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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ต.ค. 2021
- In 2019, the curtains were pulled back on the most valuable startup in the United States: WeWork. And the truth rocked the investment world. Once valued at $47 billion, WeWork was in fact nothing but a glorified real estate company - one that was losing more than $1.6 billion a year. The question is, how did some of the world’s biggest investors get blindsided by the startup? Why did it take so long for the company to go public? And how did WeWork’s hard-partying CEO, Adam Neumann, get away with it all? In this video, we’ll look at the medley of factors that led to the company's astounding rise and fall.
Architect Miguel McKelvey met Adam Neumann at a rooftop party in New York City in 2006. Shirtless, loud, and speaking in an Israeli accent, Neumann stood out from the crowd, to say the least.
The two men struck up a friendship - and a few months later, Neumann sought McKelvey’s advice on finding an affordable space for his baby-clothes business. McKelvey suggested the building he worked in, 68 Jay Street.
Once Neumann had moved in, it became clear that he wasn’t really interested in children’s clothing. His real mission, above all, was to get rich. Before long, he’d roped McKelvey into his quest.
The key message here is: With nothing more than a pitch, Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey created a company worth $45 million.
McKelvey was often a sounding board for Neumann’s business ideas. One of these, while not totally original, had the potential to be very profitable: Neumann wanted to rent ready-to-use office space to technology companies. The kicker was that tenants would pay more for fully equipped, flexible offices than they would for standard office space, and Neumann would pack the offices tightly together to maximize profit. McKelvey was sold - and together, the two men pitched the idea to their landlords at 68 Jay Street.
It wasn’t difficult to convince them. Brooklyn was full of entrepreneurs and small companies looking for flexible office solutions, and the Great Recession of 2008 meant that even big companies like banks were looking to downsize when it came to office space. The landlords joined the scheme as partners, offering Neumann and McKelvey a floor in one of their buildings, a former pipe factory. McKelvey worked on the floor plan, business plan, and website - and in 2008, GreenDesk was born.
Yet Neumann was already looking to the future. In 2009, he and McKelvey sold their stakes in GreenDesk to the landlords for $500,000 each. They then got to work expanding their concept, searching for space they could rent and slice up to create small offices. Before they’d even finished securing the funds for their first building, they were already on the hunt for new investors for further spaces.
This led them to real estate developer Joel Schreiber. Although they didn’t yet have a single customer, Neumann and McKelvey told Schreiber that WeWork was worth $45 million. Incredibly, Schreiber not only decided to invest in the company - he didn’t even bother to negotiate! He agreed to invest $15 million in exchange for a one-third stake in the company.
It was more money than the two entrepreneurs had ever seen.
When Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey launched their real estate business in Brooklyn, the world was still lurching into the Great Recession - a time when large firms were emptying out their massive offices, while tech startups flourished. As WeWork rented spaces to these startups, Neumann used salesmanship and tech-inspired branding to attract the same bold investors that were funding his tenants. By 2019, Neumann’s obsession with growth had led WeWork to become the most valuable startup in the US - but as he continued to ignore the importance of profits, he saw his empire crumble within the very same year.
This wework documentary is based on The Cult of We: WeWork, Adam Neumann, and the Great Startup Delusion book by Eliot Brown and Maureen Farrell and WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn documentary.
Apparently, Adam Neumann is back again!
Here's what he's up to now: th-cam.com/users/shorts-Bpr1nNBn3Q
“Work hard play hard”, “we’re a family”, “you have equity in this company”, “you need to buy into our mission” …… when u hear these, RUN
Exactly. The best businesses I worked for treated work as work. Clock in, do your job, clock out.
"We will change the world".
When Adam left he received 580 million in stock sales. Today WeWork is valued at less that 1 billion dollars 😂. He was gifted nearly the entire value of the company to leave...
Fast forward 6 months down to zero
13:17 - "If you tell a 30 something male he's Jesus Christ, he's inclined to believe you"
Speaking as a 30 something male, I can say with some confidence that that's a trait of narcissists and sociopaths, not people of a particular sex or age group.
Adam is a graduate of the "Bernie Madoff Get Rich Quick University"...
And having that “accent” made him sound like he knows what he’s doing. Or maybe it was something else.
Yeah, wonder what they both have in common…
@@zeroh7671 Neumann was smart but at the same time overly ambitious, and Madoff was a crook.
Nuemann actually had a product though. But he was just a narcissistic who thought his shit didn't stink and that WeWork was wayy more than it was.
