The short version
There are a lot of risks and costs associated with moving your company. When it comes to expanding or relocating, you need a solution that is right for your company’s unique needs.
Setting up a distributed team has never been easier – it is a low-risk option for companies of all sizes looking to access a communities key business assets. Whether you want access to talent, cost advantages, or a special ecosystem, setting up a distributed team is a low-risk approach.
A major step to consider when evaluating the location of your distributed team is assessing the size and type of work/office space needed.
Specifically, you need to answer a number of questions:
- What timeline do I have for expansion?
- What is the optimal size of my new team?
- How much space do I need to start with?
- What kind of culture do I want my new office to embody?
It is important to find a space that best suits your team, culture and needs.
Waterloo has recently seen an influx of North American companies setting up distributed teams as a means to access our business assets and collaborative ecosystem.
TD Bank, Insticator and Faire have all found recent success in Waterloo thanks to this model of expansion.
Here are a few examples of these types of spaces available in Waterloo.
Flexible Landing
For a company looking to test the waters of their new location, a flexible landing offers the easy to decide which space is right for you. Whether it be a collaborative co-working space or an innovation lab, flexibility is essential to your company.
- Co-working space: There are many benefits to choosing a co-working space. You get the flexibility of scaling at your own pace, while having your team work alongside other like-minded individuals in the ecosystem. Examples include:
- Innovation Lab: These spaces are great if your company has an idea that they want to explore outside of their corporate headquarters. Communitech’s Innovation Alley offers a dynamic space where companies work collaboratively and launch game-changing idea.
Expansion
If you’re looking to expand and scale a larger team, there are other options available. Whether you’re looking for research or builder’s space – Waterloo has an option to suit your team.
- Research Facility: A space to leverage research institutes and researchers to help advance your companies technology and research.
- Hardware Accelerator: For hardware and manufacturing companies looking to create or innovate their product line(s).
- Tech Hub: For companies looking to expand in a new location it is important to identify the existing ecosystem – having a collaborative community of like minded companies and individuals can help supercharge innovation.
How have other companies found success in Waterloo?
Check out our blog posts about company expansions:
- Read our Q&A with Insticator Founder and CEO Zack Dugow, to find out why these chose to expand their New York City based company to Waterloo.
- Read our blog with TD Bank on their innovation lab in Waterloo.
- Read our blog about why Faire chose to create a distributed team in Waterloo and Silicon Valley.
Want more information about Waterloo?