The TechCrunch video team took a tour of our headquarters at the Ampere building in Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin. Drawing comparisons between the former electrical substation as the original nerve center of the city, and tech serving as Berlin's new power grid, Tao, COO, walked Ingrid Lunden, TechCrunch news editor, through the thought process of making this space our home.
Constructed in 1926, the building reflects the hundred-year evolution of Berlin and we’re excited about using this space to continue shaping the city’s present and future.
Watch the video here and read the highlights below.
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Why we chose this space
We wanted to honor our three primary stakeholders:
The city of Berlin: We brought as much of Berlin's identity, culture and history into this space. The substation was bringing electricity to the capital before many other cities in the world. The Ampere was very much ahead of its time. Likewise, we’re trying to be ahead of the curve with our platform.
Our team: To set up the actual office spaces and meeting rooms, we worked with a workspace psychologist to ask different staff members what they needed and how they worked.
Our customer: As a company, when you get bigger, there’s always a risk of losing touch with the customer. But there's a way to institutionalize customer empathy. Our themed meeting rooms, like the Mexican wrestling room, the Kyoto tea room, and Amazon jungle, are designed to inspire people by recreating the feeling customers have when they travel.
How this office space affects recruitment
In terms of recruitment, we chose this space because it’s so attractive. We wanted to create an environment where people were engaged, productive, happy, content, but also challenged at the same time so it’s not just relaxation pods.
On why we don't have ping pong tables
We take a stance against ping pong tables, often associated with startup offices. We’ve found that most people get the most joy through solving difficult challenges as a team, winning on metrics. If you want to play ping pong, play it after work. If you look at the distribution of people playing ping pong, it's always the same ten people. We wanted to create a space everyone could access. It's a more inclusive way to engage people.
Interested in changing the world from the Ampere office? Check out our open Berlin roles.
Find the article on TechCrunch here.
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