HootSuite’s Headquarters Has Bulletproof Windows
Today HootSuite circulated a Q1 update press release with some impressive sales numbers and another huge milestone hit – surpassing six million users.
Today’s series of announcements coincided with a local Vancouver media tour of their brand new office in Mount Pleasant. And the move into bigger digs couldn’t have come at a better time. HootSuite was bursting at their previous office – which according to CEO and Founder Ryan Holmes, sucked- and their new open space is move than enough to accommodate their continued growth.
According to the today’s release the social media dashboard’s dramatic growth was largely driven by increased demand among large global organizations with a 272% increase in corporate sales (companies valued at less than $10 billion) in Europe, the Middle East and Asia and a 900% increase in international strategic sales (companies valued at over $10 billion). As a result a whopping 79 Fortune 100 companies are using HootSuite today.
HootSuite’s HR Owl Ambrosia Humphrey told media that they’re adding an average of 10 new hires weekly and have hit a 300 headcount, including 30 people in Europe. Humphrey’s job is not an easy one as the company is currently getting 700+ job applications per month.
The new HootSuite HQ is a complete transformation of a nondescript two-storey building on East 8th that used to be a undercover police station. According to Holmes the renovation of the 34,000 square feet space cost $2 Million and involved removing 17 tractor trailers full of walls, ceilings and cubicles. For those wondering, the building is owed by the City of Vancouver and HootSuite signed a fair market lease on it with an option to buy outright later.
Today’s media tour ended with a huddle around Holmes as his shared his vision for the company and Vancouver’s tech community.
While he remains locked on his lofty goal of building a billion dollar company, it is clear that his day-to-day focus is scaling the rapidly growing business while preserving its unique company culture.
Four other interesting facts from today’s tour:
The average age is 29.
HootSuite currently has 26 Interns.
HootSuite HQ windows are bullet-proof (please do not test this theory).
95.5% of HootSuite customers are using their freemium product.
Meeting rooms are named after owl species based on size – from Elf to Great.
