Codi hits $16 million, led by a16z, to prove we never really enjoyed working together TechCrunch

We know that a long-term lease is not a move anymore, but San Francisco-based Codi has a hotter trend: nor cooperation. Company by Christelle Rohaut and Dave Schumanstarted in 2018 to create more flexible office space for companies whose employees want a private, flexible workspace.

Today, the most disruptive startup belief is one that disagrees with the co-working model popularized by WeWork. Unlike WeWork, which sells desk space in a shared floor to workers, Codi thinks people want a private space to go to, just a few days a week. Startups is a marketplace that connects companies with assets that match their flexible requirements. It then helps make the transition as smooth as possible, from design to IT, even snacks and office cleaning services.

And, like most startups, it wants the best of both worlds: privacy and community, flexibility and dedicated space, scale and specialization.

Codi announced today that it has raised a $16 million Series A, led by Andreessen Horowitz. The investment comes weeks before the company announced that it is investing in Flow, the next bet by WeWork founder Adam Neumann; Both investments demonstrate the company’s interest in a more flexible but turnkey real estate future.

Rohaut is not too worried about sharing venture backers with the WeWork founder. A16z investment partner, Jeff Jordan, sat on Codi’s board as part of the round; while Marc Andreessen was on Flow’s board, according to the New York Times. The company recently announced plans to become a “remote priority” organization.

“A lot of our companies come from WeWork because they want to graduate from there,” Rohaut said in an interview with TechCrunch. She said that the two top priorities for companies today are first, having their own space where they can build and develop a company culture and customize it to fit their needs, and Second, find a space for employees to work without concentration. downtown and does not require long commutes. Codi, the co-founder said, offers the best of both worlds, where sometimes there’s the flexibility of working from somewhere and the uniqueness of a private office space.

It may be true that most tech workers don’t want to be in the office five days a week anymore, but as employers try to figure out what the new face-to-face life should be like, a flexible office space can also help. may cause their own frustration. Codi needs to convince employers that it makes more sense to go to a flexible workspace managed through Codi than to open a smaller, standalone office.

Codi announced that they have reduced their office opening time from six months to four weeks. Codi can reduce the lease term from 36 months to six months, with the option to extend the contract if necessary. It also offers a concierge team to perform all of its various services, which the startup claims can save tens of thousands of dollars a year.

In terms of real estate, Codi doesn’t own any buildings. Instead, it partners with building owners to generate recurring revenue streams for properties that traditionally only monetize long-term tenants or the size of the entire building. The co-founder declined to share specifics about the number of existing customers, but said that the startup has more than 100 office buildings in two areas: New York and the Bay Area.

It’s a smart pitch, with common scaling headaches to consider. For example, Codi will need to address shorter commute times with more and more hotspot offices for employees no matter where they are at home. If that’s the case, the office could become more fragmented over time if it tries to accommodate the centralized needs of its employees. The opposite of goals for direct work.

There is a common misconception between what people say they want and what people actually do. If there’s one thing that breeding has taught us, it’s that the world is constantly changing its mind. Even with flexible leases, what if a startup wants to go from 2 days a week to 5 days a week over a period of time? That’s not necessarily the challenge Codi needs to solve, but it can certainly complicate the broader vision of developing a private, flexible workspace.