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Mikey, is there any reason
you wanted the teleprompter
2
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behind the camera so I'm looking
straight at you, or you don't care?
3
00:00:07,257 --> 00:00:08,818
- No, I think it's okay.
- Okay.
4
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We're in a good spot.
5
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'Cause my eyes are
a little shooting to the right.
6
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- That's okay, though.
- Are you sure?
7
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Mm-hmm. Okay.
8
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So you wanna start from the top?
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Yes.
10
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I'm just gonna do each point.
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- Ready?
- I am born ready.
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Welcome.
And thank you for coming.
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Real estate is going
through a fundamental shift,
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from a "fixed cost per seat" commodity
15
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to an experiential-differentiated...
16
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Real estate is going
through a fundamental shift,
17
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from a must-have...
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It's a mouthful.
19
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Fromm a "fixed cost per seat" commodity
20
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to a must-have experiential...
21
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I can do it, I can do it, I can do it.
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Real estate...
23
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Guys, I need no sounds.
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If you're moving and making
a sound and I'm speaking, freeze.
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Real estate is going
through a fundamental shift,
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from a "fixed cost per seat" com...
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Ehhh! We'll clean it up.
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I think we're great,
and I think we're preparing
for the roadshow right now.
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Sorry.
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The universe had to release it.
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Shh! You guys gotta flow with me.
After I do the...
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Shh! Just let the air out.
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WeWork is garnering
questions about its business model.
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There are all kinds of things
that just pop out as red flags in this.
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It feels like it's
valued as a tech company,
36
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but this is a real estate company.
37
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The founder
wanted total, complete control for life.
38
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The company
went from a $47 billion valuation
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to near bankruptcy in just six weeks.
40
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The future of the company
very uncertain at this point.
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If you tell a 30-something male
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that he's Jesus Christ,
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he's inclined to believe you.
44
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- Start from the top. I'm gonna get this.
45
00:02:03,415 --> 00:02:04,708
Okay, I got it.
46
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Social media companies promised us
47
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that technology will bring us together.
48
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Well, I gotta tell you, I've been
observing a little bit what's happening
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around the world right now
and I actually feel like a lot of times
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technology is pulling us apart.
51
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And the secret of success in our opinion,
is it's about real connection.
52
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It's about treating other people
the way you wanna be treated.
53
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It's about being part of something greater
than yourself.
54
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I want us to never forget that the future,
55
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while leveraging technology,
lies in ourselves.
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It is us who will blaze the path forward,
57
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paved not with algorithms,
not with software,
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but with values, with friendship,
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with common goals, and most importantly,
with humanity.
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The next revolution is going to be
the We revolution.
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And it will restore in each one of us
a sense of dignity and community
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without which
greatness cannot be achieved.
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Not in generations
has Wall Street absorbed
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the number of body blows it took today.
65
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The American financial system
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is rocked to its foundation,
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as top Wall Street institutions topple
under a mountain of debt.
68
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- After 2008, 2009, you had this really
interesting period in U. S. economics
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where the economy itself
was in a recession
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00:04:00,741 --> 00:04:03,887
and we were looking for some way to
get out of it, we were looking for hope.
71
00:04:03,911 --> 00:04:07,640
And hope was found in technology.
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And people were like,
"That's the future. Tech is the future.
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It's going to be the lifeline
that pulls us out of these doldrums."
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And at the time, you had a lot of sort of
tech boosterism and techno-optimism.
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The idea was not just that these companies
were going to become valuable,
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but that they represented
something really fundamental and beautiful
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about the future of human civilization.
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It was a period where you were rewarded
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if you could articulate
a vision of your company
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that wasn't just going to make money.
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It was going to change the world.
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What is your business built on?
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- We.
- You...
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I need you to tell me that.
"My business..."
85
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- Are we starting?
Yeah, we'll just start
and then I'll get official.
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- Okay, you got it, you'll get...
He's not in your picture?
87
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- Now, don't worry about...
- He's not in your frame?
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We got you covered,
you got us covered.
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00:05:00,676 --> 00:05:01,820
- WeWork is a community...
90
00:05:01,844 --> 00:05:04,364
Wait, who do you want me to
look at, you or the...? Okay.
