Rofo recently visited the Number 10 office and spoke with the founder and CEO, Thomas Tsatsos. Number 10 is a web design firm focusing on open source solutions that serves clients around the world.

Thomas shared some great insights into finding office space acquired during Number 10’s search for their current space. Then Rofo toured the fantastic Number 10 office space at 444 Townsend Street in San Francisco. It’s a unique and well thought out office with a great open layout. They especially enjoy the large windows that allow great natural light, helping the office’s lush foliage thrive and the employees maintain a healthy complexion.

Number 10 Space Interview with Thomas Tsatsos

Number 10 Office Tour

Who are you, what is the name of your company and where are you located?
We are Number 10 a web design and development firm. The address is 444 Townsend St.

Who do you work with?
We work with a lot of bay area companies, we also work on an national level with companies in other states and we have several international customers as well, with a fair amount of focus on Japan.

How long have you been in this office?
About 5 years.

How many employees at this office?
6 in this office.

Why does this space work for number 10?
We’re a design and development firm focused on open source solutions, and some of the philosophies that surround open source include collaboration and transparency. This office sort of lends itself to that philosophy. We eliminate the daily meetings that you see in typical corporations in favor of quick discussions and this open floor plan allows us to do that easily.

What originally attracted you to this to this space?
I would say the sunlight in the space, you know, healthy tans are important. But seriously, we really like the urban look and feel, concrete floors, high ceilings, its really what attracted us to the place.

Did future growth factor into the choice of this space?
We did and that is one of the reasons we selected this space, because it’s a pretty large space for 6 people and occasionally we have contractors come in and use desks as well so it works out really well for us.

Was transportation and location a factor?
Certainly another factor, we’ve got both clients and employees alike that are not in San Francisco and being just a couple blocks away from 280 and 101, not to mention muni and CalTrain makes transportation very simple. This place is very central and accessible.

How did you find this space? Did you use a commercial broker or online resources?
We used a broker to actually find the location. We went around to several places before deciding on this one. I actually prefer using both resources at the same time, because a broker is always going to find something that you might not have noticed, or they might bring something to your attention that you may not have seen online. At the same time going online and just looking at something like Rofo.com, there’s a convenience factor there, and you can see everything there at once, and you can filter where you want to look specifically.

Did you use any professional services for moving, and do you currently use any services in your office?
As far as moving, not so much, because we were moving from a much smaller place, and essentially ended up buying a lot of our furniture specifically for this space. We do have cleaning services and someone that comes in and waters the plants.

Any pros and cons that you’ve noticed?
I would say that the place is relatively uninsulated, so in the wintertime it gets a little bit chilly, but nothing that a few space heaters here and there can’t remedy.

What are some of the lessons that you learned while finding your office space?
Definitely do your homework, get out there and see as many places as you can, just so that you have a frame of reference. Also, you’re going to start to understand the importance of location and aesthetics versus price. One thing, maybe one takeaway is learn to negotiate with the landlord, there’s always some give and take there, not just on price, but also on amenities. You can get maybe some cleaning thrown in, maybe fresh paint or reduced parking fees.

Is there any specific advice you would give to a new company looking for space?
Definitely get out there and look at as many places as you can, its different looking at a list on the internet than actually seeing it.