Michael McCoy

My visit to Quirky HQ- Mike McCoy

Hey guys,
Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit the Quirky HQ and had a great time. The office is right on the heart of all the bustle of Broadway but the door seems kind of hidden at first. After getting buzzed in I took the elevator to the 2nd floor which houses Quirky and a few other companies. As I came out the elevator I saw a door of your standard variety directly to the left and this glass see through door on the right. For some strange reason, I began banging on the door on the left, in my mind saying let me in, let me in (not sure if anyone is actually behind that door, but if so they may be pissed). Anyways after about 30 seconds of playing myself I realized that the glass door was not simply a “observation window” for watching Quirky employees work as I originally suspected but in fact it was the entrance into the main office. Duh…

Upon finally entering I was met by Ben H. who is the behind the scenes person responsible for all the high quality video on the site and Jess. The first thing I noticed was the 3 or 4 huge flat screen displays mounted to the wall displaying all kinds of cool stats. From what I can recall one had, total number of members, total number of active members, total online right now. Another had information about total sales(total sales per quarter, total sales last 24 hours, etc. in dollar amounts, community earnings, etc.) Finally the one directly above the couches and I’m assuming client/customer waiting area is one that displays real time forum activity! Yet another way Quirky is going above and beyond to show that they care about community input. I mean seriously, how many companies would have the ballz to put real time user feedback/conversations etc. in a prominent position in there HQ. Just keep that in mind when your posting. Shouts out to Clinton, IAndy, Reuben, Ken and I think Jim who were kept me occupied while I was waiting with their comments in the “Define this word” thread.

Walking around the Quirky working area definitely made me jealous. Every desk is equipped with pimped out Mac desktops and 22”+ screens and the whole atmosphere seemed conducive to creativity; a strict deviation from my day job, where we sit in gray monotone cubicles working on HP computers that require upgrades every 2 years due to the fact they simply suck and trends in office fashions are colored khakis (I’m not bitter). After a quick tour around the shop me, Ben H. and intern (sorry can’t recall her name, she went to Syracuse, good school horrendous mascot) took me all the way to a studio to shoot a video for the Cloak. Conveniently, there is a studio run by another company directly behind the Quirky offices; when I say directly, I mean you walk out of the quirky infamous glass door and walk about 20 ft towards the back of the 2nd floor(how convenient). After getting mic’d up (they make you feel real Hollywood) I went ahead and knocked out the interview.

After the view, I headed back into Quirky and walked around the shop with Ben Kaufman for a while and checked out all the Cloak prototypes and trials. The team really went through a lot to create a quality product. Although the delay’s suck in the end the community will be pleased with the final product. The final product feels great in your hands and feels and looks a lot slimmer in person than in the pictures. I also got a chance to check out Bertha and one of the Kosoku rough prototypes; dog owners will love it. I also met James Robinson, of Switch fame as he stopped by for a visit.

After a round of dap and thanks to the Quirky staff for their hard work I was on my way. Leaving with the peace of mind that Quirky community is in good hands with the team of individuals running the show. They do care, and they are dedicated not only growing the Quirky brand but also making an impact in the lives of their contributors and customers.

My 2 cents

Jul 21, 2010 03:51PM