Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Our aim in providing you with a furnished office space is to make you and your team comfortable so that they can more easily do their life’s work – this is something which requires flexibility.

Office members typically sign a Membership Agreement with:

• A set start date (subject to availability we can set your term to commence in the future)
• A set minimum term (usually 6-12 months with a built in option to extend),
• A 90 day exit notice (depending on the size of office you choose – larger offices may require longer exit notices as its harder to find a replacement if you suddenly leave our campus),
• 3 month’s minimum deposit (first and last two months.)

We can accomodate well over 200 workstations on campus. All in all, StartWell comprises 20,000 square feet – which makes for a lot of space when its added up. So, subject to availability we can allocate private floors and bookable spaces to accomodate a large team.

We have a limited number of single person private office suites on campus. These can accomodate 2 people sitting side by side – perfect for paired programming or a couple to share workspace.

Yes – our offices are exclusively rented – so no one else will have access to your furnished office during your rental term, except StartWell staff (for maintenance, cleaning etc…)

Having your office at StartWell’s coworking campus certainly has its benefits! Teams on campus enjoy on-demand and in-person yoga classes, complimentary tea/coffee + still and sparkling water in our on-site cafe, concierge mail and delivery handling service, 24/7 access to your office plus common areas, complimentary printing/scanning/copying, fast enterprise grade WiFi plus ethernet access (where ports are available) and much more!

Having an office at StartWell is a bit like staying at a boutique hotel – but instead of a bedroom you rent an office 🙂 Imagine coming down from the office for a coffee and chat with our barista; without having to go out into the snow with your wallet?! Magic 🙂

We are very flexible with private office members – many of whom have been fast growing startups, so we’re used to helping your team scale.

Subject to availability, you may upgrade or downgrade your office with no penalty fees whatsoever. We normally try to accomodate your changing needs whilst here on campus. For example, Delta Growth started with us in a 4 person office, then grew to 9 people before taking on an 18 person suite – all within just a couple of years.

All offices at StartWell come equipped with chairs, desks, overhead lighting and optional drawer units which slide underneath desks as needed.

Our offices can be rearranged for no extra fee. Some of our private office members choose, for example, to rent a 5 person office for just 2 people – in this case we work with you to remove desks and chairs making a more spacious furnished office solution.

Larger suites on campus may also feature dining furnishings, armchairs and sofas. Depending on your needs, our team can work with you in designing the ideal furnishings to suit the way your team work best.

You’ll find more information in the Terms of Service upon registering as a member or signing up to use our guest WiFi on campus but here are the top level rules that help us maintain a safe and clean space for members and guests.

While at StartWell, you must:

• Be respectful
• Try to be helpful
• Keep our campus as you found it – clean up after yourself
• Leave garbage and recycling in bins provided
• Not do anything illegal
• Not bring any animals with you or let them into the buildings (sorry – we love pets but don’t allow them due to allergies and cleanliness)
• Leave dishes which you can’t wash in the grey bins provided at wet areas (reception and next to sinks in large meeting venues)
• Never use our espresso machine or computer equipment without approvals – that includes not going behind the concierge/cafe desk

Sure thing, but we ask that you get any guest of yours to buy a day pass if you haven’t booked a meeting room to bring your friends/colleagues together.

Also – make sure to ask your guests to check in using our iPad at the concierge desk so you can get notified via email of their arrival and our team can plan to accomodate and direct them as needed.

Of course, its perfectly fine to have someone drop in to say hello and meet you at reception for a quick moment if they aren’t taking a meeting you or working with you on campus:)

Simply put, coworking is when people share workspace. Back in the late 1990s/early 2000s the phrase ‘coworking’ got popular to describe what was typically an office shared between multiple individuals or a few companies at once, where a typically open-concept room with desks in it may be accessorized with a time-shared meeting room, kitchen etc…

It didn’t take long for people to start businesses that enabled communities to develop around shared workspace – all over the world, from San Francisco to NYC to Toronto and across Europe, Africa and Asia. The first wave of commercial coworking was fairly humble and since has grown into venture-capital backed real estate plays often corrupting the values early coworking operators stood for (Collaboration, Openness, Sustainability, Accessibility and Community.)

We at StartWell believe that a new wave of Coworking – something we’re calling ‘Coworking 2.0’ will become more relevant in the 2020s – where Innovation, Creativity and Comfort get added to the list of values sought from coworking spaces. In fact, in 2021 we opened new media production studios and launched our Coworking Space Design Guide to explore these concepts and share knowledge.

Even if you *love* your home, it might not give you the right configuration of spaces to get variety through the day – in terms of places to sit or stand whilst working.

Additionally, you likely don’t have people coming and going through your house all day long – so it can get lonely to work from home.

Coworking vs working from home?

