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Quite a cynical world view. Its awesome that more people are even dreaming of changing the world, starting businesses and have a support infrastructure and cul

Quite a cynical world view. Its awesome that more people are even dreaming of changing the world, starting businesses and have a support infrastructure and culture to do it. Would you rather we aspired to cube farms instead?

exogeny 9y ago
I agree! But that doesn't make it factually untrue that WeWork disingenuously leverages those dreams to feed its growth. There's a reason why Simon Cowell was as compelling as he was: he was the only one who was actually honest with people when he told them that they were wasting their time pursuing their dreams of stardom. Everyone I've ever met associated with WeWork, comparably speaking, is Paula Abdul. It's unsustainable - because a lot of the companies that are there, frankly, are losers and will churn out quickly - and they need to constantly refill the supply at the bottom of that pyramid. That supply is not infinite, and most certainly not at the rate they're expanding. And again, the ultimate salient point here is that they've got orders of magnitude less property under management and yet they're trading at higher multiples than just about every other realty holding company. It's bubblicious, bro. All the feel-good bullshit about wanting to disrupt the world doesn't change that.
williamscales 9y ago
I would rather folks be realistic with themselves about what kind of work they will need to put in to accomplish those dreams instead of wasting resources that could be allocated elsewhere. What strikes me as cynical is creating a culture that attracts daydreamers with little chance of success and then turning around and selling investors on something else.
ganeshkrishnan 9y ago
Funded startups can afford wework. We run our start-up from free Co working spaces and public libraries. Every dollar saved goes to customer acquisition and $500 is a luxury

exogeny 9y ago

I agree! But that doesn't make it factually untrue that WeWork disingenuously leverages those dreams to feed its growth. There's a reason why Simon Cowell was as compelling as he was: he was the only one who was actually honest with people when he told them that they were wasting their time pursuing their dreams of stardom. Everyone I've ever met associated with WeWork, comparably speaking, is Paula Abdul. It's unsustainable - because a lot of the companies that are there, frankly, are losers and will churn out quickly - and they need to constantly refill the supply at the bottom of that pyramid. That supply is not infinite, and most certainly not at the rate they're expanding. And again, the ultimate salient point here is that they've got orders of magnitude less property under management and yet they're trading at higher multiples than just about every other realty holding company. It's bubblicious, bro. All the feel-good bullshit about wanting to disrupt the world doesn't change that.

williamscales 9y ago

I would rather folks be realistic with themselves about what kind of work they will need to put in to accomplish those dreams instead of wasting resources that could be allocated elsewhere. What strikes me as cynical is creating a culture that attracts daydreamers with little chance of success and then turning around and selling investors on something else.

ganeshkrishnan 9y ago

Funded startups can afford wework. We run our start-up from free Co working spaces and public libraries. Every dollar saved goes to customer acquisition and $500 is a luxury