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I feel sorry that WeWork receives a lot of negativity for “not going to be profitable” and “not being a technology company”. It might be true, but as a potentia

by vilius 7y ago

I feel sorry that WeWork receives a lot of negativity for “not going to be profitable” and “not being a technology company”. It might be true, but as a potential customer, I am extremely happy with their existence. I live in Warsaw and 3 years ago there were not a single decent coworking place. Every option seemed depressing and overpriced for their offering. Then WeWork and their competitor Mindspace opened up. I chose the latter since it was closer to my home and I couldn’t be happier. I assume WeWork would be the same. Brand new building, ergonomic desk, good looking interior, many meeting places, phone booths, free barista services, free delivery pickup service, 24h access, free bike rental, shower, community events, even massage and manicure is hosted few times per month. All this for $400. The price feels as a bargain. Not sure if it’s partly covered by VC money or is it due to competition by WeWork but as a customer I just want to thank them and hope it continues.

hohoho12345 7y ago
That's because it is a bargain funded by VC money.
- koolba 7y ago
  Which sums up a lot of what I like about Uber and Lyft too.
- redisman 7y ago
  It is a sustainable business to have "cool" coworking spaces for $400 per month (adjusted to COL). Just not a $50B business.
  - mdorazio 7y ago
    I don't think it is, though. WeWork's perks are a massive overhead cost, on top of the huge upfront cost of building out a space that is trendy. I have yet to see any evidence that this model is actually sustainable, even at smaller scale. Co-working spaces that are long-term sustainable tend to be some combination of more expensive, more boring, or less built-out.
- draw_down 7y ago
  A bargain is supposed to be a good thing! Let the VCs spend their money if they want, I'm not their LPs.
- ageitgey 7y ago
  $400/month is a VC-funded bargain? It's worse than that. The real VC-funded insanity is to sign up for an American Express Platinum Business card. One of the rewards is a year of unlimited hot desk access to every WeWork in the world for $0/month. I switched from being a long-term paying WeWork customer to receiving office space from them in one of the most expensive cities in the world for $0/month.
chadlavi 7y ago
It very likely won't, but now that there's a market for it there will be other smaller fish who enter the market.
dbt00 7y ago
I’m glad you’re benefiting from it but have an exit strategy in place because it’s not sustainable.
mdorazio 7y ago
> The price feels as a bargain. The price isn't just a bargain, it's an unsustainable subsidy. The reason the places you looked at before WeWork were boring and expensive is because that's what it takes to actually be profitable in the short-term office leasing space. You're thankful for WeWork because they're effectively funneling investor money to people like you who wouldn't normally be able to afford trendy office space. It's the same as when people were so thrilled that Uber was half the price of a taxi... because investors subsidized every single ride. Take advantage of these things while you can because they will inevitably go away when companies actually have to make a profit.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
SirensOfTitan 7y ago
I have nothing but bad things to say about WeWork from our experience. Perhaps it was our location. * they consistently lost mail (or claimed we didn't have it until we pushed hard), including tax documents and government documents more than once. * facilities were constantly broken or dirty. * There just weren't enough bathrooms, piping was constantly leaking. * Common areas were really lacking, so sales folks often noised up the hallways. They also insufferably pushed their networking events and their app. I suppose We's typical tenant wants that kind of stuff, but we just wanted to work.
metalliqaz 7y ago
If you don't mind me asking, why do you find it worthwhile to pay for a workspace close to home, when you could just buy a nice desk for your home?
sdinsn 7y ago
> The price feels as a bargain It is a bargain, since the company is operating at a large loss. > and hope it continues I'd hope companies would keep giving me free things too. But I can assure you , it won't last!

by vilius 7y ago

hohoho12345 7y ago

That's because it is a bargain funded by VC money.

koolba 7y ago
Which sums up a lot of what I like about Uber and Lyft too.
redisman 7y ago
It is a sustainable business to have "cool" coworking spaces for $400 per month (adjusted to COL). Just not a $50B business.
- mdorazio 7y ago
  I don't think it is, though. WeWork's perks are a massive overhead cost, on top of the huge upfront cost of building out a space that is trendy. I have yet to see any evidence that this model is actually sustainable, even at smaller scale. Co-working spaces that are long-term sustainable tend to be some combination of more expensive, more boring, or less built-out.
draw_down 7y ago
A bargain is supposed to be a good thing! Let the VCs spend their money if they want, I'm not their LPs.
ageitgey 7y ago
$400/month is a VC-funded bargain? It's worse than that. The real VC-funded insanity is to sign up for an American Express Platinum Business card. One of the rewards is a year of unlimited hot desk access to every WeWork in the world for $0/month. I switched from being a long-term paying WeWork customer to receiving office space from them in one of the most expensive cities in the world for $0/month.

chadlavi 7y ago

It very likely won't, but now that there's a market for it there will be other smaller fish who enter the market.

dbt00 7y ago

I’m glad you’re benefiting from it but have an exit strategy in place because it’s not sustainable.

mdorazio 7y ago

> The price feels as a bargain. The price isn't just a bargain, it's an unsustainable subsidy. The reason the places you looked at before WeWork were boring and expensive is because that's what it takes to actually be profitable in the short-term office leasing space. You're thankful for WeWork because they're effectively funneling investor money to people like you who wouldn't normally be able to afford trendy office space. It's the same as when people were so thrilled that Uber was half the price of a taxi... because investors subsidized every single ride. Take advantage of these things while you can because they will inevitably go away when companies actually have to make a profit.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

SirensOfTitan 7y ago

I have nothing but bad things to say about WeWork from our experience. Perhaps it was our location. * they consistently lost mail (or claimed we didn't have it until we pushed hard), including tax documents and government documents more than once. * facilities were constantly broken or dirty. * There just weren't enough bathrooms, piping was constantly leaking. * Common areas were really lacking, so sales folks often noised up the hallways. They also insufferably pushed their networking events and their app. I suppose We's typical tenant wants that kind of stuff, but we just wanted to work.

metalliqaz 7y ago

If you don't mind me asking, why do you find it worthwhile to pay for a workspace close to home, when you could just buy a nice desk for your home?

sdinsn 7y ago

> The price feels as a bargain It is a bargain, since the company is operating at a large loss. > and hope it continues I'd hope companies would keep giving me free things too. But I can assure you , it won't last!