5 ms·

There was an article this past day or two criticizing We, with an "old vs. new" business model graphic as Exhibit A of how fucked up We is. Except I looked at i

There was an article this past day or two criticizing We, with an "old vs. new" business model graphic as Exhibit A of how fucked up We is. Except I looked at it and said, "I dunno, looks reasonable to me." Because it was a graphic of just what you describe: take disparate parts, put them under the We umbrella, profit. To me, that wasn't Exhibit A of their fuckedness, it was what might have saved them if anything was going to. Exhibit A is what you allude to: I had forgotten We bought Meetup until you mentioned it. Now why, as a person immersed in the tech industry, was I allowed to forget that? EDIT: "...are looking to focus on WeWork’s main business of leasing office space, refurbishing it and renting it out to businesses on shorter terms." (emphasis mine) Oh, man, they are so doomed.

basch 7y ago
Id love to see that article if you find it. I see it the same as Stratechery sees Amazon's Whole Foods acquisition. (see last chart) https://stratechery.com/2017/amazons-new-customer/ https://stratechery.com/2017/amazons-new-customer/ Amazon didnt buy a grocery business, it in housed the largest customer of its grocery services business (suppliers and supplies.) WeWork owning the BuildingManagementOs would make their rental business their largest customer of building management software services, one that could sustain it until it was big enough to be its own thing that doesnt need WeWorks rental side anymore, for the OS div to be profitable.
- mikestew 7y ago
  This one, second graphic down (after the bro pic): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21071890 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21071890
  - basch 7y ago
    Wall Street and the Fifth estate are being too skeptical here and fucking up what could be a pretty radical change. They just cant see past the way things have always been. The question shouldnt be "is We a tech company" but "how close could they be to becoming one." If they have the potential to be the closest to delivering, thats worth something. How can they not see the value in owning all the building blocks and being in the process of assembling them. Using real estate cash flow to fund building management software seems like a pretty fucking smart business model. (that all said, it does seem like We sucked at offering a cohesive software suite, not sure whos fault that is engineering, marketing, org structure etc.)

basch 7y ago

Id love to see that article if you find it. I see it the same as Stratechery sees Amazon's Whole Foods acquisition. (see last chart) https://stratechery.com/2017/amazons-new-customer/ https://stratechery.com/2017/amazons-new-customer/ Amazon didnt buy a grocery business, it in housed the largest customer of its grocery services business (suppliers and supplies.) WeWork owning the BuildingManagementOs would make their rental business their largest customer of building management software services, one that could sustain it until it was big enough to be its own thing that doesnt need WeWorks rental side anymore, for the OS div to be profitable.

mikestew 7y ago
This one, second graphic down (after the bro pic): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21071890 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21071890
- basch 7y ago
  Wall Street and the Fifth estate are being too skeptical here and fucking up what could be a pretty radical change. They just cant see past the way things have always been. The question shouldnt be "is We a tech company" but "how close could they be to becoming one." If they have the potential to be the closest to delivering, thats worth something. How can they not see the value in owning all the building blocks and being in the process of assembling them. Using real estate cash flow to fund building management software seems like a pretty fucking smart business model. (that all said, it does seem like We sucked at offering a cohesive software suite, not sure whos fault that is engineering, marketing, org structure etc.)