91
00:05:04,388 --> 00:05:06,950
So they're taking this side.
92
00:05:06,974 --> 00:05:09,035
This is, we go to the details here.
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- You look fantastic.
- We focus on a lot of details here.
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00:05:12,062 --> 00:05:16,084
Adam arrived
in New York like many immigrants,
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ready to hustle, full of ideas.
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00:05:19,069 --> 00:05:22,215
And, uh, like many who've
come to New York before him,
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uh, they didn't really work.
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He had this idea called Krawlers,
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which was for babies
so they could have padded knees.
100
00:05:29,538 --> 00:05:32,738
You know, babies have been doing fine for
millions of years without padded knees.
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Our tagline was,
"Just because they don't tell you
102
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doesn't meant they don't hurt."
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He's couch-surfing with his sister,
104
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who's had some success as a model.
105
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- What you see is what you get.
106
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And I think Adam really loves
107
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the New York lifestyle,
the nightlife.
108
00:05:52,477 --> 00:05:54,873
But professionally,
he's kind of a dilettante.
109
00:05:54,897 --> 00:05:57,375
I'm working in Dumbo, Brooklyn,
110
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and in the building there's an architect
whose name is Miguel McKelvey.
111
00:06:01,945 --> 00:06:06,050
And me and Miguel are talking about
different ideas of real estate businesses.
112
00:06:06,074 --> 00:06:08,845
- I was attracted
and interested in him because
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he was bringing energy to the room,
114
00:06:11,163 --> 00:06:13,474
and perhaps for him
I could be a calming element
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and take in some of that energy
that he had
116
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and reflect it back at him
in an interesting way.
117
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And we went out to build a business
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that's going to change
the way people work,
119
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that's based on community
and redefined success.
120
00:06:24,885 --> 00:06:27,489
And from
minute one with their partnership,
121
00:06:27,513 --> 00:06:29,741
it was Miguel who was Mr. Inside
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and Adam was Mr. Outside.
123
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The world has shifted.
124
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It used to be an "I" world. Right?
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00:06:36,522 --> 00:06:39,125
IPhone, iMac, all about me, me, me.
126
00:06:39,149 --> 00:06:41,794
If you take the "me" and you flip it
and you get the "we,"
127
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you understand that we're
about to change the way people work
128
00:06:44,279 --> 00:06:47,699
and the way people live,
but more importantly, change the world.
129
00:06:51,203 --> 00:06:52,847
The kibbutz.
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00:06:52,871 --> 00:06:56,142
A working collective in a free society.
131
00:06:56,166 --> 00:06:58,394
Invented, unique,
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00:06:58,418 --> 00:06:59,854
contemporary.
133
00:06:59,878 --> 00:07:04,150
The most important social experiment
of the last hundred years.
134
00:07:04,174 --> 00:07:05,568
Every great business
135
00:07:05,592 --> 00:07:08,196
has a founding story
and WeWork's is excellent.
136
00:07:08,220 --> 00:07:11,825
You have Adam and Miguel,
uh, two children of communes.
137
00:07:11,849 --> 00:07:13,993
Literally grew up in communes
138
00:07:14,017 --> 00:07:17,747
and, you know, one in Oregon
and one in Israel in a kibbutz.
139
00:07:17,771 --> 00:07:23,610
And they wind up together with this idea
that they're gonna create a work commune.
140
00:07:24,903 --> 00:07:26,422
When we thought of WeWork,
141
00:07:26,446 --> 00:07:28,174
one of the thoughts
that I had in my head is,
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00:07:28,198 --> 00:07:29,926
we need a capitalistic kibbutz.
143
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On the one hand, let's create a sharing
economy where everybody shares.
144
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On the other hand, if you choose
to work harder than others,
145
00:07:35,998 --> 00:07:37,438
you should also be compensated more.
146
00:07:38,292 --> 00:07:39,811
Like any narrative,
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00:07:39,835 --> 00:07:42,313
it gets boiled down and distilled.
148
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And as the company evolves,
the founding story evolves.
149
00:07:46,216 --> 00:07:48,820
But their founding narrative
actually really did translate
150
00:07:48,844 --> 00:07:51,447
to a lot of their early business success.
