Co-working communities

Day 6 in Amsterdam and I am at the lingering cough phase of my cold and the last legs of beating jet lag. Despite all this, I managed to take 3 workout classes and was productive in the office all week. I am not sure if “toughing it” is the best method for recovery. Maybe I would’ve been better off in the long run if I stayed home for the first couple days.

Onwards…

I am always impressed everything I come to our Amsterdam office. Secfi has called TQ Co-working home since the beginning. The TQ Offices are located right at the flower market in the Amsterdam city center. It is a big tourist area but being central makes it really easier for transplants and visitors to get to the office.

We have moved offices multiple times in the last 2 years and we now occupy two large offices and perhaps will need to start looking for a 3rd soon. It won’t be much longer when we outgrow a co-working space completely and move to a permanent office.

TQ does an awesome job of creating a community among it’s residents. I’ve met lots of cool people from awesome start-ups in my visits here. There’s a large cafeteria and community room on the top floor that looks more like a bar than an office. Daily and affordable lunches makes it easy for companies to provide the basics without breaking the bank.

The basement is a large floor completely with multiple ping pong tables, badminton and volleyball nets, and serenity rooms. There’s bicycle and car parking, and even two decks on the top floor where all residents are free to roam.

When we looked for offices in San Francisco, we found nothing close to TQ. I understand there are space and cost restraints in SF nowadays, but I do hope that SF has a co-working space that resembles TQ one day. It makes working much more fun.

I am looking forward to today’s happy hour at the upstairs cafeteria. There’s free beer from 4-6pm and it’s always fun unwinding with the team as well as meeting people from other start-ups. This could possibly be the last time I am at TQ so it’s a bit of a sad ordeal as I reflect all that was accomplished here by Secfi.