StartupHouse: Where Startups Grow

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It can be hard to decide where to work when you're in San Francisco. The amount of coworking spaces are pretty high.

Here is our interview with StartupHouse located in Soma (South of Market). 

1. How and why was StartupHouse started?

StartupHouse was born with a goal to provide a space for StartupBus alumni to continue working on their ideas beyond the highway hackathon. The idea is to provide an awesome but simple environment in the epicenter of Silicon Valley to support early stage startups, and enable them to build the future they envision.

2. How would you describe the environment/culture for those who work here?

Our goal is to support builders, bootstrappers and disrupters, so people in here have big ambitions and put in a lot of hard work. Many work late and push hard to build their startups. Our approach is hands off but we're ready to help make introductions and connect people help them pursue their vision. 

3. How do you describe the look and feel of the physical work space?

We embrace creativity and our space reflects that. Our walls are full of murals, our events are packed with great people and we tend to stay clear of a sterile office-like environment. Startups are experiments and so is StartupHouse. 

4. Why should people work here and not one of the other coworking spaces in the area?

Everyone here is either a founder or part of the core team as employees so the atmosphere here is that of an organized chaos, just like the state of most early-stage companies. Unlike other coworking spaces where you find a lot of consultants and freelancers, we tend to attract more early-stage startups poised for growth. 

5. Tell us a story of something interesting that's occurred here; people met and started a company, well-known company first started by working here, specific events, etc. 

We hosted VC panels with George Zachary of CRV, Niko Bonatsos of General Catalyst, and Jeff Tannenbaum of Blue Run Ventures to name just a few. Also we host Happy Hours where over 200 people sometimes turn up. About once a week we meetups and workshops focusing around topics relevant for early stage startups: customer development, growth, and product vision. 

One of the early events was a weekend workshop where we hosted a Women Who Code event. The free event got overbooked so every seat and surface was filled with women to the point where the instructor asked me to shut the door and not allow any more late-comers. I tried, but it didn't work - folks came from all over the Bay Area and were adamant about squeezing their foot inside the door. It was great to see so much energy. 

To book a desk at StartupHouse, click here

Published November 13, 2014

Angela Baldwin

Angela Baldwin is the Social Media Strategist for DesksNear.Me and Near Me.