How we nontrivially chose a place for coworking in Moscow and how we arranged everything inside

Short story of our adventures


And here is one of the first customers.

We decided today to tell you more about our coworking. This is a place where freelancers can portray an office, and start-ups plant a team so as not to look for an office. I must say that it is almost as hard to open a normal coworking in Moscow as a portal to hell . In a sense, like some did, but there are no realistic stories.
')
Caution traffic : a lot of photos below.

Choice of place

We needed three places at once in one:

• Actually, the coworking itself is a platform where you can put tables and negotiations. By and large, it resembles the computer room of a public data center: customers enter, shut off from others and work under load. With us - cooling, power, channels and service in general. Only instead of servers - team.
• Negotiations . It turned out that many projects from the zero stage have a constant need for good negotiations. There, where you can bring a foreigner and tell about the project, and that he did not shrink, glancing at the bare concrete. And then, you know, in their films they often show the Russian embassy - such a gloomy casemate, where Comrade Romanoff is sitting, playing with the captured Walter.
• And a platform for learning. I remind both FRIA and we carefully study the failures and successes of domestic projects and help with connections, methodology and information. Information is power. In particular, it is training that should raise Russia from its knees and all that. At least it works for us.

But move on to the room . Many factors were evaluated. For example, the distance from the metro had a weight of 5, and parking - 4; the owner’s adequacy is 4, and the ceiling height is 1. And so on.

Everything was explored: the simplicity of the approach (how to quickly find the first time and how to quickly go, knowing exactly where); external identification of the building (as explained, for example, to a foreigner, that we are here); the relevance of neighbors; the possibility of clustering new companies around coworking; view from the windows; availability of hotels and cafes nearby; opportunities for expansion; permission to go to the roof; availability of a conference room nearby; wall condition; availability of cable channels; ventilation; the level of investment in repairs (there are dozens of factors); naturally rent; operating costs (cleaning, security, and so on).

At first, about 100 objects were surveyed, and each was assigned sample estimates from 1 to 5 for each factor based on the results of calls. Each score was multiplied by a weighting factor, resulting in a final score. We removed 20% of the top results (21 rooms) and drove into place. Then the mathematical and statistical methods did not work, each object was viewed as a separate one.

Second round of selection

According to the results of the second round, I wanted to return to six sites and check everything in detail with the full team. There was one perfect room inside the Garden Ring, and we almost wanted to drive in, but we are a bit paranoid. According to the results of careful picking, it turned out that we do not go through the desired level of insolation. And this is important, since it directly affects labor productivity and mood in general.

As a result, there was a good place in the Silver City business center on Serebryanicheskaya Embankment, 29. It is exactly between Kurskaya and Taganskaya metro stations. At first we were afraid that in the business center there would be no possibility of a separate entrance (well, you know, it will be necessary to drag each time through three guards), but it turned out that everything is in order. He went into the inconspicuous door, showed a pass, got into the elevator and drove right up to co-working. From the outside, it all looks like the entrance to the Museum of the Institute of Time from “Guest from the Future”.

There was a room at the bottom, which we converted into a conference room.

A-class business center (even A +) between Taganka and Kurskaya - we have chosen a place to start not quite lean, if you understand what I want to say. The rent price per m2 here is not just “bites” - it is like a Tyrannosaurus mouth - if hooked, it will immediately turn into a reincarnation line. Nevertheless, after weighing all the pros and cons, we defiantly accepted the challenge of the economy, having calculated that profitability was possible. Moreover, the foundation had a number of fairly tough criteria for where to be based, and the dense interaction of our entire ecosystem with the accelerator and foundation is one of the key components of the whole idea.

It seems that work here for 3-4 days, but in practice, representatives of the IIDF and we ourselves have been looking for a place for almost a month. And then they evaluated and made a decision - almost as many. Perhaps this part was the most difficult.