151
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- I mean, co-working,
as we think of it now,
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00:07:54,266 --> 00:07:56,619
didn't really exist at the time.
153
00:07:56,643 --> 00:08:00,832
Before WeWork,
the real big player was Regus.
154
00:08:03,650 --> 00:08:05,545
- Welcome to Regus, the new way to work.
155
00:08:05,569 --> 00:08:09,757
A global workstyle solution for today's
rapidly changing face of business.
156
00:08:09,781 --> 00:08:12,552
As corporate
and institutional as you could get,
157
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with cubicles and dull colors.
158
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And walking into a Regus
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was like walking into
the back of a dentist's office.
160
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We started by taking buildings.
161
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We cut them up to small spaces.
162
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We built everything from glass.
It was very communal.
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It's very see-through and transparent.
164
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We put in common spaces,
and we basically created
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a community of small businesses,
entrepreneurs and freelancers.
166
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And in that community, people are
almost forced to help other people.
167
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And when you have
a business community that's built
168
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on these kind of moral standards,
everybody becomes more successful.
169
00:08:47,819 --> 00:08:51,257
- In January 2010,
170
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I went in to lead
a networking meeting at 7 a. m.,
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and that day the guest of a guest
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was Adam Neumann,
the founder of WeWork.
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When the meeting ended,
174
00:09:02,209 --> 00:09:05,980
we ended up standing
next to each other, talking,
175
00:09:06,004 --> 00:09:07,899
and he said,
"Oh, I might need a mortgage."
176
00:09:07,923 --> 00:09:09,609
I said, "Well, I'm opening
the mortgage seat.
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00:09:09,633 --> 00:09:10,944
I'm gonna go do something else."
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He said, "What are you gonna do?"
I said, "I don't know.
179
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I want to do something that lights me up
and makes me feel excited."
180
00:09:16,390 --> 00:09:19,035
And he said, "Well, I just took
this building down in Soho.
181
00:09:19,059 --> 00:09:21,412
"I'm launching this concept called WeWork.
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You should come and take a look."
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00:09:29,111 --> 00:09:33,407
Three days later on Monday morning,
I started as their second employee.
184
00:09:41,164 --> 00:09:44,227
I still have this email
that Adam sent to me
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at one o'clock in the morning
the night before my first morning.
186
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I woke up at 8 a. m. to an email that said,
"Good morning, period.
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Let's build the largest
networking community on the planet"
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And not even a period at the end.
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I showed up and we were three weeks
before our opening day,
190
00:10:04,021 --> 00:10:07,876
where we opened the first half of
one of the floors in our first building,
191
00:10:07,900 --> 00:10:09,586
which was 17 offices,
192
00:10:09,610 --> 00:10:12,630
and when I started
on that first day, Adam said,
193
00:10:12,654 --> 00:10:16,259
"I want to open in three weeks
and I want to be full with a wait list."
194
00:10:18,994 --> 00:10:21,848
And we were off to the races
from the very beginning.
195
00:10:29,254 --> 00:10:31,608
- I want to talk to the investors.
I don't know who they are
196
00:10:31,632 --> 00:10:33,485
and where they're at,
but they're looking at this.
197
00:10:33,509 --> 00:10:36,070
I want them to feel
that I'm talking to them.
198
00:10:36,094 --> 00:10:37,947
- At them.
- At them. To them.
199
00:10:37,971 --> 00:10:39,616
This is a story that I'm telling them.
200
00:10:39,640 --> 00:10:41,409
- Okay, then, go right to the camera.
- Okay.
201
00:10:41,433 --> 00:10:43,661
Perfect. I'm ready. - Okay.
202
00:10:43,685 --> 00:10:45,455
Action. - Hey, guys.
203
00:10:45,479 --> 00:10:48,750
This is WeWork, the world's
first physical social network.
204
00:10:48,774 --> 00:10:52,545
Our mission is to empower
the world through collaboration.
205
00:10:52,569 --> 00:10:54,797
We know that the future of the world
206
00:10:54,821 --> 00:10:57,425
is in small business,
not in corporate America.
207
00:10:57,449 --> 00:11:02,347
So we're building a community
that's transparent and that's accountable.
208
00:11:02,371 --> 00:11:03,765
That is WeWork.
