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Keel brings calm back to the office with Work With Island acoustic pods
The London-based ops platform equipped their Workspace.co.uk office with Work With Island pods to protect the focus environment their engineering and product teams demand.
The London-based ops platform equipped their Workspace.co.uk office with Work With Island pods to protect the focus environment their engineering and product teams demand.
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The context
January 2025. Fresh off a $6 million funding round, the 13-person London startup Keel moves into a flexible workspace at Worksplace.co.uk, one of the UK's leading premium office providers. It doesn't take long for the open-plan reality to set in: noise creeping up through the day and calls that can't be taken without pulling everyone else in. At Keel, the idea of shaping their office to fit their needs, rather than just putting up with it, takes hold fast.
The need
Tom Frew and Benoît Machefer knew what they were looking for. First, real sound insulation that keeps conversations private and calls distraction-free. Second, ventilation that keeps the air fresh after a full hour inside. Third, provenance: quality materials and full transparency about how and where things are made. And fourth, value: a product that delivers on its promises, at a price that works for a 13-person startup.
Why Work With Island
After exploring the acoustic pod market, the two co-founders quickly saw the same pattern everywhere. Either premium products priced way out of reach, or cheaper options that fell short on quality when it actually mattered. Work With Island hit the right balance: a serious product, delivered in just two weeks, at a price built for startup reality.
The B Corp certification mattered too. Not just a label but a signal about how a company actually chooses to operate. For a team that cares about building things the right way, that alignment wasn't a small thing.
Two weeks. One hour. Zero construction.
Working with our team, Keel settled on two pods: an Island Duo for meetings and an Island Solo for heads-down, distraction-free focus. Both were delivered within two weeks and installed in their London office in one hour: no building work, no disruption to the team.
Tom went a step further. He added a custom occupancy indicator system to both pods, so anyone can tell at a glance whether one is free. No more guessing, no more wasted trips across the office.
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