The dirty little secret is that finding office space for your legal technology startup is very similar to finding office space for any small business. The gritty environs to which tech companies seem to gravitate can actually be construed as something of an advantage for the lean and hungry. Of course, one thing you’ll find out quickly is whether you can truly “work from anywhere.”
Oftentimes, office space considerations come down to cost-effectiveness. And, if you’re in a situation where any additional cost added to your overhead is going to be a problem, you can just work from home. It’s quiet there, and the business tax deductions are useful. It’s gonna be a whole lot tougher to be in touch with your team — even if your team is only another one or two members large — but cloud technology, including video conferencing software and communication and management platforms, makes that less of an issue than it was even ten years ago. In any event, learning how to manage a distributed workforce will likely serve the startup owner well, as more and more traditional corporate structures become nontraditional.
Certainly though, working from home has its disadvantages. Perhaps the biggest issue in working from home is that it’s very easy to just stay there, which means you’re not networking and making essential business connections. If you need to build a network, as one would when launching a startup, then you need to get out of the house. Fortunately, there are a number of workspace options available that are far less expensive than the traditional office space lease. Organizations like WeWork, Regus, and Intelligent Office specialize in providing office space in a group setting for small business owners and startups. But those aren’t the only options. And for a legal technology startup, a significant number of alternatives exists.
There are a bunch of startup incubators, where you can commiserate with other founders. Some of these have actually been established by large law firms, who want first dibs on hot new technology, and potentially an equity interest in the companies building them. These situations will also offer you direct access to the law firm and its attorneys, who may be your first beta testers. There are areas of large cities that feature neighborhoods or districts that are known for the innovating startups that populate them. If you locate your office space in an area that is focused on providing a healthy environment for technology startups, you’ll likely have ready access to investors and advisors, in addition to fellow founders. The big advantage, then, of working primarily out of your home and accessing an innovation center (loosely speaking) is the speed and breadth with which you can build out your professional network.
Your office space needs will change and grow over time, and the fervent hope of any startup is that those needs will advance along with funding and/or revenue. First, you may host your entire staff at single headquarters. But, over time, your organization will grow to the point that you will develop departments, and potentially house those departments in different locations. You will also add remote workers and contractors, as modern business needs require. As your business grows, your office space needs will become more diverse, but the lessons you’ve learned while inhabiting the first spaces your business occupies will come in handy when you’re managing a flexible modern business that will take advantage of the myriad staffing options now available.
