of the office, providing op-
portunities for fresh air, as well as connecting with one
another in amore intimate setting.
As Denver’s technology community continues to grow,
creative office space is at a premium. One of the advan-
tages of this openness is the ability to reduce the overall
footprint of office space, helping to offset the rising cost
per square foot. “These spaces arenot happenstance,” com-
mented Dan Simpson, director of management services
at NGKF. “Finding the right balance between footprint
reduction and the creation of a positive and open envi-
ronment is complex and requires experienced and inno-
vative project management and design consultants.”
\\
Andrew
Blaustein
Managing
Director,
Newmark
Grubb
Knight
Frank
TRENDS
in End User