He did better than Bernie. He left with more than a billion dollars and no charges.
Adam makes you appriciate Bezos lack of charisma.
😂😂😂😂😂
Wait.. So this company did absolutely NOTHING and got billions of dollars for it?? Am I missing something here?
They rented office space and had a charismatic leader. It’s really weird how one person can fool so many who are otherwise very smart.
FREEMASON / SHRINER CLUB.....
@@pamelalansbury94are they really all that smart or are they just rich? Anyone with half a brain should have vetted this slightly heavier and billions wouldn't have been lost.
@@pamelalansbury94 That's how people get sucked in by a cult.
I'm still trying to figure out what they did.
Their next school business needs to be called WeScam U.
Nice one 👍🏿😂😂😂
I never got this. When I'm working, I need to concentrate on working. I'm not interested in drinking beer and playing ping pong at work. It seems to be a social club disguised as a workplace.
“I’m bored with businesses that don’t turn a profit.” 😂😂😂😂
If you build a workplace where you have no privacy and are free to socialize something tells me not a lot of work is going to get done.
When you own stock options you don't actually get equity in the company. You own a security that gives you an option to buy equity in the company
Adam Neuman walked with $1.7 billion before it collapsed, what a deal!
@@mohammadwasilliterate8037 What a deal indeed!
@@mohammadwasilliterate8037 its a publicly traded company with a 5 billion dollar market cap, how did it collapse?
Exactly. Most don’t realise the difference.
That was said in the videos, yes.
This guy (Neumann) was a scattered narcissist and his “special sauce” was merely him and providing attention where needed to get what he wanted!✨
Wrong name for this company should have been called we con
I understand Adam had a contract, however, his negligence and, IMO, fraudulent behavior should have negated its validity.
Who allowed Neumann to walk away with $1.2 BILLION? Did Adam split that windfall with some of his enablers?
In his contract - 'golden parachute' so to speak- so there's nothing you can do; unless the company files for bankruptcy, in which case 'all bets are off'!
WTF did he mean with World Changing, WeWork rented office space, stop with this BS.
That's part of the grift
The story about the Emperor's new clothes has become the story of our times.
12:31 Ashton Kutchers disapproving look toward Neumann lol
Always remember .. the MORE someone is completely FULL OF THEMSELVES - it only equates to the fact that they have nothing, know nothing and cannot give anything. This is why this guy .. is in a very big bottomless mess that he is going into.
Some commenters just can't seem to grasp how sh!t this business concept truly was. Sure, in the early stages of a startup, it's understandable to rent desks in a co-working office or just work in one of the founders' garage. But once the startup starts growing or successfully raises funds, any sensible investor would insist the management to get their own office space. No reputable big company would ever consider renting desks in a co-working office due to privacy and data security concerns. Occasionally, they might rent a whole room or floor, but that's usually just temporary while transitioning into a permanent office.
So, WeWork (or any other co-working space)'s target customers are essentially the struggling or on-the-verge-of-collapse startups. The VCs and investors are fully aware that this concept is doomed to fail in the long run. However, they all cling to the belief that they can make a handsome profit and exit before the company inevitably collapses.
It's really take a narcissist to f*ck it all up while being surrounded by the best advisors and having the best funding ever.
Was surrounded by yes men, and people who wanted to cash out in the IPO. But yes, he's a nacaissist.
It's not a bug, it's a feature. Also the business modell is in no way new - look at Regus
So what’s wework do? Offiice space rental?? 😂 thts all?
The way this con man got away with millions w no consequences are crazy.
Billions, man.
I can't entirely blame Adam. Its the way VCs work that partly contribute to this problem. The mentality of all-in for a unicorn OR bust is just fucked up and has to stop!
Apologize for being late to the conversation, but we have a major douche canoe situation. Reckless narcissism… Ugh
There was nothing "tech" about WeWork
love your channel found you on Reddit, just wana know do you do the voice overs yourself or do you hire someone on fiver? and how long did it take you to write this piece? you re already as good as any million sub channel i watch by the way, never stop.
Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Yes I do get someone to do voiceovers and it took between two to three days to write this.
@@bad_money you sound just like Anthony Bourdain.
Notice the SBF hair, RUN
Adam Neumann paranabilizo for the creativity fight and a beautiful show of the series to give more creativity to the young and old that you never give up everything has a happy ending beat knowing how to fight thank you
Here after seeing the WeCrashed apple trailer, great explanation 🙌🙌🙌
Thank you!
