5 ms·

big if true. IMO wework defined a whole era of startups / working in tech, offering a cool environment with the flexibility to grow, shrink, or change locations

by ssalka 3y ago

big if true. IMO wework defined a whole era of startups / working in tech, offering a cool environment with the flexibility to grow, shrink, or change locations as needed. it was also a great place to have an office for networking purposes. even though it's had its fair share of controversy, I'd be sad to see wework shut down.

VirusNewbie 3y ago
Buildings like WeWork have always existed. I remember being a teen and being shown the new 'office concept' in the early 2000s where you could just tap into an office buildings internet infrastructure so you didn't need to rent your own T1 lines, you'd get a phone system and fax machines and all that for one flat fee. If WeWork goes bankrupt, the investors will get wiped out but some other company will buy the buildings and it'll continue existing
- gav 3y ago
  Regus has been around for a long time, I worked out of one of their offices in the mid-90s. The great thing was that shared office space was new to most people, so when clients would visit they'd be impressed with the fancy building, the marble reception, and the huge conference room, and not know we were a 2-person shop renting a 6'x8' office.
  - EwanToo 3y ago
    It says something about the past few years that large established companies started renting premium space in WeWork buildings so they could imagine that they were a 2 person shop renting a 6'x8' office!
- ssalka 3y ago
  Good context to share. I'm on the younger side, so when I entered the work force I think basically WeWork popularized this concept beyond what it had been. At least, it was the first place to expose me to that kind of work environment, which previously I was unaware had existed.
  - hx8 3y ago
    They did have a larger marketing budget than any other company offering their services.
- jameshart 3y ago
  WeWork doesn’t own the buildings, they lease space in them. The companies that own the buildings still have the problem of finding tenants, and WeWork let them access smaller tenants and thus a more diverse client portfolio than commercial real estate owners can normally be bothered to service. Leasing to WeWork is a ‘gig economy’ side-hustle for a big office building owner to monetize more of their space, same as driving for Uber works as a side hustle for humans who want to monetize more of their time, or Airbnb lets homeowners side hustle to monetize their spare room. Question is if without WeWork those buildings would continue to offer those services directly, sign on with a competitor platform, or do something else. Maybe now WeWork has shown the opportunity, building owners would be prepared to leverage the platform to access the short term tenant base without requiring that WeWork lease the space first. After all, you don’t have Uber pay to lease your vehicle or AirBnb sign a lease on your spare room before you join up to their platforms. All of which suggests that WeWork actually has a pretty strong case for renegotiating their leases - they have their subletting revenue they can split with the property owner as leverage.
  - IG_Semmelweiss 3y ago
    well said. The timing may be perfect for this in some markets. Then they could really become the SaaS (+services?) company they always pretended to be.
er4hn 3y ago
Regus / Spaces (the "hipper" version of Regus, same parent company) existed long before WeWork. They're not as nice because they're run as an actual business but they do exist around the world and are perfectly fine places to get work done.
- jameslk 3y ago
  I had the pleasure of dealing with Regus / Spaces trying to enforce their contract and collect payment for office rent even though I couldn't go to their offices due to COVID and lockdowns (this was during the peak of it in April of 2020). I have to disagree that this company is perfectly fine to do business with, after so many calls and emails with them over this absurd matter and their egregious business practices during a time of crisis, which they threatened collections on but luckily never pursued (at least that I'm aware). Keep in mind this is their standard business practices, no matter what hardship or act of God that's preventing you from paying them.[0] Their stock is down nearly 50% over the past 5 years, even 17% below where it was during the crash in 2020, so they aren't a gleaming example of success either. 0. https://www.google.com/search?q=regus+collections+reddit https://www.google.com/search?q=regus+collections+reddit
  - legostormtroopr 3y ago
    Pretty hard to fault a company for trying to enforce contracts, especially in response to factors like COVID that are outside their control. It sucks, but if you sign a contract for a period of time for a specific service, outside factors that limit your ability to use the service are not their problem from a business perspective. If they allowed everyone to break contracts because government restrictions prevented people from going in, they would have completely closed. If anyone I would be angry at the government for not supporting you.
    - pseingatl 3y ago
      No force majeure clause in your rental contract? Even if it's not there, it's in the law.
    - 3y ago
nmfisher 3y ago
I won’t be sad to see them go. They were the most arrogant company I ever had the misfortune of dealing with (particularly for such a subpar product). If they treated their other customers like they treated me it’s no surprise they’re going bankrupt.
suprfsat 3y ago
WeWork's innovation was "doing exactly that with vc money"
- oldgradstudent 3y ago
  Their real innovation was a way of finding the stupidest VC money.
EwanToo 3y ago
It's unlikely to go into liquidation and actually shut down. This bankruptcy is about renegotiating and possibly exiting leases where they're not making money, and pushing that loss onto the building owners instead. There will be fewer WeWork locations, but the company will still exist.

