Offices and Alternatives

September 18, 2017

by a searcher from Massachusetts Institute of Technology - MIT Sloan School of Management in Miami Beach, FL, USA

Where do y'all conduct your search fund work? I live in an expensive metro (Boston) and have a few ideas for where to work, but they all have trade-offs.

Home office: no additional expense, but will likely be less productive due to isolation
Small office: very nice for work, but very expensive unless I move to a cheaper area
Public space (library / coffee shop): no additional expense, but can't safely leave all my stuff (and my laptop!) sitting around if I want to use the restroom
Co-Working Space: like a WeWork or Spaces. This seems like the best option right now. It's cheaper than a proper office, but still lets me get out of the house

Reply by a searcher
from Harvard University in Austin, TX, USA

Haven't kicked off the search yet, but I'd also add the dimension of needing space for interns. I've looked into co-working spaces and the expense becomes prohibitive after 3-4 interns. Right now, my plan is to get a one-bedroom apartment near a campus to get enough space and convenience for interns while keeping costs low. I'm looking into the legal issues with running a search out of a residential lease - any advice in this area is welcome.

Reply by a searcher
from Duke University in Virginia Beach, VA, USA

I was looking at co-working. Seems like a good place to set yourself up for chance encounters that could lead to who-knows-what... but, I do think there's somewhat of a security challenge given the understandable confidentiality requirements for Sellers (not to mention yourself). Interested to know if anyone else has made co-working work and how they addressed this aspect of it.

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