Preparation and repair

Then we made repairs for a while, waited until the furniture and equipment arrived. The main issue for us was the engineering infrastructure. Everything was done right away. It is not even about Wi-Fi at 100 Mbps, but, for example, about such remarkably mounted outlets in the recreation area. See the white rectangle in the arm of the sofa? He is not so alone there:



It can be taken and opened:



Also, almost immediately it was necessary to mount a normal bathroom and, most importantly, a shower. The shower in general is simply wildly popular with us in coworking - there is a special thrill in quickly rinsing after the hot Moscow heat right at the entrance to the office.



There were engineering communications on the ceiling, but they are now almost invisible, if not to peer. We painted them with matt black paint, and they became almost invisible even in the photo, if not shown on purpose:



Yes, there is one more feature of the entrance - since we work around the clock, and sometimes we have teams right in the middle of the night, it was important that no one was buzzing about this and the entrance procedure did not complicate. Everything is fine with it.

Here is a view from the windows on a summer day:



Downstairs you can find a lot of good cafes, in three places delicious business lunches are served. On the cold compote cafe from the first floor, many already just sat down. But, of course, we have our own kitchen. I'll show you now too.

What happened in the end something?

In general, the meaning of coworking is that you can come and work. Some take office for the whole month, some for 7 days a month when they need to get together as a team or negotiate with potential customers and real investors. Accordingly, about half of the people usually have a “permanent residence”, while the rest are roaming like on a university campus. And the atmosphere itself resembles a university library in some places.

Meet you, of course, a place called "reception". We, in general, love the Russian language, but we can’t get used to call the reception desk “reception room”. Our pepper Igor will be the first to see you. It bloomed recently, by the way:



Workspace - seats for 150 people (with regular discharge, when there are as many people at the tables as there are chairs in the photo):



Here is the fixed command workplace:



And so - the workplace of the marketing team:



Next to all the tables are garbage can capsules. No open baskets full of thrash. In addition to these babies, we already ordered one R2D2 - it will collect the dead batteries.



Kitchen. An automaton sells food, if it suddenly wants to, but usually teams with a “permanent residence permit” carry food from home, while the rest eat in a cafe. But at night, automatic and coffee machine (free, of course) are indispensable. Nearby there is a refrigerator - its insides are filled according to the principle “bank by bank”. You can eat anything you want (except for the Elementaree boxes), but this imposes the responsibility to bring something tasty for the brothers and sisters in the shop. This rule is included in the “Coworker Code”, which we will write about another time.



“Life Button” immediately brought a slow cooker with you. Useful thing:



But such a shell design was just incredibly convenient:



Food:



And, if we started talking about the kitchen, we can not tell you about the mugs. They are printed to us by our friend, the owner of the technology and the unit for HD printing on cylinders and cones. It all started with this:



And then Misha, our “hacker” and CTO (@voldar) remembered xkcd and now every week we add five to eight circles with prints from there:







Negotiation “Portovaya” (someone calls “Amsterdam”, someone “Normandy”):



The glass wall talk - no one climbs open the door, check if it is free. Noise from the inside either — double glazed windows:



Corner gamer. Here you can beat a pear, sit and play consoles, or eat. Among our IT specialists there is a former Special Forces soldier: when he passes the shooters with the PS Move machine gun in the evening, many come running to look. They say it is even more interesting than playing oneself: calmer, and you can check out the special effects in the 2H5m projection on the wall. Then they all drink tea for the victory.



This is our headquarters. While there is no full load, here we sit. There will be - give up under one more conversation:



Toilets are clean and calm. But there are no tables for laptops. For nefig.



This is an important part of the infrastructure - a repository of personal items. They can be stored there, share access rights and update. The boxes are made so that the laptop, a favorite mug and a hiking tourist backpack will surely enter there. Renat, CEO and “hustler” of our team (@ pro4pro), told that he himself measured several bags and large laptops to make sure that everything needed to fit. Summarizing the date - we calculated the size of the lockers, and we made them to order. Those who use coworking as an office just a few days a week, just leave things here. Simple and convenient. The numbering will be the other day - in hexadecimal system.