by ssalka 3y ago

VirusNewbie 3y ago

Buildings like WeWork have always existed. I remember being a teen and being shown the new 'office concept' in the early 2000s where you could just tap into an office buildings internet infrastructure so you didn't need to rent your own T1 lines, you'd get a phone system and fax machines and all that for one flat fee. If WeWork goes bankrupt, the investors will get wiped out but some other company will buy the buildings and it'll continue existing

gav 3y ago
Regus has been around for a long time, I worked out of one of their offices in the mid-90s. The great thing was that shared office space was new to most people, so when clients would visit they'd be impressed with the fancy building, the marble reception, and the huge conference room, and not know we were a 2-person shop renting a 6'x8' office.
- EwanToo 3y ago
  It says something about the past few years that large established companies started renting premium space in WeWork buildings so they could imagine that they were a 2 person shop renting a 6'x8' office!
ssalka 3y ago
Good context to share. I'm on the younger side, so when I entered the work force I think basically WeWork popularized this concept beyond what it had been. At least, it was the first place to expose me to that kind of work environment, which previously I was unaware had existed.
- hx8 3y ago
  They did have a larger marketing budget than any other company offering their services.
jameshart 3y ago
WeWork doesn’t own the buildings, they lease space in them. The companies that own the buildings still have the problem of finding tenants, and WeWork let them access smaller tenants and thus a more diverse client portfolio than commercial real estate owners can normally be bothered to service. Leasing to WeWork is a ‘gig economy’ side-hustle for a big office building owner to monetize more of their space, same as driving for Uber works as a side hustle for humans who want to monetize more of their time, or Airbnb lets homeowners side hustle to monetize their spare room. Question is if without WeWork those buildings would continue to offer those services directly, sign on with a competitor platform, or do something else. Maybe now WeWork has shown the opportunity, building owners would be prepared to leverage the platform to access the short term tenant base without requiring that WeWork lease the space first. After all, you don’t have Uber pay to lease your vehicle or AirBnb sign a lease on your spare room before you join up to their platforms. All of which suggests that WeWork actually has a pretty strong case for renegotiating their leases - they have their subletting revenue they can split with the property owner as leverage.
- IG_Semmelweiss 3y ago
  well said. The timing may be perfect for this in some markets. Then they could really become the SaaS (+services?) company they always pretended to be.

er4hn 3y ago

Regus / Spaces (the "hipper" version of Regus, same parent company) existed long before WeWork. They're not as nice because they're run as an actual business but they do exist around the world and are perfectly fine places to get work done.

jameslk 3y ago
I had the pleasure of dealing with Regus / Spaces trying to enforce their contract and collect payment for office rent even though I couldn't go to their offices due to COVID and lockdowns (this was during the peak of it in April of 2020). I have to disagree that this company is perfectly fine to do business with, after so many calls and emails with them over this absurd matter and their egregious business practices during a time of crisis, which they threatened collections on but luckily never pursued (at least that I'm aware). Keep in mind this is their standard business practices, no matter what hardship or act of God that's preventing you from paying them.[0] Their stock is down nearly 50% over the past 5 years, even 17% below where it was during the crash in 2020, so they aren't a gleaming example of success either. 0. https://www.google.com/search?q=regus+collections+reddit https://www.google.com/search?q=regus+collections+reddit
- legostormtroopr 3y ago
  Pretty hard to fault a company for trying to enforce contracts, especially in response to factors like COVID that are outside their control. It sucks, but if you sign a contract for a period of time for a specific service, outside factors that limit your ability to use the service are not their problem from a business perspective. If they allowed everyone to break contracts because government restrictions prevented people from going in, they would have completely closed. If anyone I would be angry at the government for not supporting you.
  - pseingatl 3y ago
    No force majeure clause in your rental contract? Even if it's not there, it's in the law.
  - 3y ago

nmfisher 3y ago

I won’t be sad to see them go. They were the most arrogant company I ever had the misfortune of dealing with (particularly for such a subpar product). If they treated their other customers like they treated me it’s no surprise they’re going bankrupt.

suprfsat 3y ago

WeWork's innovation was "doing exactly that with vc money"

oldgradstudent 3y ago
Their real innovation was a way of finding the stupidest VC money.

EwanToo 3y ago

It's unlikely to go into liquidation and actually shut down. This bankruptcy is about renegotiating and possibly exiting leases where they're not making money, and pushing that loss onto the building owners instead. There will be fewer WeWork locations, but the company will still exist.