209
00:11:08,669 --> 00:11:10,855
Hey, guys,
Patrick here and I wanted to give you
210
00:11:10,879 --> 00:11:13,149
a quick tour of my WeWork office.
211
00:11:13,173 --> 00:11:16,361
I moved into a new office space
called WeWork.
212
00:11:18,095 --> 00:11:21,032
What I do like about WeWork,
we can, like, work wherever,
213
00:11:21,056 --> 00:11:23,201
and it's just like
a good environment to be in.
214
00:11:25,060 --> 00:11:27,622
There's a saying
that companies in Silicon Valley
215
00:11:27,646 --> 00:11:29,916
are founded in garages.
216
00:11:29,940 --> 00:11:32,377
In New York City,
they're founded in kitchens.
217
00:11:32,401 --> 00:11:35,713
There it is. That's my new space.
218
00:11:35,737 --> 00:11:37,131
Yeah.
219
00:11:37,155 --> 00:11:39,968
The thing that made WeWork more special
220
00:11:39,992 --> 00:11:43,596
or more attractive was just
its marketing, right?
221
00:11:43,620 --> 00:11:45,265
- This says, "Do what you love."
222
00:11:45,289 --> 00:11:48,101
- Our friends who were doing
their tech startups,
223
00:11:48,125 --> 00:11:49,727
they all worked in WeWorks.
224
00:11:49,751 --> 00:11:53,314
We didn't even consider
any other co-working space.
225
00:11:53,338 --> 00:11:55,525
The thinking was,
if you have a tech startup
226
00:11:55,549 --> 00:11:57,735
and you want it to be successful,
227
00:11:57,759 --> 00:11:59,779
you start it at a WeWork.
228
00:11:59,803 --> 00:12:02,407
- I love co-working spaces so much.
229
00:12:02,431 --> 00:12:05,243
So let's start over here
at the snacks area.
230
00:12:05,267 --> 00:12:06,870
We have the snack area.
231
00:12:06,894 --> 00:12:08,788
Coffee, lemon water.
232
00:12:08,812 --> 00:12:10,081
"Do what you love."
233
00:12:10,105 --> 00:12:13,293
I love drinking coffee, so...
I'm gonna do that.
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00:12:13,317 --> 00:12:15,795
Everyone wanted to be an entrepreneur.
235
00:12:15,819 --> 00:12:17,630
We all want to raise $10 million.
236
00:12:17,654 --> 00:12:20,466
- I'm the founder of BrunchCritic.com.
237
00:12:20,490 --> 00:12:22,218
- Our company is SmileBack.
238
00:12:22,242 --> 00:12:24,179
- Co-founder of UPlanMe.
239
00:12:24,203 --> 00:12:25,889
- Scroll Kit.
- Consumer.
240
00:12:25,913 --> 00:12:27,307
- Handshake.
- MyThing.
241
00:12:27,331 --> 00:12:28,766
- Spindows.
- Scruff.
242
00:12:28,790 --> 00:12:30,059
- Yoink.
- RoomHints.
243
00:12:30,083 --> 00:12:32,211
- The company is Beer to Buds.
244
00:12:33,295 --> 00:12:36,316
WeWork embodied an optimism
245
00:12:36,340 --> 00:12:40,945
and this millennial excitement
about how to work
246
00:12:40,969 --> 00:12:44,407
and how to do things together,
do things flexibly
247
00:12:44,431 --> 00:12:49,603
and rebel against the office culture
set by the '80s and '90s.
248
00:12:52,147 --> 00:12:55,210
It was almost like somehow
being a member of a club,
249
00:12:55,234 --> 00:12:57,629
beyond just where your office building is.
250
00:12:57,653 --> 00:13:00,465
The world is changing,
the way people work is changing.
251
00:13:00,489 --> 00:13:03,301
If you're 22 today and you're
out of college, you can't go and work
252
00:13:03,325 --> 00:13:05,887
for corporate America in the old way
and you need a new solution.
253
00:13:05,911 --> 00:13:08,348
We're sharing the same space,
we're doing different businesses.
254
00:13:08,372 --> 00:13:11,834
And we understand that, through helping
each other, we can become more successful.
255
00:13:12,626 --> 00:13:14,646
- How fast are you growing?
- Very.
