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Everyone thinks of WeWork as this huge failure, but WeWork is still worth 8 billion dollars! https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/26/business/WeWork-Spac-ipo.html h

by lacker 6y ago

Everyone thinks of WeWork as this huge failure, but WeWork is still worth 8 billion dollars! https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/26/business/WeWork-Spac-ipo.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/26/business/WeWork-Spac-ipo.... Yeah, their valuation is down a lot from what they were going for with the initial IPO, but it is still providing a very valuable service. This isn’t like Enron or Theranos where the company is fraudulent, it’s a real, valuable business that was overvalued for a while. Overall, WeWork is a success, not a failure. If it were in Europe, it would be one of the most successful European startups in years.

CalChris 6y ago
8 billion dollars! from a Total Funding Amount of $20.6B [1]. Such a success. [1] https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/wework https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/wework
- listenallyall 6y ago
  But it was OPM. That's the bargain of venture capital, they take a giant portion of your company, but it's their money on the line, not yours. Just getting meetings, and then funding in the billions, is a massive win. And really it was only at the end that valuation did not exceed funding... And yet, even when that was clear and obvious, the investors STILL wrote a $500 million check (or was it a $billion, I forget the details) to make him step aside. If that isn't success, what is?
ebiester 6y ago
Wework has received 20 billion dollars of funding. It will take a long time for that money to be recouped, if it ever is at all. Source: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/wework/investor_financials https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/wework/investor_fina...
- titanomachy 6y ago
  Hilarious! Neumann turns $21 billion into $8 billion and gets paid $500 million to do it. Definitely a success for him. Not so much his investors. But it was obviously money they could afford to lose, so I guess I don't feel too bad for them.
  - goatinaboat 6y ago
    Definitely a success for him. Not so much his investors. But it was obviously money they could afford to lose, so I guess I don't feel too bad for them. One of those investors was Prince Muhammed bin Sultan of Saudi Arabia, also known as “bonesaw”. What price a peaceful nights sleep?
  - mrkramer 6y ago
    Who are those people at SoftBank that invested billions in WeWork?! It's not like that WeWork was ever to become Google or something close to it.
fshbbdssbbgdd 6y ago
In the current market, going public via a SPAC does not prove you have a viable business. Plenty of zombie startups are doing it.
skeeter2020 6y ago
>> Overall, WeWork is a success, not a failure. They turned 20+ billion into < 8 billion. That's a success similar to the joke about how the easiest way to make a small fortune is to start with a a large one.
- listenallyall 6y ago
  You're skipping a key detail. Neumann turned $20 billion of other people's money into a billion of his own. Don't tell me you actually believe all the garbage about Silicon Valley trying to make the world better ... it's all about lining your own pocket.
elliekelly 6y ago
> This isn’t like Enron or Theranos where the company is fraudulent, it’s a real, valuable business that was overvalued for a while. SPACs have a long and well-earned reputation of being associated with fraud so perhaps it's too soon to conclude that WeWork is unlike Enron and Theranos.

by lacker 6y ago

CalChris 6y ago

8 billion dollars! from a Total Funding Amount of $20.6B [1]. Such a success. [1] https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/wework https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/wework

listenallyall 6y ago
But it was OPM. That's the bargain of venture capital, they take a giant portion of your company, but it's their money on the line, not yours. Just getting meetings, and then funding in the billions, is a massive win. And really it was only at the end that valuation did not exceed funding... And yet, even when that was clear and obvious, the investors STILL wrote a $500 million check (or was it a $billion, I forget the details) to make him step aside. If that isn't success, what is?

ebiester 6y ago

Wework has received 20 billion dollars of funding. It will take a long time for that money to be recouped, if it ever is at all. Source: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/wework/investor_financials https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/wework/investor_fina...

titanomachy 6y ago
Hilarious! Neumann turns $21 billion into $8 billion and gets paid $500 million to do it. Definitely a success for him. Not so much his investors. But it was obviously money they could afford to lose, so I guess I don't feel too bad for them.
- goatinaboat 6y ago
  Definitely a success for him. Not so much his investors. But it was obviously money they could afford to lose, so I guess I don't feel too bad for them. One of those investors was Prince Muhammed bin Sultan of Saudi Arabia, also known as “bonesaw”. What price a peaceful nights sleep?
- mrkramer 6y ago
  Who are those people at SoftBank that invested billions in WeWork?! It's not like that WeWork was ever to become Google or something close to it.

fshbbdssbbgdd 6y ago

In the current market, going public via a SPAC does not prove you have a viable business. Plenty of zombie startups are doing it.

skeeter2020 6y ago

>> Overall, WeWork is a success, not a failure. They turned 20+ billion into < 8 billion. That's a success similar to the joke about how the easiest way to make a small fortune is to start with a a large one.

listenallyall 6y ago
You're skipping a key detail. Neumann turned $20 billion of other people's money into a billion of his own. Don't tell me you actually believe all the garbage about Silicon Valley trying to make the world better ... it's all about lining your own pocket.

elliekelly 6y ago

> This isn’t like Enron or Theranos where the company is fraudulent, it’s a real, valuable business that was overvalued for a while. SPACs have a long and well-earned reputation of being associated with fraud so perhaps it's too soon to conclude that WeWork is unlike Enron and Theranos.