MANAYUNK

Originally Published in Manayunk.com Magazine

By Cara Gavin 

“We describe this place as a family, not as a company…and Manayunk is the perfect home for our family,” says Tim McLaughlin, principal at Intuitive Company, a local design and technology firm. As a specialist in relationship strategy, Tim knows a good thing when he sees it and understands the value of user-centered experiences, whether it be a mobile app, an adaptive website or a business-friendly neighborhood.

Tim and Intuitive’s other principals, Sandy Greene, who specializes in design, and Greg Picarelli, who specializes in technology and operations, moved Intuitive Company to Manayunk in 2012. For their 48 employees, “The fit is awesome,” says Sandy. An employee mantra, “Work hard. Play hard,” is artfully splattered on one of their office walls and is engrained into how the team interacts with the neighborhood. While most of the day is spent designing cutting-edge, usable digital products for clients such as Temple University,  Silicon Valley Bank  and Ameriprise, the Intuitive team uses their breaks to explore all over town. “You’re half a block from all of these bars and restaurants. We didn’t know how important that would be to the staff,” says Sandy. “Behind our office is the Tow Path they can run on. Half a block up they’ve got all of these places on Main Street.” Whether it be grabbing a latte from Volo Coffeehouse, picking up a chic desk lamp at Dwelling or getting a quick workout in at Hotbox Yoga, Manayunk offers the perfect “work-life balance” Greg explains. “Being here, we’re attracting employees. This place does that.”

“Above and beyond the employees, our clients love it,” says Tim. “It has this great blend of neighbor and city vibe.” While about 90 percent of Intuitive’s clients aren’t local, the company has a unique opportunity of showing the town off when clients visit. Tim explains that his staff are on a first name basis with many baristas, bartenders and restaurateurs, so when a customer comes to town, they are given a more intimate and tailored experience. “Clients like coming here. Once they get here, they say, ‘Wow, this is a really cool neighborhood. You guys really fit and this really fits you.’ In terms of the vibe, culture and heartbeat of the company, Manayunk really matches that well,” he says.

While the Intuitive team loves the variety of eateries and shops in town, they aren’t without favorites. Every morning, a group of team members can be found at Volo picking up their favorite coffee before heading into the office. After a meeting on the next delivery release for a project, one group is grabbing soup from The Couch Tomato, while another is taking a client to lunch at Winnie’s LeBus. After work, the fitness fanatics are rushing over to SWEAT Fitness and another team is headed to Manayunk Tavern to discover the latest beers on tap.

Beyond the workweek, Intuitive employees are investing in the town by giving back to local charities and taking part in weekend programs. “When we run the [Blue Cross] Broad Street Run,” says Sandy, “we are going to have 20 runners this year. We do it through DetermiNation and the American Cancer Society, and all of the runners from Intuitive Company contribute to the society.” Intuitive also contributed to the North Light Community Center for the Manayunk bike race this past year. For community events like the Philadelphia Marathon and the Manayunk Arts Festival, the team joins in by bringing their friends and families to Main Street. “I’ll bring my kids to some of the street fairs and we went to the Halloween parade one year,” Tim says. “That’s the cool thing – I personally come here when it’s a weekend, whether it’s to bring my kids, or go to the gym or to look at furniture. It’s not just a work location. It’s a nice neighborhood to hang in.”

The company now has even more room to hang in after extending their office into a neighboring building, which they have named “The Loft.” The decked out open office space has tall ceilings and huge windows and is in tough competition with the original office space which has a ping-pong table and a keg of their favorite craft beer. When they opened their original space they celebrated in style and they plan to do the same to break in “The Loft.” Sandy says, “When we opened up our space and had our launch party, we had five local restaurants cater – Winnie’s, Agiato, Couch Tomato, Volo and Han Dynasty. We had 250 people that night and guests were able to get a great taste of Manayunk.  We are going to do that again.”

In the future, Sandy hopes to expand the office even more. “If we hit our growth targets, we will continue to fill this new space. We’d be happy to keep developing in Manayunk.” Greg is focused on hitting that target. He says, “We want to keep doing the things that we are doing well and see if there’s a broader impact we can make. We have aspirations to make a broader impact globally, whether it is through existing or new clients.” Tim hopes Manayunk grows with Intuitive as well. He’d love to see a boutique hotel put in for clients to stay at. “For businesses like us, where this is our base, that would be ideal,” he says.

As Intuitive Company works towards global domination, it will be exciting to see how they continue to grow right here at home.

Cara Gavin is a local freelance writer and is part of our new initiative to get local voices into the Manayunk Magazine. Interested in writing about your community? Email Caitlin Maloney at cmaloney@manayunk.org.