It also depends on the business somewhat, but actually having an office you can invite outsiders to (investors, prospective clients) can be an indicator of success. Truthful or not, it's the perception that counts.
I understand, but that's such an "old world" style. It's like building a datacentre, in the age of cloud computing, simply because owning big iron is an indicator of success (all the big boys have datacentres, right?).
In IT, tbh, I think we should just own it. There are more productive and creative ways to send out that sort of signal.
I'm jumping in to say that I agree with you. Our industry quite literally invented tools to make physical offices obsolete. Speaking as a tech person, it strikes me as hypocritical at best and self sabotaging at worse to maintain this interest in physical space as a marker of success.
But, then the marketing/sales part of my experience chimes in and I think of all the various times in my career that having physical space added to my credibility. I think of the sectors (government tech and financial tech instantly come to mind) where decisions makers are heavily moved by AAA office space. And, I think of how many times I've seen spending an obscene amount on rent actually convert into paying customers.
My inner developer is saying "right on" but my inner marketer/sales type is thinking of all these times when physical space has a positive ROI from a sales/marketing point of view.
In IT, tbh, I think we should just own it. There are more productive and creative ways to send out that sort of signal.