Letgo: The Case Study of 128% Headcount Growth in Two Years

Letgo is the fastest growing mobile marketplace to buy and sell locally.

As of August 2017, letgo's team is made up of over 170 employees of 20 different nationalities spread across nine offices. Their team is growing like a weed -- with 128% headcount growth over the past two years -- and raised a $175M venture capital round in Q1 2017.

Given this explosive growth, we sat with letgo's Workplace Experience manager to discuss her experiences with the company thus far, and her track record of helping other hyper-growth stage startups with their real estate and occupancy decisions.

Vivian Ramirez has been the Office Experience Manager of letgo since May 2017 and is helping with the buildout of their new HQ at 490 Broadway in SoHo. Interview Q&A is below:

What prompted your team to make the move to SoHo?

Our NYC leadership team was focused on SoHo and Tribeca due to the amenities in the neighborhood, density of tech talent and familiarity with the neighborhood based on prior work experience. Many of our employees commute from East Village and Brooklyn, so access to transportation was key which made 490 Broadway a logical choice.

Prior to starting at letgo you spent nearly four years at xAd. How has the experience been working at 1WTC vs. 490 Broadway?

xAd rapidly outgrew their space in Midtown South, and the views, tax incentives and landlord's willingness to help fund the construction at 1WTC were all driving factors behind the decision to relocate downtown. We were able to design the group to support the tendency for xAd to host a number of focus groups, which was extremely important for the team.

From a transportation standpoint, 1WTC was generally more convenient for employees commuting from within Manhattan and Brooklyn, but 490 Broadway is in a more-familiar area for many of our current employees. 

Some of our clients still express their hesitation to relocate to the WTC due to a perceived stigma. Was this a factor in your decision?

There were a few employees who expressed their concern, but we held a townhall meeting for everyone to voice their opinion. After more employees saw the light, views and amenities of 1WTC, most skeptics were excited to make the move. 

What are some of the frequently overlooked considerations while making a move and designing a space?

Moving is time-consuming and expensive, and it's extremely challenging for younger companies to accurately forecast their headcount growth. As the Workplace Experience Manager, it's important to work with finance and HR teams to attempt to forecast 1-2 years into the future and design a space where shared areas could be converted to desks.

One problem I've experienced twice is a workspace where the pantry area is designed in close proximity to active workstations; the smells and volume can be disruptive to employees. When designing xAd's 1WTC and letgos' 490 Broadway offices, we attempted to put breakout and collaborative spaces near the pantry, rather than offices and benching. 

What, in your opinion, is the ideal density of a work environment?

This is dependent on the type of organization, but in my experience, 175-200 sf per employee has been an effective benchmark. Higher densities can be achieved, but there's a point of diminishing returns when a loud sales team is working next to engineering and HR functions.

For more information on letgo, workplace strategy or space availabilties, please feel free to contact Andrew Coe at andrew.coe@am.jll.com

Barker Advertising - 30 Broad Street

Earlier this month our team had the pleasure of speaking with John Barker, the President & Founder of BARKER Advertising. In 2013, Barker relocated from a SoHo loft to the Financial District, an uncommon move at the time for an advertising and interactive agency.

BARKER occupies the top two penthouse floors of 30 Broad Street, a Pre-War building one block from the New York Stock Exchange which recently underwent a major capital improvement project including a new lobby and elevators.

Interview Q&A Below

It’s our understanding BARKER relocated from SoHo to FiDi in 2013; what prompted your agency to make the move to an area previously defined by financial services and insurance companies? 

For us, Lower Manhattan was an obvious choice. It was clearly the next place for a vibrant turnaround and we predicted that it would be the TAMI (technology, advertising, media, and information) tenants that led the transformation. Downtown is so brilliantly cool, so rich in history, and with extraordinary infrastructure, from subways to ferries. It was also a stronger value than Chelsea, SoHo, and all other places we were looking.

Since you moved Downtown, a number of household-name firms (i.e. Condé Nast, Spotify and Hugo Boss) have also relocated to Lower Manhattan from Midtown & Midtown South. Is the increasingly-diversified tenant roster palpable? 

It is palpable. In fact, it's moving so quickly that it's genuinely difficult to keep track of the progress. Not only do we now have Brookfield Place up and running, but we also have the brilliant new Beekman Hotel and the re-imagination of South Street Seaport already underway. It's an amazing time to be here. 

BARKER occupies the penthouse of 30 Broad Street which, needless to say, has tremendous light and views. How do you think the character of your space impacts your ability to attract, train and retain top talent?

Our space has become part of our culture. The light, the views, the boat traffic, the powerful history of mercantilism. All you have to do is look at our Glassdoor reviews to see what an impact the space has made on employee morale. 

What are the top three most-popular bars and restaurants your employees flock to near 3­­0 Broad? 

We're all big Bobby Van's fans, because it's old world and literally across the street. Ambrose Beer and Lobster at South Street Seaport is a fun place. The Dead Rabbit on Water Street is a classic. And Stone Street is amazing in the summer. 

