MyNewPlace Blog

On April 1 we moved in to our new offices at 425 Bush Street. We're still in the process of getting settled into the new digs (you know how moving goes), but thought we would give you a little tour. Our new building… is a great old building right in between the serious business of the Financial District and the great shopping and eating of Union Square. Speaking of food…the food is better in our new 'hood. For one thing, as you can see we traded the McDonald's we used to be above for a Subway. The smell of fresh based bread every day is much better. Best of all, we're located right next door to Claude Lane… …which, in addition to the fabulous Cafe Claude and a very Parisian cafe feel, was also seen in Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo. Read this for proof. On the inside, we not only have more space, we have more conference rooms (as any of you know who work in offices, there is never enough meeting space!). We have the "Fishbowl"… …(so named because the glass walls on both sides make it a *very* public meeting space) as well as couple of smaller conference rooms. We can now sequester the servers into a room of their own where the jet engine volume of noise they produce can be put behind a closed door! Now, the internal guts of our Internet operation can truly be "internal". We're getting settled pretty quickly. Some of use have even peronsalized our offices and made ourselves right at home: And, best of all (for us women at least), we have our own bathrooms.

Well, it's official. We're coming upon our first milestone of which any new start-up should be proud: our first office move. Well, technically second if you count that John (CEO and employee #1) moved out of his home office on one end of San Francisco to 607 Market Street on the other. This technically did force Ken (VP of Technology and employee #2) to have to commute across the Bay. Well…let's not diminish the importance of this milestone to the rest of us…. We're outgrowing our little nook. Oh, it's little in all respects–even our building is a dwarf compared to our Financial District neighbors! Just look:

Official move date is April 1 (no joke! Or, joke on us? Guess we'll see how the move goes!). Now that we're approaching 20 people in the office, it's become a little cramped…and hot…and loud…and lets not even talk about the single bathroom shared by all (I'm taking sign ups now for your place in the queue)–that practically requires a post of its own. Ok, it at least deserves a paragraph…. Ladies, there are only two of us women in this office–Mandy and myself. You do the math. Need I say more? In any event, on April 1 we move to 425 Bush Street. Did I mention that we're in the middle of doing all of the heavy lifting (no pun intended) to create v1.0 of our service that is launching later this spring? No stress here.

Apparently, yes. I already knew they could have diaries (just ask our friends over at Dogster). But, lo and behold, dogs want to blog, too. I found this in my email inbox this morning courtesy of Zero, a 10 year old Border Collie/Mystery Mutt who made his first appearance at work this week. Here's what Zero has to say:

My First Day at the office – by Zero Ken finally brought me to the office. He’s practically been living there for the last six months, but frankly, I don’t see the attraction. Everyone pretty much sits. No one plays ball or takes walks. I sniffed the earthquake kit in the kitchen, and it doesn’t seem that Micki has included any dog treats – what kind of disaster preparedness is that?!? No treats? That's a disaster! Luckily I did find some in John’s office. Technically they belong to Coal, but he and I are both old .com office dogs (veterans of AllApartments/SpringStreet) so I don’t think he’d mind sharing; besides, who’s to tell (does Coal read the blog?)

Lest you think we're crazy, dog blogging is not an unheard of occurrence. Here's proof:

• doglbog
• A Husky's Life
• Bark 'n' Blog, published by Kim, written by Shadrach the Neo Mastiff

Of course, you may still think we're crazy.

Having never worked for a start-up at such an early stage before MyNewPlace, I realize that that there are certain things I've always taken for granted in my larger company environment….the fact that putting paper in the printer doesn't require a trip to Office Depot, separate men's and women's restrooms, heck, even having a company name and logo fall into the "taken for granted" bucket. There is a certain logical progression that takes place when building a company from scratch. We're just starting down the path, but here are the (key) milestones to date (please read with all of the sarcasm intended Yeah! We Have a Name Sometimes the cart has to come before the horse. Case in point, a company must have a name in order to be incorporated. However, coming up with a good, easy to remember consumer-friendly name takes some work. So, we incorporated as Multifamily Technology Solutions. Yes, not consumer friendly. Several weeks later, we came up with MyNewPlace. Of course, when you tell your friends you work at MyNewPlace, they say, "Oh! And what's your new company called?" "My New Place," you say again. "Yes, I know it's your new company, but what is it called?" (Shoulders slouch and head lowers dejectedly) "Multifamily Technology Solutions," you say. And Business Cards to Prove It Now that you have a name, you need to show it off. One way is to create company stationary. Now, in addition to name you need a logo. So, we got a logo (yes, that mouse-house thingy at the top left corner), and put it on business cards (and letterhead and matching envelopes and a web site)…. …Of course, now that we have all of this stuff with 607 Market Street Suite 400 on it, we're probably moving. Heh. And Best of All Tchotchkes With a name and logo, we can now create marketing stuff–like this 7 foot taller banner for apartment (that is, Multifamily) industry tradeshows:

Of course, now all we need is a product that renters and property owners can use. Details. Details.

Nothing like a little morning fire at the nearby BART/MUNI station to get things going….

No worries. We're not at risk (at least, not that we know of, and what you don't know can't kill you right?). However, our Director of Operations, Bobby, and our Product Manager, Rob, did brave going out on the fire escape…

…if only to capture the picture. Thanks, Rob, for the great pic!