Reuben Torenberg is a First Vice President at CBRE, the world’s largest commercial real estate services firm. Reuben specializes in helping startups in San Francisco navigate the complex and rapidly changing office leasing landscape. Since joining CBRE in 2014, he's represented some of the biggest names in tech — including Airbnb, Coinbase, Cruise, and Dropbox — and is widely known as the go-to broker for early-stage startups and growth-stage companies alike. Beyond real estate, Reuben is also a community builder, having founded SF Hoops and SF Links, two of the city’s most exclusive and founder-heavy social sports leagues.
In this episode, we dive into the state of commercial real estate for startups in 2025, including:
- Why SF is now a tenant’s market — and what that means for startups
- How to find cheap, high-quality office space (and avoid costly mistakes)
- How much space your startup really needs at each stage
- Why brokers are free for tenants — and why every founder should use one
- Where the best startup neighborhoods are in SF right now
- How coworking has evolved — and why it's a smart move for teams <10
- What landlords are offering in TI (tenant improvement) allowances today
- How much to offer below list — and why you should always send multiple proposals
- The return of Class A space and what’s happening in Mission Bay, Hayes Valley, and Jackson Square
- Much more
Brought to you by:
Where to Find Reuben Torenberg
Where to Find David Phillips
In This Episode, We Cover
- (00:00) Intro to Reuben and CBRE
- (01:30) From sports to real estate: Reuben’s career path
- (03:15) Lessons from Custom Spaces and early startup deals
- (04:50) Major tenants Reuben’s worked with: Airbnb, Coinbase, Cruise
- (06:30) How SF Hoops became a startup founder hub
- (08:05) SF Links and the evolution of social networking for tech
- (09:40) How startups actually find space in SF
- (11:00) What tenant brokers do and why they’re free
- (13:00) Square footage per employee and planning for growth
- (15:00) COVID's impact: SF market shift explained
- (17:30) Class A space demand and the "flight to quality"
- (19:45) Leasing terms, TI allowances, and negotiation tips
- (23:00) Market insights from Q1 2025: 2.9M sq ft leased
- (25:15) Hottest neighborhoods: Mission Bay, Jackson Square, and beyond
- (28:00) Best advice for founders raising and scaling: flexibility, furnished space, subleases
- (30:00) Budgeting by headcount: ballpark lease costs for 5, 10, and 25-person teams
- (32:00) Final takeaways and next steps
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