(All photos by Brent Wistrom)
If you've lived the startup life, you know what it's like to work from home. That's where it all starts. And when you walk into Square Root's offices on a chill part of West 6th Street just outside of downtown Austin, it kind of feels like home.
It's a bit like a fancy version of the startup incubator home in HBO's "Silicon Valley." Only this company isn't a green team trying to find its way to market.
Square Root, founded in 2006, was built by a Trilogy software engineer -- Chris Taylor -- who was there from the early days and reaped the benefits of being part of one of Austin's foundational software companies. He worked in Trilogy's automotive division in its infancy. So it makes sense that Square Root has cornerstone clients like Nissan. Nissan and other car companies uses Square Root's platform to provide in-depth, easy-to-read insights into how each dealership is doing.
So Square Root qualifies as a mature startup -- it hit about $10 million in revenue last year and keeps growing. And it's totally bootstrapped, pouring its growing revenues back into its expansion into new industries.
But it's the company's bungalow offices that got me in the door.
The roughly 45 employees stroll from house to house in this posh little corner of the city. Sure, there's tap beer in each of the houses -- but there's also fine scotch shelved inside the main house -- the one Taylor owns.
Square Root Founder and CEO Chris Taylor (courtesy photo)
Taylor didn't want to try to win the downtown office battle. So he cut his own path in 2008, buying a quaint, but deeply-flawed house on Oakland Street just south of West Sixth.
"You don't want to be the guy one floor down from Google beacause you're not going to win that game," he said. "...So a lot of the reflection of the office space is a reflection of our culture, but also Austin being scrappy and innovative and having an original and unique environment that everybody can feel like is unique and bring their friends by."
Despite the liquor cabinets and chill culture, it's not a playspace for sipping drinks and dreaming on a bean bag. Most of the team is made up of highly-driven data scientists and engineers who aren't prone to two hour ping pong matches.
Taylor showed me around the homes that collectively make up Square Root. He bought the HQ back in 2008 when housing prices were low. "It's the most genius investment I ever made," Taylor joked.
Square Root HQ (Photo by Brent Wistrom)
One day, a little old lady knocked on the door and told Taylor that she used to live their with her daughter and... while their husbands were overseas fighting in World War II. Taylor remodled it significantly, but kept the old school character and many original fixtures in place.
After filling up one house with the early team, he rented the house next door. Then he rented out another just down what they call Silicon Alley -- a short path between the houses. And the company recently rented a fourth house on the north side of Sixth.
And then Taylor pulled up an Airstream trailer, which is a bookable conference room and will soon have a company brand wrap over its silver skin.
Taylor said the homes are cheaper than a downtown highrise, and much more condusive to the type of teamwork going on at Square Root.
Square Root Software Engineer Annie Hsieh
Annie Hsieh, a software engineer, said she came from an early-stage startup. She digs the how open the company is, giving her the freedom to float ideas with Taylor and other higher ups without a worry. And, she said, the house makes it feel especially relaxed.
"It's more of a laid back office than a normal corporate office," she said.
