Why WeWork went wrong

Why WeWork went wrong

The office-space startup took a tumble when investors tired of its messianic CEO and lack of profits. But why were its backers - the House of Saud among them - so keen to pour billions into it in the first place? By Matthew ZeitlinIt's so easy to focus on Adam Neumann, the tall, long-haired, barefoot, meat-banning, weed-smoking, tequila-drinking, Kabbalah-studying, experimental school-opening Paltrow-cousin-in-law and founder and now deposed chief executive officer of the We Company, the real estate company that dropped "Work“ from its name after it bought the copyright for the word "We“ from Neumann himself.Neumann's ambitions were as ludicrous as his persona. "Rather than just renting desks,“ Fast Company reported in January, "the company aims to encompass all aspects of people's lives, in both physical and digital worlds.“ This included expanding the WeWork model to residential housing and education. Before Neumann had even started the company, he had envisioned "WeSleep to WeSail to WeBank“. While none of these will ever be realised, perhaps he was right to think beyond office space subleasing. The company as he had built it is in crisis. Continue reading...