Next to the cabinets began to collect the library. Since we have just opened, there are few books. But there are already a couple of iconic ones:



In the cabinets we have a hare from the Internet of things. Actually, the first thing from there is the beginning of 2000. It logs in on Twitter and other social networks, subscribes to the necessary updates and reads out the most important aloud. When you post something with the hashtag #tceh, the hare in the closet comes to life and reads it to us aloud.



Understandably, MFP:



A lecture hall is for training or presentations. Just on Sunday, the wall between two such rooms was broken - now we will have a transforming lecture hall with a sliding wall-partition:



It, by the way, is made on Pentagon technology - in the sense that the password from the closed Wi-Fi is recorded on the wall.

Another recreation area, often found and grounded there are looking for each other. You can say, like a fountain in the Central Department Store:



Separately, we have a conference room for 250 people. Now everything is glittering after a party. And do not say later that admins are introverts:



And so it looks empty and cleaned:



This is iron:



And so. In a few months, we will have a controlled camera and even more top conference iron:



There are stocks of tables and chairs. We use them for working formats - workshops and hackathons:



Let's go back to coworking again. Everywhere are easy chairs. You can take one and move to the window. We call them "introverted places". Here is one sitting:



But the other one, and very far from the first:



Cloakroom hidden in the wall:



Board chat in the kitchen, about the hell on top of the post - this is just from it. No one knows for sure why such boards are needed, but this is already a tradition in the places where IT professionals work.



But the balance board. We must get up on the board and try to maintain balance. The thing is completely freaky, because it's great to rest and train the vestibular on it. First, it was brought by that geek, who in the photo above is sitting facing the window. Then they all rode on it, and then someone very heavy broke it.



We thought it was entirely wooden, but it turned out that there were two wooden plugs and a void between them. So, a day later, the people began to ask the local admin, like, and where is the balance board. When will the new one be? And we realized that it is now also part of the infrastructure. And bought two, plus parts for the case of new heavy people.

Now we have 37 places out of 150, we continue to recruit teams. In a coworking, some kind of movement starts to occur, already independent. That's right pleased: someone else brought a chopping board for the kitchen. Cook hot.



But we have reconnoitered that behind the building there is a great slide for a longboard and now some of them ride the subway.



But when we unpacked, we found a valid hashtag.



Like this. All participants get equal access to space resources, the difference in tariffs is only the amount of time that can be spent on the spot. Those who bought the full package sometimes live directly with us: they worked, played consoles, read, ate, worked again, and so on. We already have “Life Button” guests, Weatlas, Elementaree, DinVIO, FotoKeeper, ClubTube and other fun and positive people.

Actually, I argue that the first question will concern prices - despite the fact that co-working is right on the ring, and even in the A-class business center. In summer, prices are lower than the market for workaholics like ourselves. 4,200 pb per month - 7 days of visiting coworking: negotiations, training, consultations with specific specialists, gathering teams to discuss important actions. 9,600 rubles per month - an unsecured office space - come and sit where it is convenient. Now, while we are only growing, discount packages. In the fall, prices will rise, but remain within the average range, for example, a “seven-day” will cost 5,600, and space for a month - 12,000.

Today

We are madly glad that we were able to start all this, and that #tceh works. It is amazing to see how things go from idea to realization, then, after hellish labor, the first guests appear - and now co-working begins to live on its own.

For a month of work, we already became acquainted with the format of the “introvert party”, found out why we should not climb the dungeons (even the Soviet era) of the neighboring “business center”, surprised the security guard with an abundance of strange people at the seminars, plus launched the first serious educational programs.

Interesting? Come visit, we will show everything and tell, we will treat with tea and cookies. We do not bite. Here is the schedule of our events, by the way, if you need a reason to visit.