OFFI's Gonzalo Aguero on Reshaping Global Office Solutions

Written by:

Steve Marcinuk

Date:

15 Apr 2025

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“The office today is fundamentally an experience,” says Gonzalo Aguero, Co-Founder and CEO of OFFI. “Companies are focusing on creating environments that offer more value than working from home because they’re competing directly—the office versus your home.”

In today’s workplace environment where the traditional headquarters model has shifted dramatically, OFFI has emerged as a key solution provider helping companies navigate the complex reality of distributed workforces and hybrid office arrangements.

From Corporate Executive to Workplace Innovator

Aguero’s entrepreneurial journey didn’t begin in proptech. Like many successful founders, he started in the corporate world but always felt the pull toward creating something new.

“I began my career in corporations, but I’ve always identified as an entrepreneur at heart,” Aguero explains. “I consistently tried to innovate within the large companies I worked for, but these organizations weren’t always receptive to developing new ideas internally.”

After being sent to open a subsidiary in India (a trip planned for a short stay that unexpectedly stretched to 11 months) and subsequently working in various countries, Aguero realized his calling lay elsewhere. “I recognized that my true purpose was creating something meaningful rather than working for someone else,” he reflects.

His first entrepreneurial venture ended after just 11 months—a learning experience he attributes to the fundamental differences between corporate and startup environments. “The skills cultivated in the corporate world must be unlearned and rebuilt to succeed as an entrepreneur,” Aguero notes candidly.

OFFI’s Comprehensive Workplace Management Solution

Far from a simple co-working aggregator, OFFI has developed a comprehensive platform addressing the multi-faceted challenges of today’s distributed workplace reality.

“Our mission is to enable companies to hire, manage, and operate all their office spaces globally with one unified system,” Aguero explains. The platform addresses a fundamental shift in how companies are structuring their physical footprint: “Employees are more geographically dispersed than ever before, and while companies want to encourage office attendance, their workforce is now distributed. Rather than maintaining a single large headquarters as before, they now operate multiple smaller offices across different cities and countries.”

Operating across 40 countries and more than 800 cities, OFFI offers three core solutions:

• Private offices and dedicated spaces in corporate buildings or co-working locations
• A network of 5,000 co-working spaces for employees who aren’t near company offices
• A management platform providing data and insights about office usage

This flexibility allows companies to maintain their culture while accommodating the geographic reality of their workforce. “Consider an enterprise with 20,000 employees globally and 600 in one country—predominantly in a single city—we help establish offices near where those employees actually live,” says Aguero.

Addressing the “Nearby” Factor

One of the most compelling insights Aguero shares is about the critical importance of proximity in the new office equation. No matter how impressive the office experience, geography remains a decisive factor.

“Proximity to home is absolutely critical,” Aguero emphasizes. “If your commute requires ninety minutes each way, no office amenity will adequately compensate for spending three hours daily traveling to and from work.”

This reality has driven OFFI to develop location intelligence tools that help companies make data-driven decisions about office placement. “We’ve developed solutions that analyze employee residential patterns and recommend optimal office locations that minimize overall commute times for the workforce.”

Creating Community in Distributed Teams

Beyond logistics, OFFI is helping solve one of the most challenging aspects of the distributed work model: maintaining company culture and community. Their platform includes features designed specifically to preserve the social fabric of organizations despite geographic dispersion.

“We’ve built functionality that allows companies to identify locations accessible to the majority of employees in each city,” Aguero explains. “When one team member selects a particular workspace, others are prompted to choose the same location. This intentionally fosters community building within organizations, even in distributed environments.”

This feature ensures that even in flexible work arrangements, colleagues can coordinate their schedules to work together—a critical element for preserving organizational cohesion.

Navigating Global Operational Challenges

Operating a platform across dozens of countries presents significant operational challenges, from currency management to payment systems and cultural differences. Aguero approaches these obstacles with the pragmatic mindset of a seasoned entrepreneur.

“In entrepreneurship, few things come easily. If they did, we likely wouldn’t be addressing this particular challenge,” he says. OFFI has built technology to handle currency conversion automatically and developed strong partnerships with workspace providers.

“We’ve engineered systems that automate complex international processes,” Aguero notes. “We’ve simultaneously built a robust partnership team that effectively communicates with our network—whether landlords, corporate buildings, or co-working operators—regarding our global payment infrastructure.”

The payment infrastructure alone solves a substantial pain point for multinational companies. “When a single button press facilitates payments across your entire global office portfolio instantaneously, that represents a significant competitive advantage in today’s market,” Aguero explains.

The Road Ahead

OFFI has experienced significant growth in recent months and continues to expand its global footprint. Looking ahead to the next three to six months, Aguero identifies talent acquisition as both a major priority and challenge.

“Our success fundamentally depends on our people. As we scale and integrate new team members, this presents both opportunities and challenges because individuals dramatically impact outcomes,” he reflects. “To achieve our growth targets, we need to establish presence in regions where we currently don’t operate.”

Interestingly, OFFI has become its own client in several cities, leveraging their network while experiencing firsthand the distributed workplace challenges they help clients solve.

The Future of Office Space

As companies continue to evolve their workplace strategies, platforms like OFFI provide the infrastructure to support more flexible, employee-centric approaches. The workplace model has found a new balance where offices remain important—but their purpose, location, and design have fundamentally changed.

“Very few companies are mandating four or five days per week in the office,” Aguero observes. “Most have settled on two to three days weekly, while focusing on creating environments that deliver tangible benefits beyond what employees experience at home.”

In this evolving landscape, successful companies will create compelling reasons for employees to come together while respecting the practical realities of commute times and work-life balance. With its comprehensive platform and data-driven approach, OFFI has positioned itself as an essential partner in this workplace evolution.