Nas’ hip hop album Illmatic, perched on a shelf at Noah Kerner’s office, is the only nod to Acorns Grow Inc. chief executive’s former life as a DJ on the “Today” show and MTV with Jennifer Lopez.
The rest of the four-story headquarters exudes the ethos of Irvine-based fintech firm that focuses on micro-investing through a mobile app with nominal fees and no minimums.
Acorns’ new home, which formerly housed Broadcom Inc., features open-air design and a large staircase that leads into a communal dining room and doubles as a meeting area for its 300 employees. Splashes of green and purple adorn various sections of the building, each named after a California national park or a landmark. Every floor has two side porches—places to meet that resemble a mid-century lounge rather than a conference room.
Gatherings extend to the back patio, complete with a fire pit and a 12-foot oak tree, “a visual representation of what the company is doing—and is growing,” according to Sky Hartman, Acorns’ product lead who built the company’s webpage. He also took on the role of designing the 91,100-square-foot space with the help of architectural firm LPA Inc., which is in the building next door at UCI Research Park.
Other intricate décor details include a video gaming station, walls that double as white boards and bicycle racks that enable employees to hang them near office desks.
The offices have exposed utility pipes that “make this feel like a humble space.”
“If you go to a tech company in San Francisco, it will probably going to be decked out, and we really didn’t want to give that feeling,” Hartman said. “It’s also one of those things to help communicate to employees that we’ve made it to the next chapter, but we haven’t closed the book yet.”
OC investment banking pioneer Walter Cruttenden and his son Jeff launched Acorns in 2014. The firm now manages more than $1.5 billion in assets from over 5 million customers (see story, page 1).
