Choosing Your First Private Office: A Founder’s Checklist

Moving from desks to your first private office is a milestone — and a minefield. After helping dozens of teams make the jump, here is the checklist I wish every founder had.

1. Size for 18 months, not today

Count current heads, add planned hires, then add two spare seats. An office that fits perfectly on day one will burst by month nine.

2. Read the flexibility clause first

Can you expand, shrink or exit? Traditional leases punish growth; flexible terms should let you move units as the team changes shape.

• ✓Expansion right to a bigger unit in-building
• ✓Meeting-room credits that scale with headcount
• ✓All-in pricing: furniture, internet, cleaning included

3. Visit at your actual work hours

Tour on a Tuesday at 10AM, not Saturday afternoon. Noise, light and elevator queues only reveal themselves mid-week.

Get those three right and the rest — paint colors, plant corners, playlist debates — takes care of itself.