TCC Canada keeps creating Canada’s place to be.
“Individual Private Offices for Rent.”
So read the footer of the fax cover page Sean Cochrane’s father sent out to associates, suppliers, and others. The construction firm he owned had just rented a quarter of a floor in a building at 99 Bank Street. When the landlord insisted that they take the whole thing, Cochrane and his team built out a few additional offices they thought they might be able to sublet. Out went the fax, in came the offers. A lot of them. A city-wide hunger was revealing itself: everyone from solopreneurs to established players were looking for a less costly alternative to their circumstances. Soon, Cochrane wasn’t managing projects; he was managing office hubs.
Right idea, right time. It was 1992. A recession was in full swing. Companies were looking to cut costs. Talents who’d been downsized were looking to go into business for themselves. An Ottawa-wide need for affordable, central working areas with shared administrative resources was growing. And while, yes, times got better, the model stayed. Renters loved the more intimate atmosphere, the overall affordability, and—added bonus—the strategic connections they were making with their fellow occupants.
Cochrane’s son Sean, meanwhile, was at the University of Windsor completing a double major in Commerce and Computer Science. Determined to follow his own path, he eschewed overtures to join the family business to found his own network and computer repair service. One day, a very big client came knocking: TCC. They were getting requests to add tech help to their list of client services. Who more fitting? “It wasn’t long until I didn’t have time for any other clients but TCC,” Cochrane explains with an ironic laugh. “But the company was at an exciting stage, so it made more sense than I realized.”
Little did Cochrane know he had committed the first step on the path to second-generation Presidency. And while the model that TCC introduced is now more commonplace, Cochrane still faces some of the same start-up struggles endured by his paternal predecessor. “The idea can still be a hard sell,” Cochrane confesses. “The biggest fear centres around privacy. I have to explain that our spaces are built for diversity. If you have private meetings to take, jump into one of the dedicated spaces. If you’re doing research for the day and want to be around some like-minded people, jump into one of the lounges!”
TCC’s spaces indeed offer a lot of variety. Some of it, in fact, is downright idiosyncratic. The company’s Elgin St. location, for instance, is a veritable catalogue of styles. TCC not only recognizes that every freelancer or business has their respective requirements, but it also thinks that business should be fun.
“How often do you get to hold meetings in a log cabin, or literally slide into an event being held on the floor below?” (yes, a slide—a genuine, playground-style slide!) “There needs to be a reason to come into the office. A height-adjustable desk and some coffee isn’t enough.”
TCC’s client base covers a wide range, from first-time shingle hangers to Fortune 50 companies. TCC accommodates them all, taking a load off the overwhelmed former so that they can concentrate on growing their business while participating in high-level discussions with the latter about redesigning their offices based on acquisitional requirements.
Speaking of growth, TCC itself has been doing that almost unstoppably. The company is in Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver and is looking at Montreal and Calgary. This is especially handy for TCC’s bigger clients, who can set up a country-wide network by availing themselves of space in a swath of cities. That said, each location has its own character. “The local vibe is something we look at heavily when we enter a new market,” Cochrane specifies. “We’re not looking to be a cookie-cutter type of space. We want to make sure each location is tailored to that particular area and community. It helps make the space feel more like home to our members.”
In time, Cochrane hopes to make TCC “the go-to for all coworking needs in Canada.” In so doing, he would make his father, from whom he’s admittedly learned almost everything, extremely proud—quite the pivot for a kid who once wanted to tinker with laptops rather than contribute to the family business. Now, Cochrane not only runs it, he’s its best form of advertising—a long way from the footer of that fax.
“Do you know what every single organization that has permanent office space can agree on?” he enthusiastically posits. “That a large portion of their space goes unused each and every day. What a waste of money and resources! Let’s maximize these spaces! Let’s create a more practical, sustainable, interactive, and fun place to be!”