Comparing your business to Amazon seems to have become a standard practice among business shysters.
Amazon burnt tons of money in its early years. probably a c i a front that's why investors are willing to give loans.
As long that are people crooks always b araund
God, can you imagine how much Covid would hae destroyed them?
One aspect shown here that I haven’t seen in other videos is how Son’s direction influenced WeWork’s ‘growth over everything’ strategy, leading to its downfall after SoftBank stopped funding them. Adam Neumann is still a tool and a Silicon Valley grifter, but I feel like I have better context for understanding their complete disregard for spending and later the (stillborn) Hail Mary IPO attempt.
*RIVIAN MADE 125 CARS AND HAS A VALUATION $63 BILLION.*
🤣😂🤣😂🤣
If ya can't dazzle em brilliance, baffle em with bullshit
Wow this is a great video, thank you, well done..
Thank you!
visionary = YES , businessman = NO
he clearly do no understand the basic principle in business = costs & margins, profits & loss
Not a fan! He often says he's "sorry", yet his actions don't appear to match his statements.
Did he actually say sorry?
@@dosman3458 I don’t think so. I DO remember a recent placatory interview where he says “I understand” 50x. 😀
"What are we missing?" ...HYPE
Well some say there is a sucker born every minute
But in the tech world it must be every nanosecond
“How fast you growing?” Answer: “Very” SELL SELL SELL
I feel like the baby pants with knee pads is actually a cute idea tho 😭😅
Agreed 😂🤷🏻♀️
Wework was an amazing good concept, but it was overvalued and badly mismanaged
It rented desks. Everything else is rubbish
I agree they rented desks and conflated their offering of benefits but it is a very good model if executed properly and morally.
Amazing concept? Why would people who don't need to work at a fixed commercial space or office pay to work from a fixed commercial space or office? Starbucks is cheaper.
bad concept, covid proved we don't need to rent desks
@@fitnesspoint2006 its good if ppl wanted to be around each other and be clingy….sad how thats all gone now
Maybe some people and media will learn that great businesses were always build for years. Everything what became outrages success in year or two should be considered as a scam
without greedy investors… Fraudster will never succeed
Wow these founders and their spouses are nutts
If Newman was responsible, wework would have been a complete success. But he was not so it became a complete catastrophe. The product was great…
No, not really. You can’t KEEP renting desks when renting buildings and the renovations on the spaces of those rentals - which make them look cooler - means huge expenses and less revenue: more renting out means accelerating renos.
Good video. quite informative. although maybe don't take a lot of the research, interviews and points from the Documentary WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn. you even copied the pacing very similarly. You even took a fair amount of B Roll footage from the documentary. I want to see new information not yet seen, and new footage. maybe conduct your own interview with someone who worked in a wework facility (there is a lot of them).
Alot of these fancy CEO's are no different than the looters stealing from a department store. Both don't get jail time!
WeWork = WeDon'tWork
Adam got a platinum parachute, and he's gonna try and start a school? To teach what? "Student of life for life"? That doesn't even mean anything.
"burn rate" = run. run. run away fast!!!
So stock is a buy now? All in.
Both of them are charlatans and crooks, how they are not in jail amazes me
The krawlers “invention” alone should have been a red flag.
I still don't know what they do 😂
Rented office space. That's literally it, they would rent you some office space that was "renovated" to look like some hipster wet dream.
If you have money they help you spendit
He had a working business he then started a pyramid scheme but never called it that and people are suckers so they invest in his ipo he becomes wealth and he can then skate off with the cash.
And he still got away with millions
So being a liar and a thief pays off. Great.
Worthless? There’s still tons of them everywhere and they’re always busy. I think I’d like a worthless failure like that.
Easy to build a business whilst using everyones money and losing 2 billion dollars a year haha - anyone could do that
0:23 to 0:34 best pun ever😂😂
Has Ashton Kutcher been involved in every bad idea in the last twenty years?
mustashe man worned the masses about this tribe back in the 30s!!!!!! lol!!!
Society tends to place the extroverted on a pedestal. If you can talk fast and be convincing regardless of lies, you will find people who will follow. Neumann is a grifter like Trump and Madoff. Talks a lot, lies often, but does it convincingly and with a smile. People fall for that.
Just like real unicorns, tech unicorns do not exist. Just conmen and women with a good lie.
