Around the world, companies of all sizes find space to succeed at WeWork. Our case studies share their unique stories.
The challenge: A health insurance disruptor was quickly outgrowing their New York office
As one can imagine, making health insurance easier is a complex task. But that’s exactly what Oscar Health aims to do.
“Oscar Health is a tech-driven health insurer,” says Mario Schlosser, the company’s cofounder and CEO. “We’re working toward creating a better experience for members navigating the complex healthcare system, reducing the cost of people’s healthcare, and increasing the quality of outcomes.”
To accomplish this, Oscar has launched services like personalized concierge teams that support members every step of the way, from finding a doctor to navigating costs, as well as free, 24-7 telemedicine available through the company’s app. They’ve built up a team of diverse specialists who range from nurses to tech engineers. Since their founding in 2012, Oscar has hired more than 1,000 employees across four offices in New York City, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Tempe, Arizona.
Though that growth has poised Oscar to successfully scale, in 2018, the company found that their existing New York headquarters could no longer hold all their talent.
“We had outgrown our old space by a lot, and it was happening very quickly. We were ready for something new, aesthetically speaking, as well as size-wise and utility-wise—right away,” says Charlie Mirisola, workplace operations manager at Oscar.
In addition, Oscar had a couple of must-have features on their wish-list: The space needed to enable their collaborative culture while also being flexible enough for individuals to work comfortably based on personal preferences.
“We are a highly cross-functional company,” says Schlosser. “To redesign something as complex as U.S. healthcare, you need all those teams to work together to give birth to ideas that wouldn’t occur if each team operated alone.”
The solution: a new space built for a collaborative company culture—and delivered fast
Oscar believed that WeWork was the right partner to source, design, and build out their new headquarters.
“WeWork could meet the timing that we needed to hit and deliver a space as wonderful as we needed,” says Mirisola.
In May 2019, Oscar moved into their new headquarters at One Hudson Square in downtown Manhattan. The space is home to more than 500 employees.
The office encompasses every feature on their wish-list: The open floor plan has a variety of functional workspaces, ranging from individual booths to open lounges, to complement different work styles. Befitting a healthcare company, one large room is dedicated to wellness classes, such as yoga. There are also showers, so employees can wash up after morning or midday workouts. Beyond that, Oscar’s headquarters was designed with their collaborative company culture in mind, with numerous breakout spaces and meeting rooms.
“The space is not a one-size-fits-all for employees; we are encouraging employees to be in spaces where they can collaborate and solve complex problems,” says Kerry Van Vois, chief people officer.
By partnering with WeWork, Oscar was even able to save time and money.
“Working with WeWork for cost savings, time efficiency, and streamlining the overall process was a win on all three counts,” says Mirisola, who noted that WeWork helped Oscar save on furnishings and fixtures and knew which vendors and consultants would work most efficiently.
The results: a partnership that moves at the speed of the business
Oscar has ambitious goals, and they’ve been growing quickly to achieve them. With WeWork, they have a partner who can scale with them, at their pace.
“We have a lot of needs as a company, and we have a lot of needs in this space. WeWork was able to listen, first and foremost, even with an accelerated timeline, and pull things together,” Mirisola says. “We see a partnership starting to grow.”
Key highlights:
- Custom headquarters built and designed by WeWork in New York
- Flexible spaces that enable both collaborative and individual work styles
- Quick turnaround: The entire project was delivered in six months
- Space to expand as the company scales
WeWork offers companies of all sizes space solutions that help solve their biggest business challenges.
