Today we’d like to introduce you to Emmanuel Guisset.
Emmanuel, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve often been asked to tell my story — how Outsite came to be and the journey I took to get here. There were a lot of pit stops along the way, but when it comes down to it, the idea of work+play in beautiful locations sprang from a simple and somewhat selfish place. I simply wanted to find a way to combine work and my passion for the ocean. One year, 3 locations, 250 guests, 15 company retreats and 1 surfbus later… I can safely say that dream has become a very real reality.
A few years ago, I was just another mid-twenties guy building my career in Silicon Valley. The Belgium travel tech company I was working for wanted to build out their U.S. branch in California. Dreaming of surf and sand, I eagerly prepped my passport for a new life. But there was one problem… their office was in San Jose! A place that didn’t exactly fit the beach lifestyle I was seeking.
On a weekend road trip, I stumbled upon Santa Cruz, and that was the moment that I fell in love with California. Here was this incredible coastal town where you could surf, mountain bike and hike, and where the nightlife was actually decent. I packed my bags and set up a remote office where I could work between meetings and conferences. For the first time, I understood how you could find balance between your personal passions and work. I was inspired, happy and more productive than ever. It was an important aha moment.
I was traveling a lot during those years, living out of suitcases and conference hotel chains. My career was taking off and I lived in a beautiful place, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of professional isolation both on the road and in my adopted home. Santa Cruz is an amazing place for outdoor lifestyle, but I struggled to meet like-minded professionals like myself. And they weren’t hanging out at those conference hotels either.
Like many before me, I thought I had to give up the beach to build my career. So, I moved to San Francisco and got involved in a few start-up side projects. That’s when I began working from co-working spaces for the first time, and really liked the networking and collaborative spirit it created. That was my second aha moment.
I would return to Santa Cruz to surf every once in a while, but I had to stay in uncomfortable motels or Airbnb’s far from the ocean. Not to mention, the internet was anything but dependable. It was on one of these surf trips that the idea of Outsite first came to me.
The day I realized I could have it all was when I decided to combine all the elements that had given me such great work/life balance into a co-working hospitality business that would attract a community of like-minded professionals who played as hard as they worked. I beta-tested the concept on Airbnb and Craigslist and quickly found that demand was not going to be a problem. I set out to look for a large villa to rent in Santa Cruz. I had 3 criteria:
- Less than 5 minutes to a decent surf spot.
- An upscale villa and large comfortable rooms.
- Ability to convert a section of the property into a big workspace.
Shortly after, I found the dream house and the adventure began. Since launching Outsite Santa Cruz, we now have 10 properties and want to scale to 25 by next year!
We attract like-minded guests who are as passionate about our concept as we are. And sometimes those guests become investors. Such was the case when the co-founders of Buffer (and Outsite guests) recently made a substantial investment in Outsite. Not only are they betting on Outsite, but the future of remote work. And I can say with confidence that the future is looking bright for both. Stay tuned…
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
No, it has not. Getting the first space was very tough especially while being a foreigner without credit. I had to put all my savings to get the first property. We also made some mistakes in hiring people not really committed to the business at the beginning. Raising capital was another big challenge as traditional VC see us as a real estate model, not a hyper growth model. As matter of fact, we couldn’t raise any capital in San Diego. Most of our investors are in LA, SF and Europe.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Outsite – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We are building a global network of coliving/coworking spaces for the emerging segment of transient millennials, digital nomads and remote teams. We have a very lifestyle approach in our locations whether it’s beach, mountain or hip urban locations. I am most of proud of the core team we managed to keep together from the beginning and the community we managed to build in 2 years.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We want to focus on making the product and guest experience better and closing the gap in experience/quality between certain locations. We also want to add international locations next year.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.outsite.co
- Email: emmanuel@outsite.co
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/outsiteco
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/outsiteco
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/outsiteco
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