256
00:13:14,670 --> 00:13:16,481
What kind of numbers
are we talking about?
257
00:13:16,505 --> 00:13:18,233
We're talking about
probably one of the fastest
258
00:13:18,257 --> 00:13:21,468
physical expansions that has been seen
for the past 10 years.
259
00:13:25,389 --> 00:13:28,868
- When I got introduced
to Adam through a friend,
260
00:13:28,892 --> 00:13:31,246
uh, I came in.
261
00:13:31,270 --> 00:13:34,457
I didn't even know the company
WeWork ever existed.
262
00:13:34,481 --> 00:13:38,086
He went right to the point. He's like,
"Look, we don't have a lot of time.
263
00:13:38,110 --> 00:13:41,506
"I have a campground upstate.
I want to host an event.
264
00:13:41,530 --> 00:13:43,967
I need you to help me.
I believe that you can help me."
265
00:13:43,991 --> 00:13:47,011
And then he told me the budget,
and I said, "Well...
266
00:13:47,035 --> 00:13:48,721
"you know, your budget's not too great.
267
00:13:48,745 --> 00:13:51,891
"I don't know how I'm, uh,
you know, gonna really pull this off
268
00:13:51,915 --> 00:13:53,393
and make a couple dollars."
269
00:13:53,417 --> 00:13:55,520
He said, "Don't worry,
you know, we're gonna grow.
270
00:13:55,544 --> 00:13:57,230
"We're gonna be big.
You're gonna stay with us.
271
00:13:57,254 --> 00:14:00,233
You're gonna do a lot of work with us.
You'll see, you'll see, you'll see."
272
00:14:00,257 --> 00:14:02,277
- It's exciting, it's gonna get bigger.
273
00:14:02,301 --> 00:14:04,237
Something about him stood out.
274
00:14:04,261 --> 00:14:08,158
I couldn't put my finger on it,
but Adam's a very convincing guy.
275
00:14:08,182 --> 00:14:11,077
He's... He's got a big personality and...
276
00:14:11,101 --> 00:14:13,788
I walked out of that meeting,
I said, "Okay, I'll make it happen."
277
00:14:16,064 --> 00:14:19,419
We pulled every favor...
278
00:14:19,443 --> 00:14:22,547
from equipment to performers.
279
00:14:22,571 --> 00:14:26,217
And within a couple weeks,
produced what's now become
280
00:14:26,241 --> 00:14:27,468
WeWork Summer Camp.
281
00:14:27,492 --> 00:14:29,596
Hello, WeWorld.
282
00:14:29,620 --> 00:14:33,349
Thanks to you, things have been
going very well.
283
00:14:33,373 --> 00:14:37,770
And in gratitude, we decided to throw
a 72-hour weekend...
284
00:14:37,794 --> 00:14:39,522
...rager!
285
00:14:42,299 --> 00:14:45,111
WeWork Summer Camp
was Fyre Festival gone right.
286
00:14:45,135 --> 00:14:46,988
Do it, do it!
287
00:14:47,012 --> 00:14:50,074
It's this mini festival
for members at WeWork,
288
00:14:50,098 --> 00:14:52,076
and all the employees
289
00:14:52,100 --> 00:14:56,706
going to this remote
children's summer camp
290
00:14:56,730 --> 00:14:58,106
in the middle of nowhere.
291
00:14:59,608 --> 00:15:01,252
The most rad activity?
292
00:15:01,276 --> 00:15:04,506
Oh, my gosh, there has
been so much fun stuff to do.
293
00:15:04,530 --> 00:15:06,591
Honestly, these obstacle ropes
really challenged me.
294
00:15:06,615 --> 00:15:08,510
I was contemplating life up there.
295
00:15:08,534 --> 00:15:11,179
- Whoaaaa!
- I think they're trying to kill us.
296
00:15:11,203 --> 00:15:13,598
- I was just wakeboarding.
- Waterskiing and tubing.
297
00:15:13,622 --> 00:15:14,807
Hit my head really hard
298
00:15:14,831 --> 00:15:17,060
and then had to lay down
and drink coconut water afterwards.
299
00:15:17,084 --> 00:15:19,938
- We almost tipped over like four times
and I had to ask the lifeguards
300
00:15:19,962 --> 00:15:21,898
to come get me, 'cause I was so scared.
