Payments software and hardware startup Leaf’s new Kendall Square office is budding – literally and figuratively. Step into the space and straight ahead stands a white wall scattered strategically with multiple green boxes, overflowing with ivy and other verdant plants. The vines dangle down to a vintage cash register – a playful homage to the industry that Leaf aims to disrupt with its mobile point of sale system.
At the moment, the company seems to have the headway to do so. Leaf, which used to be based out of Intrepid Pursuits, raised $20 million in September 2013. After Founder Aaron Schwarzkopf stepped down from the CEO post in May, it’s operated under the leadership of Sarah McCray, who gained experience in the sector in various IT project and product development leadership roles at Heartland Payment Systems. Forty people have joined Leaf since October 2013, taking the team to 60 – and McCray reckons that the new office can fit another 100 people comfortably.
Comfort is key to the company’s new office. Bean bag chairs populate the space, providing a cozy alternative collaboration space to the standing desks and tables available. The plant theme is peppered throughout the office, too; between each row of desks sits a trough filled with little succulents and house plants. And then there’s what Leaf calls the “Living Room,” an open space with a hand-me-down dining room table that used to be McCray’s, a flatscreen and a number of video game systems. It’s where members of the team often convene for breakfast in the mornings (which is on Leaf) and where beer bottles are popped on ‘Thank Goodness It’s Thursdays’ company happy hours.
Beyond the startup-sponsored bashes, the Leaf team also partakes in a number of other activities outside the office, which in the past have included hiking in Acadia National Park and canoe excursions. That said, employees are encouraged to take time off on their own. Parents get three months off, and Leaf’s newly-wedded workers get honeymoon leave, too.
Get a closer look at the space and Leaf’s culture in the following slides, and keep an eye out for a furry friend. Because at Leaf, every day is bring your pup to work day.
Images via Leaf
