6 ms·

We're going to look back on this company and say to ourselves "why did we fund a company to sign rental agreements". I jest, but WeWork is one of those strange

by jbob2000 7y ago

We're going to look back on this company and say to ourselves "why did we fund a company to sign rental agreements". I jest, but WeWork is one of those strange entities that's greater than the sum of its parts. If the magic goes or the brand tarnishes a little, then the whole thing goes poof.

mschuster91 7y ago
> We're going to look back on this company and say to ourselves "why did we fund a company to sign rental agreements". Because there is just too much dumb money floating around and waiting to be invested after a decade of QE monetary policy. But instead of governments (worldwide) using said dumb money to invest in their future e.g. by building (or even maintaining!) infrastructure, teaching young students, fixing up environmental issues or helping people rebuild their savings/retirement, the money is forced into such "investments". Next recession is gonna hit hard.
- lotsofpulp 7y ago
  All of the options you listed would result in wealth redistribution. Asset value inflation and collecting rent are how you maintain or increase the wealth/income gap, not giving away your money to make other people’s lives better/productive.
  - jakobegger 7y ago
    Yes, it'll make investors richer, but they'll end up in a world that nobody likes to live in.
kasey_junk 7y ago
WeWork is offering its customers something of value, that while not unique, was rare. That it has to do largely with changing the normal contracts in their industry doesn’t matter much. The issue is not with what they are selling it’s with how they are funding it. I think this story says a lot less about We than it does about SoftBank.
- vonmoltke 7y ago
  Rare? Regus was widespread in this space before WeWork was a twinkle in Adam Neumann's eye.
  - kasey_junk 7y ago
    1 vendor in a space is rare.
    - vonmoltke 7y ago
      Regus wasn't the only vendor, just the largest one. Also, I'd call one vendor in a space a monopoly. Rareness is about the ease of finding a vendor.
  - tptacek 7y ago
    Is Regus really pin compatible with WeWork? WeWork offers cheap 1-desk offices with Internet/utilities bundled. Last I checked, Regus offered a "1-desk office" that was much more expensive, could fit several people, and didn't include amenities like Internet bundled. There were online retailers before Amazon, too.
    - vonmoltke 7y ago
      > Is Regus really pin compatible with WeWork? WeWork offers cheap 1-desk offices with Internet/utilities bundled. Last I checked, Regus offered a "1-desk office" that was much more expensive, could fit several people, and didn't include amenities like Internet bundled. Depends on the market. Regus, as far as I know, doesn't put a lot of effort on build-out of the spaces they sublet. They take them pretty much as they are. It certainly wasn't a co-working space, but those weren't rare before WeWork either. > There were online retailers before Amazon, too. There certainly were online retailers before Amazon, but people didn't call them "rare" before Amazon.
      - tptacek 7y ago
        "Rare" wouldn't be the word I would use, but the offering WeWork had, a few years ago, was unique and very well targeted to people like me: default month-to-month leasing of flexible 1- and 2-desk offices and hot desk spaces, all amenities included, at below-market prices.
patthebunny 7y ago
> WeWork is one of those strange entities that's greater than the sum of its parts Or it's one of those entities that claimed to be greater than the sum of it's parts often enough that people started to believe.

mschuster91 7y ago

> We're going to look back on this company and say to ourselves "why did we fund a company to sign rental agreements". Because there is just too much dumb money floating around and waiting to be invested after a decade of QE monetary policy. But instead of governments (worldwide) using said dumb money to invest in their future e.g. by building (or even maintaining!) infrastructure, teaching young students, fixing up environmental issues or helping people rebuild their savings/retirement, the money is forced into such "investments". Next recession is gonna hit hard.

lotsofpulp 7y ago
All of the options you listed would result in wealth redistribution. Asset value inflation and collecting rent are how you maintain or increase the wealth/income gap, not giving away your money to make other people’s lives better/productive.
- jakobegger 7y ago
  Yes, it'll make investors richer, but they'll end up in a world that nobody likes to live in.

kasey_junk 7y ago

WeWork is offering its customers something of value, that while not unique, was rare. That it has to do largely with changing the normal contracts in their industry doesn’t matter much. The issue is not with what they are selling it’s with how they are funding it. I think this story says a lot less about We than it does about SoftBank.

vonmoltke 7y ago
Rare? Regus was widespread in this space before WeWork was a twinkle in Adam Neumann's eye.
- kasey_junk 7y ago
  1 vendor in a space is rare.
  - vonmoltke 7y ago
    Regus wasn't the only vendor, just the largest one. Also, I'd call one vendor in a space a monopoly. Rareness is about the ease of finding a vendor.
- tptacek 7y ago
  Is Regus really pin compatible with WeWork? WeWork offers cheap 1-desk offices with Internet/utilities bundled. Last I checked, Regus offered a "1-desk office" that was much more expensive, could fit several people, and didn't include amenities like Internet bundled. There were online retailers before Amazon, too.
  - vonmoltke 7y ago
    > Is Regus really pin compatible with WeWork? WeWork offers cheap 1-desk offices with Internet/utilities bundled. Last I checked, Regus offered a "1-desk office" that was much more expensive, could fit several people, and didn't include amenities like Internet bundled. Depends on the market. Regus, as far as I know, doesn't put a lot of effort on build-out of the spaces they sublet. They take them pretty much as they are. It certainly wasn't a co-working space, but those weren't rare before WeWork either. > There were online retailers before Amazon, too. There certainly were online retailers before Amazon, but people didn't call them "rare" before Amazon.
    - tptacek 7y ago
      "Rare" wouldn't be the word I would use, but the offering WeWork had, a few years ago, was unique and very well targeted to people like me: default month-to-month leasing of flexible 1- and 2-desk offices and hot desk spaces, all amenities included, at below-market prices.

patthebunny 7y ago

> WeWork is one of those strange entities that's greater than the sum of its parts Or it's one of those entities that claimed to be greater than the sum of it's parts often enough that people started to believe.