TC Cribs: Credit Karma’s Gorgeous Historic Office Meets Startup Style

This week’s episode of Cribs takes us to free credit and financial management platform Credit Karma. This growing financial startup just put the finishing touches on its new office space in the Phelan – a historic building in downtown San Francisco that also houses Nextdoor and Medium.

The Phelan sits just off of Market Street in San Francisco’s bustling financial district. Construction began on the building in 1908, just a bit after the great earthquake that shook the city flat. It’s fitting then, that this unicorn company, which raised another $175 million on a $3.5 billion valuation this summer, would occupy the space almost as a symbol of San Francisco’s innovative resilience.

You’ll notice a nice mix of old meets new in Credit Karma’s office digs. The startup occupies several floors of the Phelan and luckily kept some of the antique charms of the building in the remodel. Exposed copper pipes run through the high ceilings and you can see some of the original tile work on the floor along with rustic concrete pillars built to hold up the heaviness of the building, itself, and big old fashioned windows allow for natural light to fill the space.

It’s also a good place with room for Credit Karma’s agile team to grow into. The company hired over 250 new people in the last two years and plans to hit 450 workers by the end of this year. I went to visit founder Ken Lin and ask him what life is like working at a unicorn company in the FiDi (hint: they have their own coffee bar and full-time barista).

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