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We Pay Our Rent By Buying Coffee

Posted by michael on from the 1000-lines-per-cup dept.

Wired is running a story on Delicious Monster, a startup Mac software company whose main office is a Seattle coffee shop. Hope they're drinking decaf.

11 of 442 comments (clear)

  1. easier solution by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Wouldn't it be easier to work from home? That's what I do.

    1. Re:easier solution by TomorrowPlusX · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Not everybody *enjoys* working from home.

      Personally, I like to separate my work from my life. It's not that I like one and not the other, it's that I like them to be different.

      I do work in an office, but when I work on my own projects ( robotics & AI ) I do it in a coffee shop. It works for some mindsets. For me it gives me the comfort of *not* being cooped up in my apartment. I get to be surrounded by humanity, and in the chaos of noise, people and music, somehow my mind focuses like a needle.

      When I work at home, I end up just being distracted and watch a movie, or spend time with my GF.

      E.g., not productive ;)

      --

      lorem ipsum, dolor sit amet
    2. Re:easier solution by Skidge · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Not everybody *enjoys* working from home.

      Very true. I thought I would; I'm a fairly introverted guy and able to focus pretty well on things, so when I had the opportunity to work remotely for my company, I did for about a year and a half. It was great at first, but after a while I found myself longing for more of a division between work. Working from home, for me at least, led to a feeling that I was never not at work; if I had some spare time, there was a small feeling prodding me to spend it finishing up some project for my job.

      I finally had enough, so I found a new job, in which I work for a relatively large company in a large room with 10 or so other developers in it. It's actually quite refreshing to have those other folks around. Just having some other ideas floating around me has greatly increased my motivation. Plus, when I get home, I'm now only at home, not at work.

  2. Security? by locokamil · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'd wonder about security though. These guys are working on wireless internet on a public network while developing proprietary software. What's to stop one guy with a snooper and a latte-wielding disguise from stealing all their work? Yes, it's quirky. And I'll be damned if I wouldn't love to pay my rent in coffee... but I'm just not sure it's good business. Of course, this is all speculation on my part. We only have a Starbucks here.

  3. Not surprising when your co-founder was... by tyrione · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Co-founder of OmniGroup in Seattle.
    http://www.omnigroup.com

    I had no idea Wil left his baby, OmniWeb to do a start-up. With his almost 15 years of Cocoa programming experience I'm sure they'll make it.

  4. Re:Decentralisation by sg3000 · · Score: 4, Insightful
    > Don't you worry, as soon as they have serious money in the
    > bank, they'll feel compelled to set up shop in a regular office

    Maybe. But I read on Think Secret that Delicious Monster was started by some guys who left the behemoth software conglomerate Omni Group:
    Two former employees of developer The Omni Group have reportedly founded a new Mac OS X software company called Delicious Monster Software, and exciting products are in the works. The company was formed by Omni Group founder and former President Wil Shipley as well as interface designer Mike Matas, both of whom are said to have formed Omni's user interface team ....

    So it sounds like they left a small company to put together an even smaller company.

    I admit, I just use their software. I know none of these guys and I've never worked for their companies, but it doesn't sound like either company is running to put on the white shirt and tie just yet.
    --
    Insert simplistic political, ideological, or personal proselytization here.
  5. Easier to go insane, yes by Infonaut · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Wouldn't it be easier to work from home? That's what I do.

    I started a company with a friend of mine three years ago. We each worked out of own homes, and met twice a week in person (at a coffee shop, natch') to be sure we were synched up. But after a while it started to become difficult for me to stay in the same damned room all day, then move over a few feet into the kitchen for dinner, a few feet over to the living room to watch a movie, and then a few feet again to go to sleep. I felt like a freakin' hamster.

    When we got the chance to share office space with a couple of other guys who ran their own small companies, we jumped at the chance. Splitting the money three ways makes rent much cheaper, and we get human contact. Sometimes you don't need to have specific interaction. You just need to be around people.

    That's part of the appeal of working in a coffee shop. You can focus on what you're doing, but there's enough human activity that you can also get that feeling of connectedness. When you work alone at home by yourself it's easy to feel disconnected from the rest of humanity, no matter how many IMs you get from your buddies.

    But maybe it's just me. I haven't yet transcended meatspace.

    --
    Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
    1. Re:Easier to go insane, yes by FinestLittleSpace · · Score: 5, Insightful

      it's definately a balance. for a year now ive worked in an office of 10, in a room of 3 people (including me). Increasingly though, ive grown tired of the people; depending on combinations of who's in our room at the time (people often wander in and work with someone/chat), i get different stress levels, and sometimes (very much so in the past few months) find it EXTREMELY hard to work at all with certain people in the room, or just ANYONE in the room. It's pretty much got to a point where there's 1 guy (who is having a break in a week for 2 months, phew) TOTALLY destroys any moral to work. He's just that much of a cock....heh.... loves the sound of his own voice...self righteous...everything *sigh*.

      So... a few days ago i had a big deadline. I was REALLY getting concerned by my workflow (or lack of...) so i took the opportunity to work from home (i live 200 yards away, so the guys dont have a problem with it) and worked 36 hours flat (dont.. ask) because for the first time in months, i felt GENUINELY motivated. i couldnt believe how motivated i was just being able to focus without some idiot slagging me off/boosting his ego.

      And that's my story. too much of one can piss you off, too little can also piss you off... and dont work with wankers, it isnt fun.

  6. Re:Decentralisation by wjsdelicious · · Score: 5, Insightful

    > They left a smaller company where they didn't have control to form a smaller company where they would.

    I was the president of Omni Group for about 10 years, and I founded it, and I still am the largest shareholder.

    > When they enter middle age they'll not want their 'window office' to be a seat at a coffee bar.

    I'm 35. I had a real window office most of my adult life, and I'm much happier now.

  7. Am I the only coffee-house user who this annoys? by OnanTheBarbarian · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I've spent an inordinate amount of the last decade sitting around in coffee houses of varying degrees of corporateness (Starbucks obviously being on one end of the scale). Quite frankly, one of the reasons that I've stopped spending time at coffee houses are people using coffee houses in exactly this way.

    I don't mind people working in coffee houses. I don't mind people meeting in coffee houses. What I do mind is when people start doing things like presentations to enough other people that they have to raise their voices, talk loudly and endlessly on their damn cell phones (not to mention taking endless calls), and blather away like they own the whole place. Guess what - it's not your office, guys. It's really not.

    Tech nerds are usually fairly good about this. Some of the local business types are just complete pricks about this, though. It's like they've never considered the idea that the whole place isn't interested in the unique, dynamic work environment that their chain restaurant is going to provide.

    I'm not under the delusion that coffee houses should be some sort of library-like atmosphere, or that no-one should ever conduct business there, or anything like that. I'd just like (for a change) for people who are doing business in a coffeehouse to recognize that they aren't in their own office.

  8. Re:I see we have it all wrong by wjsdelicious · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Being an espresso snob is very expensive. The machine back at Omni cost us $1500 on close-out, and I think it kind of sucks, now.

    The two La Marzoccos at Zoka cost, no kidding, something over $20,000 each. (They are re-tuned by hand once they come in the United States to be even more frou-frou.) Their entire water supply is run through an enormous Cuno water filter. They roast their own beans (which they sell as far away as Japan) and train baristas from all over the country. Their baristas consistently place tops in the national tournaments.

    Seriously, you have to try an extra-foamy mocha here. Imagine drinking coffee-meringue-pie!