Ky Ekinci
Office Divvy
What does your company do?
Offce Divvy is built on the idea that the right community and the right team can move your business forward. With an Offce Divvy provided Palm Coast business-location, a managed team, the processes, technology, and data our team delivers extraordinary experience to our clients and their customers
What is your background and how did you get into the business?
I grew up in Istanbul and benefitted from all that comes with living in a major city – from access to history, art, education, culture, and diverse groups of people. Early in my career, tourism was a natural fit for met. I spent a few years in the travel business in Turkey, and later I decided to pursue higher education, and went after my graduate degree in the United States, which broadened my focus in business. My first taste of large-scale technology and operations after grad-school, was when I was selected to manage one of the largest United Nations events in the World. My studies in hospitality and management, combined with my work experience in travel, technology and finance in the United States, landed me nicely in the fertile soil of startups, including my own company and the hundreds of businesses we have served through Office Divvy.
What sets your company apart from others?
In 2008, we were one of the first dozen or so coworking businesses in the U.S., so we were coworking before coworking was cool. Based on our early clients’ needs, we added customer service, digital solutions, and eCommerce services in the years that followed. But more of what sets us apart is the impact we have with the businesses we serve. We not only meet the physiological needs of our clients (like location, call desk, other services), but our insight as a stakeholder in their procedures, workflows and outcomes as a team allows us to make strategic contributions and improvements in growth and scaling.
What is the biggest challenge your business faces?
Finding new additions to our team and upskilling the existing team. It is a large focus of our business. Finding people who are energetic, fueled by helping people, and want to love what they do.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
In the dozen years of the business, we employed more than 30 high-school interns. We immersed them in business, customer experience and technology. Many of them went on to achieve great things in their college years and beyond. The pandemic ended that “internship” chapter of the business temporarily. We’ve really felt their absence. Our last two team members that started with us as interns and then joined the digital team for 5+ years both are currently in college and majoring in computer science and human centered design. I enjoy a great many things about the work I do at Offce Divvy, but working with young people and being able to make an impact on their future holds a special place in my heart.
What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs?
I can offer so much here for an aspiring entrepreneur, but let me keep it simple by advising them the following three things only:
Keep it simple: Don’t over engineer things, don’t make things complex, simplify, simplify, simplify.
Don’t go it alone: If you’re thinking about a business idea, find a co-founder that complements you and your skill-set before you execute on it.
Do what you love! To achieve that, you will need to build the culture you want to work in, have honest conversations, and actively foster the growth and development of your team.