PayPal Toronto’s Street-Art Aesthetic

August 15, 2017

When PayPal Canada moved its headquarters to MaRS Discovery District this past fall, the Toronto-based team joined an impressive list of tenants.

Working inside North America’s largest urban innovation incubator, PayPal Canada positioned themselves next to the country’s leading startups, primed to team up with their technology giant neighbours—and PayPal customers—Facebook, Etsy, and Airbnb.

Ten years ago, PayPal launched in Canada and made Toronto their home. A champion of small businesses, PayPal Canada makes it easy for consumers to shop online, send money and accept payments. Today, more than 250,000 businesses and 120 large retailers in Canada use PayPal. With 6.4 million active accounts, one in four Canadian adults is using the service.

Now settled in their Toronto HQ, PayPal Canada’s new office embraces urban art and startup staples in a trendy, open concept space.

Work

Designed in collaboration with Warehaus, PayPal Canada wanted their space to feel anything but corporate. Stepping inside the 7,800 square-foot HQ, the office doesn’t have a single cubicle, closed-off cabin or office room—even senior leaders sit with their teams.

The seven breakout rooms are labeled with the names of quirky Canadian towns like Bacon Cove and Saint-Louis-du Ha! Ha!. To truly embrace Canadiana, one room took the name of Tim Horton’s iconic double double.

Floor to ceiling glass windows encase the office and offer a panoramic view of Queens Park and the University of Toronto.

Toronto’s unique street art is boldly featured in the space as two local street artists were hired to add their personal flair to PayPal Canada. Paris-born Jimmy Chiale created colorful wall murals that wrap around room doors and common spaces. Sidewalk artist Victor Fraser painted six towering pillars with bold designs and bright colors.

Both urban artists were tasked with reflecting PayPal’s values of innovation, collaboration, wellness and inclusion in their work.

LK1A0961 — The French artist Jimmy Chiale manages to sneak some Canadian flair into his work.

Food

Employees enjoy health-conscious catered lunches four days a week and a complimentary breakfast on Wednesdays. In the cozy kitchen, cold-brew coffee is always on tap.

Culture

Collaboration really is king at PayPal. No matter their role, employees are welcomed to sit in on any team meeting. In fact, the boardroom can conveniently hold the entire Toronto team for brainstorming stations. It is also set up with state-of-the-art video conferencing, ready to connect the Canadian team with PayPal coworkers around the world.

“We want to hear your thoughts on what we’re doing, where we’re going and the direction we’re taking. This office environment creates that.” – Paul Parisi, PayPal Canada’s General Manager

PayPal also encourages employees to create a career development plan where they can indicate their desire to work at a different PayPal office in another country and helps employees see that dream become a reality.

The company wants the space to work for all employees. As such, each person is given their own locker and access to a private room for nursing mothers.

Fun

Employees are encouraged to take a break and hit the ping pong table or even hop on the communal bike for a spin around the office. PayPal is also lining up wellness initiatives for their employees, including group fitness classes and office visits from a nutritionist.