Indoor Playground Has Moved

But where we do not know...

18 months after leasing the 5th floor at 364 Richmond St W we have decided to close this Indoor Playground location and work on establishing it somewhere else. The reason for the move is reasonably simple. Our landlords (Allied Properties) hit us with a 40% increase in rent and refused to acknowledge our request to move some cabinets to make the place wheelchair accessible. We felt held over a barrel but I was trained to never negotiate with terrorists...

Now that I have vented a little...the good news is that the hard work and financial investment on renovations will benefit a friend in the community. Sonya Meloff from Sales Talent Agency will be taking over the lease and setting up shop. She would be interested in some folks co-working so if you are interested please contact her directly (read more on STA below).

We have learned a lot in the last 18 months about co-working and managing a shared workspace. We have set up some great structures behind the scenes that will make us stronger when we re-emerge. It is our hope that someone in the community comes forward with a passion to lead this into the future that we can get behind and share what we have developed so far...

Today was a sad day but one that has set me free to focus 100% on leading Brainpark, Inc. a new software venture targeting the small to midsize company with a suite of networked collective intelligence solutions. More to be revealed soon...

Sales Talent Agency is a sales recruitment company.  We are sales experts who associate with rain-makers, not warm bodies. We know a quota crusher from a revenue sponge. We have credibility with quality sales professionals because we have been in their shoes: we have “carried a bag”, we have led sales teams, we have developed sales strategies. We are respected as sales experts by the people we place, by the companies we help, and by the sales community as a whole.

Our candidates will be difference makers for our clients. Our clients will respect our candidate’s contributions and pay them well for results.

 

Launched in September of 2007 by Sonya Meloff (former Director of Sales – Monster.ca) and Jamie Scarborough (former Managing Director of Sales – Monster.ca & Vice President of Sales – Hcareers.com), our roster of clients includes start-ups as well as many of the largest brands across various industries; including media, job boards, and online companies. For some, we have exclusive outsourced contracts.

 

We are currently looking to hire talent agents to join our company and would love to hear from anyone who loves sales and loves people more.  And we’re always excited to meet solid sales stars!

 

Feel free to contact either Sonya  (sonya@salestalentagency.com) or Jamie (jamie@salestalentagency.com).

 

Comments

[Travis]

It's a shame I missed out on this. Stumbled upon a link to Indoor Playground moments ago and wish I knew of it since the day it opened.

I've been longing for an environment like this and do hope that you'll launch a new one in the Toronto area not too far down the road.

[Mark Dowds]

Brian, our lease was year by year but we were in negotiations to renew for a longer period of time over the last several months. We wanted some cabinets removed for wheelchair accessibility and the washrooms cleaned up. Basically they came back with no response to our requests and just randomly chose to hike the rent by additional 40% so we walked. Instead of punishing them I recommended a friend to take over the space under a new lease with them. The irony is they gave it them for almost half the price they wanted from us under the new lease agreement...none of it makes a lot of sense to be honest. We spent about $35,000 in leasehold improvements but they apparently saw that as irrelevant. At least a friend is now getting to benefit from what we spent...

[Brian]

This doesn't make sense.

My parents had a store too.

The rent was negotiated for the entire length of the lease. Once the lease expired they had to re-negotiate new terms under existing market rates.

But this seems to be something different. It's either one or the other:

1) The lease has ended so the landlord, referencing market conditions has requested a 40% increase that is now forcing Indoor Playground to close down because it can no longer operate.

2) The lease continues (and the landlord cannot dictate interim increases within a lease) and Indoor Playground has chosen to sub-lease to Sales Talent Agency.

It can't be both. Which is it?

[Jonas Brandon]

Sorry to hear it. IP had a really cool space. Hope you find even better digs for IP soon!

[Sheldon Kotyk]

I was a little disappointed to hear that from Bobby when we were sitting there a few weeks ago.

Hope you find an even better location.

Never negotiate with terrorists.

[Harold Jarche]

When you're in the "retail" space, it's best to own your digs. I learned that many years ago when my parents owned a store.