You shouldn’t have revenue when you aren’t profitable. Disconnecting those things seems to be a common theme in this type of crime finding victims to abuse and thieve from. Neumann belongs in jail since they won’t allow firing squads for “white collar” crimes.
Adam has cool guy hair though 🤠
Lord Farquad vibes
This fraudster has not been locked up yet?
Nope. Instead he got a $1.8B pay off.
Funny thing for most of those who watch WeCrashed etc, the media forgot to tell you that today WeWork valuation officially stands on 23.24 billion dollars and its revenue is $2.1 billion a year. Meaning, Adam Nuemann did build something that work, he just didn't manage it correctly.
What this series and documentaries shows us is that the even the business world is susceptible to fall in love with someone they shouldn't. Adam Neumann had a great idea, but everyone kept throwing money at him and going on board with everything he had to say. Imagine what this company could already have achieved if it was managed by a mature person who wouldn't cash out 700 million from the company while bleeding out 2 billion dollars a year.
Wework market cap is 5.1B. 2021 revenue of 2.57B and net loss of $4.4B. Q1 2022 earning is $-18.38. Yes, NEGATIVE with a stock price around $7. At this rate, Wework will not survive the next recession. Adam Nuemann was just scamming his own business to line his and his friends' pockets.
This comment aged well.... They filed for bankruptcy.
Well, it could work...@@bawnfordays73
Why would anyone want to live at work.
im going to create a company and go public and over evaluate to collect millions. what are they teaching these people when they go to church?
Argh, the sound levels in different clips are not the same, so annoying. Otherwise interesting.
A business is not yet profitable and yet its founder is spending like a living god on earth is already a BIG BIG red flag waving and slapping on everyone's face! How on earth that those billionaire investors simply ignored that red flag! What a mind boggling 😠
Maybe this isn’t similar but it reminds me of Theranos. Everyone was investing in the business and giving Elizabeth Holmes their money. Meanwhile, everything was a sham and the machine wasn’t even functional 😐😐😐
@@staceyshere We're living in the era of " Faking it and hope that you'll make it " 😁
@@williamd7161 yes. I call it Founder Hounding. They keep looking for the next messianic founder.
@@cindytartt4048 😆
Ashton's image is getting worn out.
Let’s be honest he doesn’t need all those employees for his business
4:36 yeah, the difference is you’re not a Mossad agent
Yeah I wonder how much he's got hidden he should investigated
So for all the numbers mentioned and sycophant media his big idea was renting out nice office spaces🤔
We're changing the world 💩😂
Son is a complete gambler who callled one lucky shot with Alibaba
A crook is a crook
“I’m bored of businesses that don’t turn a profit. I don’t believe in them”. 😉😉 Totally aware high loss businesses are bad so talks hard in the other direction. Unconvincing. 🙄🙄
Yeah when it's starts doing internal revenue we are gonna b surprise all these tax evaders
It's not Adam's fault. He is a snake oil trader and the investors were dumb enough to invest in something that wasn't real. So greed took over them and, in the end, they'll get nothing from it. Adam got rich by selling nothing to a lot of greedy people. Not a bad plan if you ask me.
If he wasn’t Israeli/Jewish you already know none of this would have happened
WeCon
Meh. This is all about rich people moving money around.
Former WeWork Lawyer is not sure if its true that she got equity? WOW, maybe you should change job, as you sure don't seem to qualify as a lawyer!
Dam…
Yet the guy that started it is still a billionaire
Ya all been chewed 😂😂😂
Dude walked away with billions. He and his rich girl entitled wife should be sitting in a jail cell. Perfect litmus test indicating how fxcked we are. This society rewards criminals.
He is probably worth more than whole comment section will ever be combined
We will see
Well, when you start off being worth more than the whole comment section combined - and it sounds like Neuman was extremely privileged - it would be more of a surprise if he‘d blown it all. Which he nearly did, on account of having no business experience and an ego the size of a house.
@@lornarettig3215 and exactly how was he privileged?
I can tell you NOPE
And what ? His money comes out of suckers
Greed and Overconfidence
The hair should have been a dead give away.
Young , ambitious and no experience 😂
Good lord his wife looks three times his age
Another SBF...
Adam ...a real Jew from the bronx
Sam Bankman-Fried ,Neumann, Madoff, Epstein, Weinstein, etc...i see a common thread
1:24 "find your passion" 🤮🤮🤢🤢🤢🤢 ...anthony robbins crap...🤢🤢🤮🤮🤮