Coworking gives you the opportunity for new interactions every day you go to work – at StartWell you’ll always have the option to focus on your own work or interact with others; we even offer a complimentary cafe where chatting is encouraged and new friendships often get formed. Plus, our campus uniquely offers on-demand and in-person yoga classes; so with a coworking membership you actually improve your work from home experience also.

Of course, with a coworking membership you don’t need to choose Coworking vs Working From Home, you’ll always have the option to leave the house when you need it. An added bonus – choosing a coworking space close to home so you cut down on commute times + give yourself an opportunity to take a walk to stretch and exercise along the way.

Hot desks are simply desks which anybody can use – they aren’t dedicated to a single member of a coworking space. For example, we have pods of hot desks at StartWell which are laid out in clusters for our coworking members to drop into, positioned near common amenities like our complimentary cafe and call booths – so that its easy to find a space to setup your laptop and get to work when you need to.

Often in coworking the term ‘hot desk’ is used synonymously with ‘common workspace.’ At StartWell you’ll not only find spacious desks you can use flexibly but also common work tables and lounge spaces. In fact, our call booths are configured about 4 times larger than the industry standard to enable collaboration – you can enjoy space to yourself on a call where you need to lay out your notebook, laptop, tablet etc… or share them with others on your team for ad hoc meetings that don’t require a booked board room.

When people discover coworking they often ask – “Do you know a coworking space near me?” Working near your home is a great idea and we’re happy to see so many folks from the King West neighbourhood in Toronto enjoy the short stroll from their home to StartWell each day.

Working close to home gives you the freedom to work when you want to – it becomes easier to pop over to the office to get something done and then leave when you’re finished, enabling mental separation between work and home life, without robbing you of hours in the car on the highway commuting every day.

Our monthly membership plan for 24/7 access to common workspaces is only $350 per person per month. This is great value – you get unlimited access to our common spaces plus a ton of benefits available only to members.

Of course, because the business expense of a membership can be deducted from income when filing your taxes a coworking membership is essentially free (i.e. you’d otherwise be paying that money to the tax man!)

For teams, we offer pay-as-you-go bookings as well as prepaid flex credits – which don’t require a monthly coworking membership.

Yes, we specialize in offering a variety of spaces for your team to meet – whether its around a single table or in a mixed-seating format that blends board room with lounge space and dining, all within the privacy of your own rented suite.

At StartWell you can rent an airy and bright board room with character on an hourly or daily basis – like our Level Up room, which overlooks our complimentary espresso bar at reception and King Street below, or the beautiful Green Room, with large West facing windows, 5 white boards, tropical plants and full AV.

If you need something larger, we have a number of suites which are great for meetings, workshops, training sessions, all hands meetings, socials, popups, micro-conferences for 100 people and more. For medium sized get togethers, choose our Penthouse or Innovation Lab or go larger – with suites like our Offsite Venue and Event Studio.

All of our bookable meeting spaces for rent at StartWell offer turn-key AV for video conferences and in-room presentation on screens. Depending on the size of suite you book, the size and number of screens available may be different but we always ensure that you can arrive, plug in your laptop or connect wirelessly via Airplay to our available screens and that USB powered conference cameras are available to easily connect to video conferencing sessions and show everyone in the room on camera.

You’ll never need to worry about bringing remote guests into your meeting when you book at StartWell and for our larger suites, like the Offsite Venue and Event Studio, we even offer optional upgrades on AV – with in-house media production that can setup multi-camera live-streaming and recording for your session, raising the bar to turn a meeting into a conference whilst respecting your budget.

Yes, we have multiple board rooms on campus to rent by the hour or day – they are perfectly configured to get your team around a single table for meetings and working sessions.

Our board rooms typically feature: power in-table, presentation screens (with AppleTV/AirPlay and HDMI connectivity with cables), white boards + markers, Polycom speakerphones (unlocked in North America for outbound calling to conference bridges etc…), USB video conferencing cameras with microphones and speaker functions, printing/scanning/copying and fast WiFI.

A guideline budgeting expectation when considering planning a session here at StartWell is $100/person/day.

Depending on the size of the suite you book, the rate may vary from this a little – as some of our larger suites can accomodate many more people than the number of conference chairs provided (e.g. our Offsite Venue typically has 100 row seats or 30 U shaped conference seats but can host 65+ people in all-day coworking or 150+ in cocktail social mode.)

Note, when at StartWell, you save on all the things that enable your team to collaborate effectively – we include stationary, presentation materials (flip charts, white boards, markers, erasers, sticky notes etc…) as well as coffee and tea plus offer espresso bar service with baristas and reverse-osmosis filtered still and sparkling water on tap, for no extra charge!

Yes, StartWell Studios is a professional white cyclorama (~45′ x 25′) with 16 foot ceilings and load bearing truss in-ceiling for custom rigging jobs.

The studio is a downtown Toronto gem, especially as we offer an espresso bar on site with client lounge, washrooms and holding/talent prep area plus parking – all just off the highway and easily located by car or public transit in a neighbourhood with great restaurant and parking options.

