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> It just seems like WeWork took an existing business model of renting office space, went all VC and gathered a bunch of money and sky high evaluation (toss in

> It just seems like WeWork took an existing business model of renting office space, went all VC and gathered a bunch of money and sky high evaluation (toss in some creepy insider dealing) ... and ... that's it. That is basically what they did, but they also marketed it really well and made the process seamless. Everyone points to Regus as an example of a company that already existed in WeWork's space, but as far as I can tell, most people have only heard of Regus because WeWork is so often compared to them. Before WeWork, most people weren't aware that coworking spaces were an option. Startups would work out of homes or they would find cheap office space and sign long term leases for spaces they might soon outgrow. WeWork solved these issues for them. Now, I don't think there's much of a competitive moat. I don't think there's much stopping companies from moving to any other co-working space. Their corporate governance issues are crazy. They are probably overvalued (at least as of their last raise in the private markets). But they certainly are the 900 pound gorilla in this space and the space has gotten much bigger as a result of them.

goatinaboat 7y ago
Before WeWork, most people weren't aware that coworking spaces were an option I remember co-working spaces and “live-work units” in London in the 1990’s. I’ll admit that WeWork has a certain cachet, Millenials can’t imagine anything cooler than getting an Uber from the AirBnB to the WeWork, but that’s just a fashion and they’ll move onto something else soon.
- skinnymuch 7y ago
  Yeah that broad stroke of millennials isn’t at all true.
mytailorisrich 7y ago
There's marketing and there's targeted marketing. All the people who need the services Regus provides know about Regus.
- lonelappde 7y ago
  Right. I never heard of Regus until I needed to work from home. Then I searched for co-working space and voila Regus name on every building I found.
- cm2012 7y ago
  I googled WeWork when I needed space, but a Regus place popped up closer to me.
nradov 7y ago
It probably depends on where you're located but co-working spaces have been a thing in Silicon Valley since at least the late 1990's (first Internet boom). Everyone in the tech industry knew about them.
gamblor956 7y ago
Regus was very well known in professional communities, i.e., lawyers, accountants, consultants, before WeWork. Especially during the recession it was a great, professional looking place to meet with clients without the overhead of an office lease.
duxup 7y ago
I wonder if by more people knowing about these options because of WeWork ... if more are actually doing more of it who weren't already? There could be some value there, maybe, but I've looked at WeWork in my area and it's expensive... for having to share a lot of space. It seems like a high bar to get folks into that.
wastedhours 7y ago
I heard about Regus years before I'd ever heard of WeWork, however, all of the other new players in the space (barely a week goes by without seeing an ad for a new building in London with flexible offices and coworking) have only really gained visibility since. Have a feeling the newer, smaller players with more limited portfolios (and exposure) might survive better.
- noneeeed 7y ago
  There is a place near me that is part of Regus, but you wouldn't know it, it's very much positioned as a co-working style location. They seem to be using the tactic of setting up parallel brands that don't have the baggage of the old, but have access to their capital, management and expertise. I frankly don't see We work having any long term advantage over any of the other big players.
hobofan 7y ago
> But they certainly are the 900 pound gorilla in this space They are very much not a 800 pound gorilla. That would mean that they could dictate the market, but with some of the most expensive prices for a mediocre offering in comparison to the competition, they can't really do that.
ofibrvev 7y ago
> Before WeWork, most people weren't aware that coworking spaces were an option Is this true? I am skeptical. If it is true it speaks to the mindboggling ignorance of Silicon Valley decision makers. I was living in a small (<500k metro not in california in 2009, and there were already 2 branded “coworking” businesses (that were well marketed to the tiny tech community). I may be the exception but I had not heard of WeWork until much later, but I wasn’t in a talent resource decision making position at the time, it wasn’t really my need to know those things. If it was and I didn’t, I would have fired myself for gross incompetence.
- jvagner 7y ago
  Regus may be huge, but they're generally not listed in any of the coworking space directories I've been checking. I know they're in my city, but the website location quotes daily prices based on a 24-month commitment. Either they don't feel threatened by WeWork and independent coworking spaces, or they don't feel the need to adjust their terms and contract conditions... which I find curious.
chipotle_coyote 7y ago
...as far as I can tell, most people have only heard of Regus because WeWork is so often compared to them. This may well be true, but I'm not sure that's precisely a negative. Most people don't need to hear of Regus unless they're looking for ready-to-go space for a small company, or if they work for a company renting such space. (I'd heard of Regus, as I worked at a company renting space at Regus. And it was a really nice environment. This was back in 2010, by the way.) And I think anyone who was actually doing that search would have pretty easily come across Regus. WeWork's "innovation" in some ways was marketing directly to developers, pitching themselves as "we're a tech startup ourselves, catering to tech startups just like you!", so people putting together startups would already know their name before they did a search for space.

