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Ronen Olshansky knows a thing or two about awe-inspiring offices.

That’s because Ronen is the co-founder and CEO of Cross Campus, a Los Angeles based on-demand workspace and business event venue that provides peak office experiences to a community of creative professionals. Each of the four Cross Campus locations is a highly designed, highly social experience where inspiration, productivity, and creativity thrive.

Cross Campus is one of those places you have to see to believe, and if you live in Southern California, we highly recommend visiting one of their locations in Santa Monica, Downtown LA, Pasadena, or the South Bay. Featuring flex work spaces, a bar, and even meditations rooms, they often feel more like a high-end luxury hotel than a co-working space.

We’re not the only ones who think CC is great - President Barack Obama chose the flagship Cross Campus Santa Monica location for his summit on LA’s Silicon Beach tech scene.

In the interview, Ronen takes us through his upbringing and his decision to attend Yale at age 16, explains why he left Wall Street for tech in the early 2000s, as well as the lessons he learned running a bar on an island off the coast of Brazil - lessons that he still applies at Cross Campus to this day.

Ronen also share the three things every office needs to create a thriving company culture, and why having a blast is the key to it all.

Key Takeaways

• Ronen explains why it’s difficult for an entrepreneur to be successful without being obsessed with his or her idea, and why the real challenge is sustaining that intensity over the long haul. 3:24
• Ronen takes us through his upbringing, including his trouble with authority, his undergrad experience at Yale, and his foray into Wall Street. 6:10
• Ronen tells us why he left the financial industry to open a bar on Florianopolis island in Brazil, and how that experience informed the launch of Cross Campus many years down the line. 7:56
• Ronen dives into his time as a carbon credit trader in Moscow. 12:05
• Ronen explores the idea that Ivy leagues “handicap you,” and that while Yale was ultimately the right place for him, why elite universities might not be right for every aspiring entrepreneur. 17:00
• Ronen explains why he sees himself in the hospitality business rather than commercial real estate space, and explores why some companies might better serve their employees by thinking about their own business this way. 19:10
• Ronen dives into Cross Campus’ world class event curation, which has hosted everyone from Elon Musk to Tim Ferriss to President Barack Obama. 20:01
• Ronen explains why we’re in the age of the Experience Economy, and why the only way to communicate a differentiator sometimes is to have someone experience your product for themselves. 21:05
• Ronen tells us why Cross Campus DTLA installed a meditation room, and why it’s become the most requested feature for members at other locations. 26:24
• Ronen walks through the three things every office space needs to support a productive culture, regardless of industry. 37:37
• Ronen reveals the single best KPI for Cross Campus - and for any business. 41:37
• As an angel investor, Ronen talks about the greatest indicator that a company is going to make it. 43:13
• Ronen explains how to identify the A-players on your staff, and makes a case for only hiring them. 51:17

Links

• Cross Campus (visit them!)
• Ronen on LinkedIn

Recommended Reading

Peak by Chip Conley.

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Imagine this: you’re a young, bright student at the top of your class with dreams of attending a top university. Up to this point, you’ve been able to earn excellent grades and handle life’s challenges with relative ease.

Suddenly, at age thirteen, you’re thrust into a brand new culture. You don’t speak the language, your classmates make fun of you for reasons you don’t quite understand, and you’re back to square one academically. You still dream of gaining acceptance to a world-class college, but you have just five years until you start applying.

That’s exactly the challenge that lay before Harrison Tang, the CEO and co-founder of Spokeo and today’s Awesome Office guest.

Despite the deck stacked against him, Harrison was able to quickly master English, gain acceptance to Stanford University, and launch Spokeo with his college roommates upon graduation. Today Spokeo is the leading people search engine, with more than 18 million unique monthly visitor, and $78 million in revenue for 2015. Spokeo is also home to a unique company culture, one reflected in its numerous quirky conferences rooms - including the bacon-themed meeting space where Harrison recorded our interview.

According to Harrison, those early experiences after immigrating to the U.S. from Taiwan were hugely formative, and helped him develop a process to tackle any challenges that arise - one that he still uses to this day.

With his engaging stories, inspiring journey, and practical advice, Harrison was a delight to interview. Through it all, Harrison hasn’t lost his trademark optimism, sense of humor, and work ethic. We think you’ll enjoy this one as much as we did.