What is the single greatest challenge with your space, and with Lower Manhattan more generally? 

The streets are old cowpaths which adds to the charm, but learning your way around can take a while. There's no grid down here. Outside of that, we need more restaurants around Wall Street and Broad, but it's improving all the time.

30 Broad was recently sold and is undergoing extensive building and elevator renovations. If you were a tenant in Gramercy being faced with $65 per s.f. rents with an option to come to FiDi for $55 per s.f., would you still make the move today? 

No doubt about it. The new owners here have been tremendously collaborative and professional, and they're investing heavily in the building to make it state of the art. We couldn't be happier with our tenancy.

John Barker Biography

John Barker is the recipient of over 100 international awards during his 30-year career. Before founding the agency in 2003, he served in senior positions within Grey Worldwide and Sony Music. 

Among other notable accomplishments, he has piloted branding and advertising campaigns for many of the world’s foremost marketers including P&G, PepsiCo, Estée Lauder, Sprint, Hasbro, Bloomberg, and McGraw Hill; launched over 50 original television series including Gilmore Girls, Dawson’s Creek, NYPD Blue, Roseanne, and Twin Peaks; helped launch and establish The WB Network; marketed music stars such as Billy Joel, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, and Gloria Estefan; served as Creative Director of Def Jam Recordings and repositioned The History Channel, adding over $4 billion in valuation.

Mr. Barker is the recipient of a Grammy Award and an Emmy Award for marketing, and is regularly featured in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Advertising Age, and Crain’s Business. He is a graduate of Yale University, where he received numerous awards for writing.

Meet Vesper: Your New Best Friend for Managing Your SMB Office

The average salary for an Office Manager in NYC is $50,222, with a typical retention term of 6-24 months.

In October 2015, Co-Founder & CEO Margaret Tung launched Vesper to help business executives create longer-term relationships with experienced office administrators for less than it costs to hire a dedicated office manager in-house.

Margaret, a Yale graduate and serial entrepreneur, recognized that office managers typically receive lower compensation than other employees on the payroll, and yet are imperative to the business (and office) running seamlessly.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average annual salary for a NYC employee is $144,716 with a tenure of 4.2 years.

The disconnect in compensation, according to the Vesper team, lies in the fact that business executives frequently seek recent graduates and other nonexperienced personnel to help with administrative duties.

As such, there is a steep learning curve for new administrative hires before they can seamlessly manage company-specific calendars, inventory, procurement, event-planning and vendor relationships.

Vesper's research indicates that once office administrators have mastered their various roles, they frequently seek new and stimulating challenges. Oftentimes, these opportunities exist at different organizations, leading to high turnover.

This self-perpetuating cycle of interviewing, hiring and training new office administrators is counterproductive to the growth of a company of any size, and is particularly toxic to a SMB which needs all resources dedicated to building the core of the business.

Vesper offers a unique solution, which results in savings in excess of $30,000 annually for most clients.

The Vesper team takes a consultative approach to learning about your organization's office and administrative needs and dedicates specific Vesper resources as required by your business.

They offer metric-based pricing based on specific tasks and purchasing so you will never need to guess how long it will take to organize the company holiday party, or how much extra the heavy stock holiday cards will cost.

All Vesper employees are trained and experienced in calendar management, inventory management, procurement, event-planning and vendor management, which can be handled remotely, on-site or a combination of both. 

Best of all, Vesper's services can ebb and flow with the cyclicality of your business. If your team needs an office manager with "boots on the ground" in Q2 & Q4 but can function with virtual assistance in Q1 & Q3, Vesper will work with you.

Between employment costs, equipment and inventory, Vesper saves most clients in excess of $30,000 annually.

Moreover, with office leasing costs in Manhattan at staggering levels ($12,353 per employee annually, according to JLL's Q3 Research), the ability for companies to have their OM off-site (or partially offsite) only makes Vesper's business model increasingly compelling.

Vesper's win is your win.

If your 30-employee company raises $25M in Series B funding, the future looks bright. Unfortunately, your leverage in negotiating for discounted office supplies is inconsequential.

Fortunately, Vesper works with innumerable NYC-companies between 15-300 employees, and the economies of scale are passed on directly to your business.

Vesper employees -- your dedicated office administrators -- are kept stimulated and happy because they work on multiple projects across various organizations. This means they will also be part of your team for, on average, longer than if you hired an office manager directly.

For now, Vesper operates exclusively in New York City. In 2017 and beyond, look for them to launch in other major cities across the U.S.

For more information on how Vesper could run your office visit getvesper.com or email team@getvesper.com.

Sources: JLL Research, PayScale Human Capital, U.S. Department of Labor.

---

To find out how NYC Office Digs could help your company find the perfect office, drop us a line today and we'll get back to you within 24 hours!

November 2017 Tech Monthly Report: Click Here