October 23, 2019 | Photos by Alexander Kusak
We are pleased to introduce you to Will Turton and Chris Bond, two of our neighbors at Blender Workspace. Will and Chris are co-founders and partners of Turton Bond, a real estate consulting group in New York City.
Getting to Know You
If you could eat lunch with anyone, living or departed, who would it be? Why?
Will: I’m tempted to go all David Brent here and say someone like the Dali Llama, but in truth, it would probably be someone like A. A. Gill ( a restaurant & TV critic for The Sunday Times). He would obviously know a good place to go and was known for his very dry sense of humor.
Chris: I’d have to say the legend himself, Shaquille O’Neal, who was actually the main inspiration for me coming to the States in the first place. He’s a Hall of Famer, and now a successful businessman. I think we’d get along well, despite the obvious dramatic height differences. I may be requesting a high chair!
Do you have a favorite “New York” moment?
Will: I guess I’m obliged to say meeting my girlfriend for the very first time! (She’ll love that I phrased it that way!) But yeah, since meeting her, my life has definitely changed for the better and I wouldn’t change it for the world!
Chris: Avoiding the blatant search for bonus points (above) I guess when we stepped foot into our own office at Blender for the first time. Knowing that we had finally made the leap to running our own company and had our very own Manhattan office was slightly surreal.
Is there a beverage you can’t go without each day?
Not necessarily daily (as that could be troubling!) but we are both definitely partial to the odd beer.
Do you have any daily rituals? How do they help you?
Will: I have a pretty good commute. I walk over the Williamsburg bridge into the city, pick up a coffee on the Lower East Side and continue my walk while listening to football (aka “Soccer”) podcasts. It takes around an hour and 40 mins but it’s good exercise and helps clear my mind ahead of the day!
Chris: A lot of my rituals surround my dog. Walking him to the park or taking him on a run around the city gives me a good opportunity to step away from the business and see New York from a different perspective.
Career Life
Can you tell us a little about what you do?
We’re Quantity Surveyors by trade, which is essentially an amalgamation of skill sets within the construction consultancy world. We represent clients and developers and take responsibility for estimating, procuring and managing all aspects of the cost associated with a construction project. That includes looking for areas to save money or to negotiate with contractors. A construction project can be anything from an office interior to an underground diamond mine. Regardless of the industry sector, we apply the same principles to every job.
What is your favorite moment of your career so far?
Hands down, it has to be starting Turton Bond. We both had pretty comfortable roles in our previous company but felt slightly limited by some of the roadblocks we were encountering. We wanted the freedom to make and implement our own decisions, which for the record are not always right. Since starting Turton Bond, at least we can learn from them.
Business Partnership
How did you two meet and then become business partners?
We met while working at our previous company. We became business partners following (several) drunken conversations in a bar about our frustration at seeing opportunities being missed that we were unable to act upon.
What is the working dynamic between you two? How do you delegate tasks?
I think it’s a pretty good balance. We have contrasting personalities, which seems to work well in this industry. We’re serving clients who also have varying personality traits, so we tend to try and see what relationships form organically to determine who’s responsible for what project.
Luxury Coworking Space Members
What drew you to do business in a luxury coworking space instead of a more traditional office or another coworking space?
We just liked the atmosphere when we walked in. It felt very calm and sophisticated and the look and feel of the was something we could align ourselves with.
What is your favorite part about working at Blender?
It feels like a natural fit! Coming into our section every day, meeting with the team, discussing the previous night’s sporting events or where you went for dinner is a great way to start each day!
Click here to learn more about Turton Bond Real Estate Consulting.
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