Yesterday, I wrapped up a one-month consulting position with San Francisco-based 42Floors.com. As a tenant rep advisor that’s passionate about commercial real estate and technology, I jumped at the opportunity to join the team and get a feel for what it’s like to work within a fast paced startup in the midst of SoMa’s exciting technology boom.
In a nutshell, 42Floors is a free search engine for office listings in San Francisco and New York, wrapped up in a gorgeous user interface. The model itself isn’t exactly groundbreaking, except for the fact that their current focus is not on monetization, but on creating the absolute best user experience possible.
Here’s how it works. The user searches active office space listings and when they find something they like, they submit their contact information and the handoff is made to the listing broker, who then follows up with them to schedule a tour of the space. Nothing revolutionary there. Where 42Floors really sets itself apart, however, is with their Concierge; a human being that uses a telephone to actually call you. How many companies actually do that anymore, and for free? Their only task is to make sure you’re happy, answer questions about the market and commercial real estate, and ultimately, that you’re successful in finding your new office space online through their website.
Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of other great features that elevate the user experience, like robust filtering options, photo-intensive listings and rental estimates for properties that don’t publish their asking rents, but the Concierge addresses a gaping hole in the online listing arena: tenants not only need but deserve the advice of an expert that’s looking out for their interests. This is something that gets lost when a tenant uses the internet to find an office space online and then cuts a direct deal with the landlord without being represented by an advisor. With 42Floors Concierge, the tenant can receive guidance and assistance from a professional they can trust.
My big takeaway from my experience with helping 42Floors develop their concierge program, is that tenants will always need a human advocate, and 42Floors understands that.
Just like WebMD.com will never replace the role of the doctor, 42Floors.com will never replace the role of the tenant advisor – they exist to enhance and compliment the process, be it a trip to the hospital or signing a new office lease.
The Tenant Advocate 
Ben-well written. Good job. What an honor to have been chosen for that experience. Please let me know if I can help you land some new tech related biz and need a grey haired partner with 12 million sf of transaction experience on both tenant rep and landlord rep side of the table!
Kirk Usher, Jr., SIOR Executive Vice President Tenant and Landlord Representation Services
Dunhill Partners West 388 Market Street, Suite 850 San Francisco, CA 94111 commercial real estate brokerage, advisory services, and investments
MOBILE (415) 269-7210 I DRE LIC 00382192 About SIOR I DPW BIO I LINKEDIN I DUNHILL PARTNERS WEST
Thanks Kirk! It really was a lot of fun working with them. They’re all highly-intelligent, very skilled professionals that have a finesse for balancing fun with a solid work ethic. I have a really good feeling about this crew.
Good Stuff!
Angela von Dietrich
1-800-447-5442
Thanks Angela!
Excellent blog post and great experience too! What a tremendous achievement! Congratulations.
Thanks so much, it was a blast! They’re really onto something and are building an exciting model. Great group, too!