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AWS is really a good comparison. It turned buying a server and getting an annual colo lease into "per-second" billing, and WeWork offers per-day pricing for off

AWS is really a good comparison. It turned buying a server and getting an annual colo lease into "per-second" billing, and WeWork offers per-day pricing for office real estate instead of an annual lease.

mattrp 7y ago
That’s the aws of 2008. If you think that’s still what they do I would suggest revisiting your view. It’s not a very good comparison. I’d prefer to think of wework in the same ways that some might of thought of Enron.
hn_throwaway_99 7y ago
Except AWS does a whole lot more than just let you rent generic EC2 instances by the hour. They have sooo, sooo, sooo many custom services that their lock-in is huge. It would be extremely painful for any sizable customer on AWS to switch (my previous comment on the subject: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20339381 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20339381). No such lock-in exists with WeWork. In fact the entire reason for WeWork's existence is it doesn't have lock-in.
- icelancer 7y ago
  >> No such lock-in exists with WeWork. In fact the entire reason for WeWork's existence is it doesn't have lock-in. This isn't true for their expanding customer base: Businesses who are paying for blocks of co-working memberships to expand through services rather than finding new leases themselves. There is significant lock-in when this occurs, as people may move close to those WeWork locations, arrange their life around it, etc.
  - mtremsal 7y ago
    That's also my understanding of their pitch; have we seen any evidence it's actually happening?
    - icelancer 7y ago
      Anecdotally in Seattle it is absolutely happening. My small business is one of many that is expanding into these short-term spaces due to flexibility. Who knows if it's actually working well, but I've seen many "sub-offices" at the co-working space where I lease two desks for my employees.
crummy 7y ago
Stratechery digs more into this comparison, which really helped me understand the value of WeWork. https://stratechery.com/2019/the-wework-ipo/ https://stratechery.com/2019/the-wework-ipo/

mattrp 7y ago

That’s the aws of 2008. If you think that’s still what they do I would suggest revisiting your view. It’s not a very good comparison. I’d prefer to think of wework in the same ways that some might of thought of Enron.

hn_throwaway_99 7y ago

Except AWS does a whole lot more than just let you rent generic EC2 instances by the hour. They have sooo, sooo, sooo many custom services that their lock-in is huge. It would be extremely painful for any sizable customer on AWS to switch (my previous comment on the subject: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20339381 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20339381). No such lock-in exists with WeWork. In fact the entire reason for WeWork's existence is it doesn't have lock-in.

icelancer 7y ago
>> No such lock-in exists with WeWork. In fact the entire reason for WeWork's existence is it doesn't have lock-in. This isn't true for their expanding customer base: Businesses who are paying for blocks of co-working memberships to expand through services rather than finding new leases themselves. There is significant lock-in when this occurs, as people may move close to those WeWork locations, arrange their life around it, etc.
- mtremsal 7y ago
  That's also my understanding of their pitch; have we seen any evidence it's actually happening?
  - icelancer 7y ago
    Anecdotally in Seattle it is absolutely happening. My small business is one of many that is expanding into these short-term spaces due to flexibility. Who knows if it's actually working well, but I've seen many "sub-offices" at the co-working space where I lease two desks for my employees.

crummy 7y ago

Stratechery digs more into this comparison, which really helped me understand the value of WeWork. https://stratechery.com/2019/the-wework-ipo/ https://stratechery.com/2019/the-wework-ipo/