Working with Raise (John Diepenbrock, Felipe Gomez) they searched across the Bay Area, looking at a wide variety of spaces both using Raise’s technology and doing live, in-person tours. Available spaces ranged from “plug and play” solutions that were move-in ready all the way through buildings that required a large amount of construction to eventually fit their needs.
INDUSTRY
Computer Software
EMPLOYEES
100 in San Francisco
OBJECTIVE
Understanding complex systems with one line of code
MOVE REASON
Long term headquarters
MUST HAVES
Right location
Expansion flexibility
MOVE IN
Q4, 2019
Lightstep had three months to renovate and move into their space before their existing lease expired. The Lightstep team leaned early on Raise’s Head of Project Management Kyla Brennan to help recommend a set of vendors such as furniture vendors, designers, and then-external project manager (Casie McCarthy, now on Team Raise). With the right team on the field, Lightstep moved forward and executed against their plan to deliver a high end, brick and timber headquarters.
Raise and Lightstep found a desirable space within a historic brick and timber building in the North Waterfront. Lightstep loved the building for its charm, natural light, interconnecting stairwell, full kitchen, showers, and a private roof deck, as well as the flexibility to grow into the space over time. Still, several obstacles with the lease and other interested parties required that the decision to move forward be made within an incredibly short timeframe.
During the week of Thanksgiving 2019, Raise helped Lightstep go from a letter of intent to a fully executed lease, working fast and furiously to: complete financial analysis on the lease opportunity, fully negotiate all legal documents, finalize construction estimates, and approve floor/finish plans. Raise’s longstanding relationship with Lightstep in addition to the building’s brokers all helped enable the swift turnaround.