Virtual office solution is hot property these days. But nooks, a video workspace founded by a young team of engineers from Stanford University – Andrew Qu, Daniel Lee, Nikhil Cheerla & Rohan Suri, claims to be different. It’s mission: to create a product that will replace the stiflingly rigid remote video meeting systems currently on offer with an app that can connect people in a manner reminiscent of the pre-pandemic office place. A space the founders believe is far more conducive to productivity.
To achieve a “connected” environment, the nooks’ team focused on developing an app that gave users a sense of what they called “presence-driven communication”. This was akin to a space that simulated an office environment where employees & management didn’t have to schedule a meeting to pop into a co-worker’s office to have a chat, brainstorm or get a work related progress update.
The developers identified the time-wasting factor of, for instance, setting up a Zoom meeting & sending out invites as one of the key elements that they wanted to overcome with their new offering. As a result, they came up with nooks, the virtual office solution that allows users to connect in real time without scheduling a meeting.
Each user is allotted a “Desk” which they can personalize with a host of connected work related apps such as Slack, Confluence, Jira, Github, Notion, Asana, Google Docs, among others. Connecting with a co-worker is merely a click away since Nooks provides a series of customizable “rooms” from project oriented spaces to “fun” hangouts where users can interact & share as if they were “at the office”.
The app’s interface allows users to view, at a glance, who’s in the “office” & what they’re up to at all times. Fun concepts such as “relaxation rooms” where co-workers can connect over “lunch” or games are encouraged so that users get a “real” sense of the personalities on their team, which nooks believes builds better working relationships & results in improved productivity.
Nooks has attracted users such as Workato, Embroker, & Stanford University. Additionally, it has received US $5 million in seed funding from the likes of Tola Capital, Floodgate, Julia & Kevin Hartz, Eventbrite & Awesome People Ventures.
Nooks is a new company based in Palo Alto, USA, & has been operating in beta mode for the past year. However, it has now opened the virtual office solution to the general public via an application process on the Website. The culture of remote work created by the pandemic is probably here to stay, so if you’re interested in creating a “healthy” working environment for your team, apply to give nooks a spin.
Image credit: nooks
Also read: Use your iPhone camera to look the best in Online meetings
