HanaHaus: Work Like a Startup and Shape the Future of Silicon Valley
Almost a year ago HanaHaus opened its doors to the community of Silicon Valley. It is a community that everybody in the tech industry knows, many people want to be a part of, and most of us would agree that no other place in the world has the same technological impact.
Since March 2015, tens of thousands of people have spent time at HanaHaus, SAP’s community workspace and coffee shop, located in the heart of Palo Alto, down the street from Stanford University. Thousands of them have rented space to work at HanaHaus, and hundreds have attended events hosted here.
Only a few things remind the guests that this modern concept of a public café combined with semi-private and private work areas actually resides in a historic building that has been around for almost 100 years, long before the tech industry became omnipresent.
Today however, you couldn’t imagine Silicon Valley without the latest tech innovation and the vibrant startup ecosystem – a community that is directly mirrored in the HanaHaus customers. On the one hand they are the people shopping on University Ave who come for their favorite Blue Bottle coffee, on the other hand you can find Stanford students on their breaks, working on their projects in the courtyard or the lobby; and then you have the innovators, the builders, and the entrepreneurs who are working in our lounges or conference rooms, filling the provided whiteboards with their ideas or with questions, written down on colorful post-its.
Looking back on the last few months, it seems that HanaHaus is exactly what Palo Alto was waiting for without asking for it: a revolutionary idea from SAP offering a platform for innovators where they can work, learn and play without being forced to use SAP products or SAP branding. It is a neutral place for everybody.
Interestingly, most of our customers know exactly how to use it. If not, they get answers from our friendly Ambassadors. Every day we see new people coming in who are so impressed with the concept that they take pictures and selfies with their smartphones. There seems to be one thing that all of them have in common: They walk out knowing, that this place reflects the culture of Silicon Valley and to become a part of it is as simple as making a reservation on the HanaHaus website.
If you are still asking yourself, why SAP is doing this, or why we got into the coffee business, let me tell you: We are in the idea business and if good ideas come with good coffee, an empty whiteboard and the right mindset, HanaHaus has all you need.
If you have any questions or would like to tell what sparks your ideas, drop us a note: hanahaus@sap.com