goatinaboat 7y ago

Before WeWork, most people weren't aware that coworking spaces were an option I remember co-working spaces and “live-work units” in London in the 1990’s. I’ll admit that WeWork has a certain cachet, Millenials can’t imagine anything cooler than getting an Uber from the AirBnB to the WeWork, but that’s just a fashion and they’ll move onto something else soon.

skinnymuch 7y ago
Yeah that broad stroke of millennials isn’t at all true.

mytailorisrich 7y ago

There's marketing and there's targeted marketing. All the people who need the services Regus provides know about Regus.

lonelappde 7y ago
Right. I never heard of Regus until I needed to work from home. Then I searched for co-working space and voila Regus name on every building I found.
cm2012 7y ago
I googled WeWork when I needed space, but a Regus place popped up closer to me.

nradov 7y ago

It probably depends on where you're located but co-working spaces have been a thing in Silicon Valley since at least the late 1990's (first Internet boom). Everyone in the tech industry knew about them.

gamblor956 7y ago

Regus was very well known in professional communities, i.e., lawyers, accountants, consultants, before WeWork. Especially during the recession it was a great, professional looking place to meet with clients without the overhead of an office lease.

duxup 7y ago

I wonder if by more people knowing about these options because of WeWork ... if more are actually doing more of it who weren't already? There could be some value there, maybe, but I've looked at WeWork in my area and it's expensive... for having to share a lot of space. It seems like a high bar to get folks into that.

wastedhours 7y ago

I heard about Regus years before I'd ever heard of WeWork, however, all of the other new players in the space (barely a week goes by without seeing an ad for a new building in London with flexible offices and coworking) have only really gained visibility since. Have a feeling the newer, smaller players with more limited portfolios (and exposure) might survive better.

noneeeed 7y ago
There is a place near me that is part of Regus, but you wouldn't know it, it's very much positioned as a co-working style location. They seem to be using the tactic of setting up parallel brands that don't have the baggage of the old, but have access to their capital, management and expertise. I frankly don't see We work having any long term advantage over any of the other big players.

hobofan 7y ago

> But they certainly are the 900 pound gorilla in this space They are very much not a 800 pound gorilla. That would mean that they could dictate the market, but with some of the most expensive prices for a mediocre offering in comparison to the competition, they can't really do that.

ofibrvev 7y ago

> Before WeWork, most people weren't aware that coworking spaces were an option Is this true? I am skeptical. If it is true it speaks to the mindboggling ignorance of Silicon Valley decision makers. I was living in a small (<500k metro not in california in 2009, and there were already 2 branded “coworking” businesses (that were well marketed to the tiny tech community). I may be the exception but I had not heard of WeWork until much later, but I wasn’t in a talent resource decision making position at the time, it wasn’t really my need to know those things. If it was and I didn’t, I would have fired myself for gross incompetence.

jvagner 7y ago
Regus may be huge, but they're generally not listed in any of the coworking space directories I've been checking. I know they're in my city, but the website location quotes daily prices based on a 24-month commitment. Either they don't feel threatened by WeWork and independent coworking spaces, or they don't feel the need to adjust their terms and contract conditions... which I find curious.

chipotle_coyote 7y ago

...as far as I can tell, most people have only heard of Regus because WeWork is so often compared to them. This may well be true, but I'm not sure that's precisely a negative. Most people don't need to hear of Regus unless they're looking for ready-to-go space for a small company, or if they work for a company renting such space. (I'd heard of Regus, as I worked at a company renting space at Regus. And it was a really nice environment. This was back in 2010, by the way.) And I think anyone who was actually doing that search would have pretty easily come across Regus. WeWork's "innovation" in some ways was marketing directly to developers, pitching themselves as "we're a tech startup ourselves, catering to tech startups just like you!", so people putting together startups would already know their name before they did a search for space.