Founded in 2015, the company offers what co-founder and CEO Amol Sarva described as “headquarters as a service” — a flexible office space that can be customized for each tenant while also growing or shrinking as needed.
This might sound like it’s addressing the same need as WeWork and other coworking spaces, but Sarva (who was previously co-founder at Virgin Mobile) argued that Knotel is “not coworking.” It’s not just a way to rent out a few desks, but rather to build your company’s office without the risks of a long-term lease.
“It’s a culture-coded environment — it’s your spot,” Sarva said.
This should appeal to startups, where headcount might double or triple one year, and then drop again the next. (I’ve certainly visited startups that were clearly trying to squeeze way too many people into their office, and others who’d leased way more space than they needed and tried to fill things up by renting to others).