New York Startups Ditch the Perks and Rediscover the Office
Free lunches and nap pods are out. Smaller, cheaper, in-person teams are back in fashion among the city's founders.
The lavish startup office — with its kombucha taps and catered dinners — is out of style in New York. In its place is something leaner and, founders argue, more durable: modest space, in-person teams, and a hard focus on revenue.
The fictional software company Roster cut its glossy SoHo loft for a plain floor in the Financial District and requires its small team on-site four days a week. "The perks were a recruiting gimmick," its chief executive said. "The work is the perk now."
Investors have encouraged the shift, rewarding capital discipline after years of growth-at-any-cost. For the city's founders, the new status symbol isn't the office slide — it's a path to profit.
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