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Not surprising, especially given the current economic situation. They must have had a real boatload of cash to last this long. I've tried a few coworking spac

Not surprising, especially given the current economic situation. They must have had a real boatload of cash to last this long. I've tried a few coworking spaces and always come to the conclusion that they're a grift. Many people such as myself probably try them out, begrudgingly pay $300 a month for a few months, and inevitably cancel to make room for the next sucker. In another time, this model probably worked, or at least was less unsustainable than it is now. Charge enough to have non-riffraff clientele that are dumb enough to fall for the grift but smart enough move on so another sap can take their place and repeat the cycle. Perhaps it's a good business to own when times are good (and easy money flowing in WeWork's case), but not when inflation goes up, wages stagnate, and labor force participation is down. $300 means something different than it did 3 years ago even though I was numerically making less than I am now without adjusting for inflation. There's no way in hell I'm throwing away $300 on that kind of experiment now, though part of me misses the days when I could and not feel bad about it. It may be one thing if you're a scrappy business that has bootstrapped cash or a revenue stream, but coworking seems like a complete dud if you're just a professional who wants to work somewhere that's not Starbucks or the spare bedroom.

notfromhere 4y ago
It makes sense if you're a team of like 5-10 people and you really need a physically space. Otherwise, why waste the expenditure when you can just work remotely and save yourself the lease. They always sell networking as an advantage, but people aren't that chatty and the folks in there are in the same boat as you are, which limits the worth of that network if you're trying to find clients. Never made much sense to me if you have a home office or a space bedroom to turn into one.
citizenpaul 4y ago
I agree with all that and add. The entire market is a dud in my mind. How many scrappy startups without funding that need co-work space really exist? I don't see enough for an entire multi billion industry across the world. Especially since the enviable outcome if those are successful is they no longer are a customer once they get a lease somewhere for less. They can't sublease at a better rate than a direct lease so again no business. Also I tried one and they all center around the horrible ineffective for getting things done open floor plans. Yes they have private areas I know but they are the exception. The offices should focus on the needs of freelance professionals and provide a better workspace than the FREE library that is in every city.
xyzelement 4y ago
Probably agree with you on directionality of that demand but maybe that's not the full picture. For example, right now I work out of the spare bedroom in our house. If we have another kid, that bedroom is no longer spare. People in that situation have a few options (a) make it work (b) buy a larger house (c) go into the office. Option C is probably not much cheaper than $300/m. I bet Option B became a lot less available to a lot of people now. Spending 3600 a year on a place to work may be a lot cheaper than moving house (heck, your real estate taxes may go up by more than 300/m alone) None of this is to say that We is a good sustainable business, just building on your analysis to point out there are some cases where We has emerged as the more likely/affordable option.
- bcrosby95 4y ago
  My friend put a tuff shed with an AC unit and insulation in his backyard. Obviously not an option if you don't have a backyard.
  - xyzelement 4y ago
    In the summer, I actually do 50% of my work outside and probably could make it 100% if I needed to "not be in the house". But winter is different - how much can you really insulate and heat a shed so it's actually bearable to work from 8+ hours a day? Someone told me that in NYC, they bought a plastic tent and put on their balcony with some sort of heat, but I just can't see that be comfortable - you lose heat damn quickly sitting on a cold chair with your feet on the cold ground/shed floor/cement.
    - bcrosby95 4y ago
      We live in California, so it's much more viable here than a place like NYC.

notfromhere 4y ago

It makes sense if you're a team of like 5-10 people and you really need a physically space. Otherwise, why waste the expenditure when you can just work remotely and save yourself the lease. They always sell networking as an advantage, but people aren't that chatty and the folks in there are in the same boat as you are, which limits the worth of that network if you're trying to find clients. Never made much sense to me if you have a home office or a space bedroom to turn into one.

citizenpaul 4y ago

I agree with all that and add. The entire market is a dud in my mind. How many scrappy startups without funding that need co-work space really exist? I don't see enough for an entire multi billion industry across the world. Especially since the enviable outcome if those are successful is they no longer are a customer once they get a lease somewhere for less. They can't sublease at a better rate than a direct lease so again no business. Also I tried one and they all center around the horrible ineffective for getting things done open floor plans. Yes they have private areas I know but they are the exception. The offices should focus on the needs of freelance professionals and provide a better workspace than the FREE library that is in every city.

xyzelement 4y ago

Probably agree with you on directionality of that demand but maybe that's not the full picture. For example, right now I work out of the spare bedroom in our house. If we have another kid, that bedroom is no longer spare. People in that situation have a few options (a) make it work (b) buy a larger house (c) go into the office. Option C is probably not much cheaper than $300/m. I bet Option B became a lot less available to a lot of people now. Spending 3600 a year on a place to work may be a lot cheaper than moving house (heck, your real estate taxes may go up by more than 300/m alone) None of this is to say that We is a good sustainable business, just building on your analysis to point out there are some cases where We has emerged as the more likely/affordable option.

bcrosby95 4y ago
My friend put a tuff shed with an AC unit and insulation in his backyard. Obviously not an option if you don't have a backyard.
- xyzelement 4y ago
  In the summer, I actually do 50% of my work outside and probably could make it 100% if I needed to "not be in the house". But winter is different - how much can you really insulate and heat a shed so it's actually bearable to work from 8+ hours a day? Someone told me that in NYC, they bought a plastic tent and put on their balcony with some sort of heat, but I just can't see that be comfortable - you lose heat damn quickly sitting on a cold chair with your feet on the cold ground/shed floor/cement.
  - bcrosby95 4y ago
    We live in California, so it's much more viable here than a place like NYC.