How Cody Built Product-Market Fit by Bridging Two Struggling Markets
Sometimes the best opportunities lie in connecting two groups with complementary problems. In a recent Category Visionaries episode, Cody CEO Christelle Rohaut revealed how they achieved product-market fit by bridging the gap between commercial landlords facing high vacancy rates and companies seeking flexible workspace solutions.
Recognizing the Market Disconnect
The post-pandemic commercial real estate market created a fascinating dynamic. On one side, landlords faced unprecedented vacancy rates due to rigid lease terms. On the other, companies wanted office space but couldn’t commit to traditional terms. As Christelle explains: “It’s a demand supply problem like any other marketplace. But if all the demand want a one year term, supply doesn’t have a choice… offering a five year lease is no longer in demand.”
Building the Bridge
Cody positioned itself as more than just a marketplace – they became a managed solution. “You can define Cody as like the office as a service platform or like a managed marketplace,” Christelle shares. “We do connect companies who want flexibility, ease, speed with spaces that are underutilized across the city. But then we do manage the spaces.”
Solving Both Sides’ Problems
For Companies:
- Flexibility: “You can start with just one day a week, if that’s what your workplace policy is.”
- Simplicity: “It’s moving ready, it’s managed, you have the cleaning, the coffee, you don’t have to worry about anything.”
- Risk Reduction: “That type of commitment, it killed a lot of companies during the pandemic because it’s not appropriate, the risk is way too high.”
For Landlords:
- Reduced Risk: “One year typically companies will not default. But five years, a lot of landlords got burned through the pandemic with a lot of tenants defaulting.”
- New Revenue Streams: “We’re seeing office space being utilized for that regular twice a week use. But also the bigger offices utilize only for offsites where the whole company comes in for just a week once a quarter.”
Geographic Innovation
Cody’s approach also helped solve another market inefficiency: the concentration of office space in downtown areas. “We’re seeing a shift in geography for demand,” Christelle notes. “There’s higher demand in neighborhoods outside of downtown… those neighborhoods actually have a shot at being lively and active during the week.”
The Hidden Value Proposition
Beyond just connecting supply and demand, Cody discovered additional value in managing operational complexity. As Christelle explains: “When you get a direct lease or sublease, you think only on the base rent, right? But then you have utilities and then the deposits and all the upfront cost of purchasing furniture, and then cleaning and coffee and tea… There’s a lot of hidden costs and fees in running your own office.”
Key Lessons in Finding Market Fit
Cody’s experience offers valuable insights for founders seeking to bridge market inefficiencies:
- Look for Complementary Problems Find situations where two markets’ problems can solve each other.
- Add Value Beyond Connection Don’t just connect parties – solve the operational friction between them.
- Think Geographically Market inefficiencies often have geographic dimensions worth exploring.
- Address Hidden Costs Look beyond the obvious transaction to find additional value opportunities.
The Future Model
Looking ahead, Christelle sees even more opportunity in this approach: “I’m really bullish about the Timeshare office model where company A gets a space a couple of days a week and company B the other days. And so I would hope that this model would be mainstream and would be our core product.”
For founders seeking product-market fit, Cody’s journey shows that sometimes the best opportunities come not from creating new markets, but from finding innovative ways to connect existing ones. The key is identifying complementary problems and building solutions that make it easy for both sides to solve them together.