What if we never go back to the office?

Remember packing up your desk and thinking you’d be back in two weeks? I ultimately had a colleague pack and ship the numerous multivitamins and makeup items sitting on my desk. But I never had to ask for anything from the office to do my job. It turns out, like many, I was shocked by how seamlessly I could fulfill my job responsibilities from my apartment.

For the disadvantages of working from home – not being able to leave work at the office, clamoring for space in a crowded apartment, and missing the interpersonal communication that advanced careers and offered helpful camaraderie – there are plenty of advantages, too. Gone are the days of tightening your core to avoid leaning too much into your fellow traveler on a ridiculously crowded train. Commute aside, more people are focusing on what matters in the Great Reprioritization.

                                                    Miro expands its offerings.

But for those of us not quitting or “lying flat,” there is a slew of tech companies trying to rework the remote work landscape. The whiteboard workplace tool Miro just raised $400MM in its Series C to reach a $17.5BN valuation. The company has been around since 2011 but saw a gap in recent years between workplace communication tool Slack and video meeting space Zoom -- namely, a visual collaboration platform. Other collaboration tools like Airtable and ClickUp have also received massive funding rounds and valuations.

While working together is becoming more convenient, fast, and collaborative across timezones and kitchen tables, some bosses still eagerly want to return in-office. The reason: company culture. It turns out Zoom happy hours were pretty uncomfortable. Where’s the startup solving for that?