Scroll through the photos above to see Validity's new downtown Boston space.
When Validity signed a lease for a new office at 100 Summer St. in 2021, the space still needed some work. What is now a deck outfitted with comfy furniture and canopies was a black rubber roof. The office walls lacked the current colorful graphics and quotes.
But Mike Piispanen, the Boston-based company’s chief operating officer, saw potential. The 25,000-square-foot space had plenty of room and lots of natural light. And, even during the renter-friendly pandemic when office vacancies were high, Piispanen said this was the only option they found with space for a rooftop that Validity’s employees could enjoy.
“There were none that had an outdoor space,” Piispanen said. “And this kind of sold it.”
The company’s 86 Boston-area employees moved into this new office in 2022, Piispanen said. The executive said Validity has about 267 employees globally.
Validity was founded in 2018 by CEO Mark Briggs. The Boston-based company specializes in email marketing and helps its customers with things like email marketing metrics and improving deliverability of messages. Their goal is to help increase email engagement and sales productivity.
After a few years of watching employees work remotely in less-than-ideal home setups, Piispanen said they wanted to create an office where people would look forward to working.
“I thought it was important after having spent two years sitting down in a dark basement, watching a lot of people who were in guest bedrooms, we had a couple people who were in closets…to give everybody some room, give them some light, let them at least feel good about coming into the office,” Piispanen said.
Piispanen said they tried to give as many people access to spots along the glass windows as possible. The company built one row of offices along a glass wall, Piispanen said, and kept the other windows more open with rows of desks or communal space. Depending on where people are seated in the office or rooftop, they can see toward Cambridge, watch planes landing at Logan Airport or look out at the islands in Boston Harbor.
The conference rooms are named after Earth’s highest peaks. There are also more communal sitting areas, some of which are decorated with colorful graphic walls with inspirational quotes. On the rooftop, the furniture is bolted down and there is access to WiFi and charging stations, Piispanen said.
Validity has space to just about double its Boston team in this office, Piispanen said. The company has eight open positions on its website.
When people come in for interviews, Piispanen said the rooftop has been a real selling point for the company.
“It’s definitely an enticement to come and have a place where you don’t have to sit at your desk all day. You can come outside. You can have coffee, you can have lunch, you can have a team meeting,” Piispanen said.
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