Key Takeaways

• Harrison explains why he and his co-founders chose to set up shop in Pasadena rather than Silicon Valley. 3:25
• Harrison delves into the hiring challenges - and benefits - of being located a little bit off tech's beaten path. 5:30
• Harrison takes us back to his upbringing, and shares his inspiring journey to Stanford University after coming to the U.S. at age 13 from Taiwan. 8:08
• Harrison describes the unusual way he mastered English as a teenager. 8:54
• Harrison tells us how this experience taught him to overcome the biggest challenges Spokeo faced as a business, and why optimism has been so important to his success. 11:03
• Harrison explains why adversity is an asset, and what he means when he says, “When there’s a tiger chasing after you, you run for your life.” 14:26
• Harrison tells us the greatest lesson he learned from his parents. 17:30
• Harrison talks about the origins behind Spokeo, and walks us through the pivot that led to their massive success. 19:04
• Harrison describes the advice he would give his younger self at the beginning of his entrepreneurial career. 26:02
• Harrison breaks down his process for dealing with challenges and fears. 28:12
• Harrison tells us the habits that help him optimize his work and be the best leader he can be. 32:56
• Harrison explains why he insists on respecting people’s time and giving his own time to his employees and colleagues - even when it seems like he doesn’t have enough of it. 33:47
• Harrison describes the impact that fatherhood has had on his leadership abilities. 39:22
• Harrison tells us the origin of Spokeo’s infamous bacon room, and how it reflects the company’s unique culture. 40:53

Recommended Reading

• Emma by Jane Austen
• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson

Links

• Spokeo
• @spokeo on Twitter
• @twhman on Twitter

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The end of the year brings with it that inevitable holiday lull, and it can be tempting to take your foot off the gas.

But the best companies and top performers know that those sleepy November and December months are a prime opportunity to generate momentum and slingshot themselves towards success in the New Year.

Here at SnackNation and Awesome Office HQ we’ve just wrapped up our Q4 quarterly planning, and after some reflection, we thought it would be a good opportunity to share our top tips for closing the year out STRONG.

That’s what this week’s #SPKup is all about - 9 ways to help you end your year with a bang, and start your new year off right.

1. Review your goals from earlier in the year.

Even if you aren’t on track to hit all your goals (you probably won’t be), look to create some momentum going into the new year by reassessing what you can do in the time remaining.

2. Use our 3x3x3 Matrix to track habits, objectives, and projects

Print these out and put them on your desk. Read them daily, and review and assess against them weekly. I like doing this on Sunday mornings.

Download our handy spreadsheet HERE.

3. Create your New Year’s goals now.

This is so important if you want to successfully crush your goals this year. There are many great ways to do this, but I love this format - the 5-4-3-2-1 model. That is:

• 5 things you need to do
• 4 things to STOP doing
• 3 new habits
• 2 people to hold you accountable (and yes, set accountability meetings now - can take some time)
• 1 new belief

Download our 5-4-3-2-1 worksheet HERE.

4. Don’t just create your goals, get started on them early!

Use November and December as a Training Ground for your goals without the pressure.

5. Make sure you give yourself a break between Christmas and New Year’s

This means thinking and planning ahead so you don’t have to catch up during this period of rejuvenation. Also make sure to take care of your self and be smart about your health.

• Eat alkaline foods (all illness thrives in acidic environments)
• Wash your hands like crazy, give fist bumps more than high fives, and keep Purell at your desk
• Get sleep, especially during holiday party season
• Take vitamin C (I take 1-2K mg in morning and during day)
• If you’re attending holiday parties and drinking, take lysine  

6. Don’t overindulge

Don’t start the New Year behind the eight ball! That’s not to say don’t indulge, but make sure you offset indulgences with healthy choices or activities.

7. Finalize all of your travel and plans in the first half of October

There is great freedom in commitment and knowing what you’re going to do over the holidays, which can turn very stressful if you’re rushing to do things.

8. Reset your clock

Ask yourself, how do the shorter days impact you?  Maybe you’re like me, and prefer working out later in the day during the winter because it gives you an extra boost to close the day out. The point is, do what you need to do to adjust to the shorter daylight hours.

9. Go into the holidays with clear set personal objectives

This can mean creating meaningful connection with your friends and family. What’s more important than relationships? Than human connection? Than family? So why do so many of us not enter holiday weekends without objectives, when we have so many goals in the workplace.

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