Absolutely, our revolutionary purpose-built broadcast studio can accelerate production workflows to save headaches, time and money – and actually make producing content fun!

The studio features a custom package of equipment – all installed, tested and ready to produce with. This includes: lighting, sound, video capture and live switching/streaming. Its the perfect space to capture audio-only or multi-camera filmed conversations.

If you have an idea for a podcast or film – our team can partner with your brand to record, edit and publish original content that looks and sounds amazing.

*More info here

Yes, StartWell Studios at 230 Niagara Street is perfect for shooting photography campaigns and has a massive white cyclorama. In fact, our space has been used for international fashion brands born in Canada like Nobis and Joe Fresh.

Here’s some feedback we recently got from Director Justin Wu after shooting Marvel superhero actor Simu Liu at our photo studio:

“It was an absolute joy to work at Startwell Studios! They have everything you need for studio photography and as a bonus, they even offer barista on set! This is now my go-to studio.”

*The studio also features C-stands and tripods, background paper and we can help provide lights and cameras if your shoots require them.

There are great hotel options very close to our campus on King Street West in downtown Toronto.  You can choose conventional options in the financial core, practical rooms across from the island airport, luxury boutique high-rises near theatres along King Street or something a little more artsy and funky a short walk from us.

Here are some Toronto hotels near StartWell which we recommend considering for out-of-towners meeting at our campus.

Artsy/Funky Hotels

The Drake Hotel – Toronto’s first true boutique hotel – located close to us on Queen Street West, was one of the first art-scene focused establishments in the neighbourhood to bring change without trying to be at odds with history. We love this hotel and recommend it for food, drinks and entertainment (their basement is home to a lovely venue that has music shows, comedy and all sorts of things happening through the year and they have a lovely rooftop bar for summer months.)

Ace Hotel Toronto – The Ace Hotel is a brand new (in 2022) build located a short walk from our campus in a bustling neighbourhood featuring some of the city’s best shopping, restaurants and cultural highlights. The hotel features great dining in options plus event programming.

Gladstone House – This historic property used to be ‘the other boutique hotel’ on Queen street – a stone’s throw from the Drake, with honest and simple offerings which honoured the city ‘s artistic community and neighbourhoods edgy vibe. Recently revamped, its great location makes it a consideration if you want to explore some of the city’s best dining and entertainment on Queen Street or Ossington Street around the corner.

Bisha – This ‘luxury boutique’ hotel is a short walk from StartWell towards the city’s financial core and its wealth of conventional hotels. The Bisha has great dining options and a fun nightlife atmosphere.

Luxury

Shangri-La Toronto – With an excellent spa and great restaurants (including Momofuku Noodle Bar) plus Toronto’s SOHO House Club, musicians in the lobby bar and a great location – across the road from Toronto’s Opera House (the Four Seasons Centre), there is a lot to offer here.

Ritz-Carlton Toronto – This recently built hotel is close by – walking distance from our campus and surrounded by the city’s classic theatre row on King Street. It features lake views from upper rooms and an excellent steak house.

Others

1 Hotel Toronto – Previously incarnated as the Thompson Hotel, the 1 Hotel Toronto has been completely renovated and now features lush plants and a tropical vibe.

Hotel X – A great option if you are flying in and out of the Toronto Island Airport, this large hotel faces the lake and is right next to the highway.

First off – we’re really thankful that you want to share your experience here at StartWell through a review of our campus on Google 🙂

You don’t actually need a google or gmail account to submit a review of a listed place on Google maps etc… Here’s what we recommend doing:

1. Visit us on google maps here

2. Click on the Reviews count

3. Click on the ‘Write a review’ button

4. Click on ‘Create account’ and choose what you’ll be using it for (i.e. personal use or business use) and then choose ‘Use my current email address instead’ – then you’ll see a field to type in your regular email address.

5. Now you’ll be able to click the ‘Next’ button and continue submitting a review (and you’ll be able to submit google reviews of other places with your existing email address as well!)

Our company name is ‘StartWell 786 King St W Inc.’ and our GST/HST number for tax purposes is 79959 2688 RT0001

Yes we do – for both iOS and Android! The ‘StartWell Community’ app can be downloaded for free from either app store to your mobile device. With our app you can easily catch up on all the latest news from campus, read through how-to guides for critical member information (like wifi details!) and book meeting space, private lounges and studio space on the fly whenever you want.

Here are all the details your bank will need to transfer money to StartWell for invoiced services:

Bank: Royal Bank of Canada
Bank ID: 003
Account Name: StartWell 786 King St W Inc.
Branch #: 00002
Bank Account #: 1393727
SWIFT Code: ROYCCAT2

International wire information:
ABA #: 021000021
Routing/Sort Code: 000300002

Bank Branch Address: Main Toronto
200 Bay St – Main Floor
Toronto, ON, M5J 2J5
Phone: (416) 974-3940
transit #: 2