Michael Schmutzer, Founder of Design Offices
‘Design Offices is a catalyst for new ways of thinking and working in Germany.’
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2008
Founded in Nuremberg
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300
employees in around 40 locations
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Co-working spaces
for flexible businesses
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2018
Investment by EMH Partners
A new company is founded every month on average in the co-working spaces from Design Offices.
Design Offices is the leading provider of co-working spaces in Germany, creating an offering that is a perfect fit for the changing demands made by the world of work. Digitisation and automation have led to new ways of working with new requirements. Design Offices responds to precisely these requirements, offering flexible working environments in around 40 locations across Germany, which can be rented by individuals or companies. EMH Partners has been supporting this success story since its investment in 2018.
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Significant minority stake
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Digitisation of the business model
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Expansion to new locations
Idea and vision
Spaces for the future of work.
Michael Schmutzer, Founder of Design Offices, got the idea for his company from some work he did for one of his clients. He had been asked to give a presentation on the future of work. At the end, he pitched the concept of the first office building in Germany for a new work balance – the client turned him down though. In the years that followed, Michael Schmutzer worked as a consultant, preparing property investors for the office requirements of the future, but his idea was always at the back of his mind.
In 2010, he and his team built the first prototype of the ‘office of the future’ and moved from a consulting to an operational role. He created a working environment that adapts to requirements and can accommodate all aspects of work – a unique offering for which there was no precedent in Germany. Design Offices became a trailblazer for new working in Germany.
A partner at every level.
Michael Schmutzer’s vision is to keep building on his position as a pioneer of tomorrow’s working environment and to truly revolutionise the idea of workspace as a service. The aim is to make the Design Offices offering accessible to as many people as possible, as simply as possible. The intention is to keep opening new locations and completely digitise the business model. EMH Partners is supporting Michael Schmutzer with its long-standing digital competence.
‘We used the service ourselves, so right from the start we knew the company had potential and wanted to support it.’
Dr Thomas von Werner, Managing Partner, EMH Partners
Impact
Added value through digitisation. For easy access to tomorrow’s way of working.
Currently, 15,000 customers use the Design Offices offering every day at around 15 locations in 15 cities. In the years ahead, the aim is to create a network of workspaces throughout German-speaking Europe. Digitising the business model is intended to make using the service easy and efficient.
This is how Design Offices is changing the world of work in Germany.
Design Offices offers workspaces in an area the size of 22 football pitches.
Design Offices currently operates around 40 locations with more than 160,000 sqm in Germany’s major cities.
More than 15,000 people work every day in the offices of Design Offices.
News
The objective of Design Offices: a revolution in the world of work and a new impulsion for industry.
