HMTA has recently invested in WorkFrom, a really interesting Portland company that’s headed by Darren Buckner. WorkFrom aligns perfectly with our focus on the future of work. Our core belief is that the “new normal” will ultimately bear little resemblance to our daily lives in 2019. Companies will have many employees who are permanently remote. Team building will be harder. And the workforce will be inherently more volatile.
These beliefs about the future of work has informed our investments in Beluga, Candid, Edify, WorkFrom and the decision to join the board of BrandLive. WorkFrom addresses one of the fundamental challenges of the distributed work environment–the lack of community.
Community and a sense of belonging to a team has always been a key to retaining great people. But more than that, businesses depend on serendipity. The unexpected connections that happen in the hallways or lunchrooms.
WorkFrom allows people to create a personal space–a virtual coffee shop or lunch room– that they can decorate and for which they can add a sound track. The spaces can be individual or shared. Team members can “visit” each other in their spaces.
Many years ago people questioned the Starbucks notion of creating a third space where people could gather that was neither home nor office. Often the reaction was “huh? why would I need that”. But now, many years later, we immediately think of the coffee shop as a natural gathering place. WorkFrom is carrying that some opportunity into our work-from-anywhere virtual world.