301
00:15:21,922 --> 00:15:24,734
I went to the survival skills thing
and that was really fun.
302
00:15:24,758 --> 00:15:26,069
- Oh, the balloon things where
303
00:15:26,093 --> 00:15:28,253
you're like in the bubble
and like you run into people.
304
00:15:30,097 --> 00:15:33,034
WeWork Summer Camp,
I think, really kicked off
305
00:15:33,058 --> 00:15:35,578
the entire event side of the company,
306
00:15:35,602 --> 00:15:39,666
which became one of the most well-known,
you know, elements
307
00:15:39,690 --> 00:15:41,125
of what WeWork was.
308
00:15:43,944 --> 00:15:46,297
- I think I was probably,
I don't wanna misstate it,
309
00:15:46,321 --> 00:15:48,007
like the tenth lawyer at WeWork.
310
00:15:48,031 --> 00:15:50,677
Um, and it was just
an amazing, amazing culture.
311
00:15:50,701 --> 00:15:53,137
You know, the people were great.
312
00:15:53,161 --> 00:15:55,348
Uh, I think they shared
the same values I did, right?
313
00:15:55,372 --> 00:15:59,394
They basically had, it was like
a "work hard, play hard" environment.
314
00:16:01,879 --> 00:16:04,899
But it's totally different from
that at a white-shoe law firm.
315
00:16:04,923 --> 00:16:07,569
And that's because
of these company events.
316
00:16:07,593 --> 00:16:09,821
I mean, it is, it is legitimately
317
00:16:09,845 --> 00:16:12,448
the craziest work experience
you'll ever have in your life.
318
00:16:16,351 --> 00:16:19,122
I think at four o'clock,
they start serving alcohol.
319
00:16:19,146 --> 00:16:21,833
And when I say they're serving alcohol,
320
00:16:21,857 --> 00:16:23,585
they are serving alcohol.
321
00:16:23,609 --> 00:16:26,754
Like every 50 yards,
there's like a bar set up.
322
00:16:26,778 --> 00:16:28,173
And it's unlimited.
323
00:16:28,197 --> 00:16:30,967
Like, if you wanted to drink
till the end of time,
324
00:16:30,991 --> 00:16:32,427
you could drink till the end of time.
325
00:16:32,451 --> 00:16:35,180
- Come on, Neumann. Gimme some more,
gimme some more!
326
00:16:37,331 --> 00:16:38,641
At all these events,
327
00:16:38,665 --> 00:16:41,769
during the day you listen
to presentations, speeches.
328
00:16:41,793 --> 00:16:44,213
There was always like
some famous people there.
329
00:16:44,922 --> 00:16:46,774
And then, you know, at night,
you do the WeWork thing,
330
00:16:46,798 --> 00:16:48,193
which is kind of just party.
331
00:16:51,803 --> 00:16:55,116
Adam grew up in Israel,
only had one TV channel.
332
00:16:55,140 --> 00:16:57,410
And he saw a lot of movieslike Animal House ...
333
00:16:57,434 --> 00:17:00,288
- Thanks, I needed that.
334
00:17:00,312 --> 00:17:01,789
And The Gong Show.
335
00:17:01,813 --> 00:17:04,042
So, in a lot of the WeWork space,
there was a gong.
336
00:17:04,066 --> 00:17:05,877
At a lot of big events,
somebody hit a gong.
337
00:17:07,361 --> 00:17:10,757
And all WeWork spaces, everybody knows,
there was kegs of beer.
338
00:17:10,781 --> 00:17:13,426
You know, it's beautiful young people.
339
00:17:13,450 --> 00:17:15,803
Coworkers got along there amazingly.
340
00:17:15,827 --> 00:17:18,515
Like, you met people
from all over the world.
341
00:17:20,874 --> 00:17:23,686
I think people really liked
the coolness of it.
342
00:17:23,710 --> 00:17:26,147
And that's kind of what was being sold.
343
00:17:28,173 --> 00:17:32,070
- I am, I am so happy to have
all of you here tonight.
344
00:17:32,094 --> 00:17:33,905
Like, this is unbelievable.
345
00:17:33,929 --> 00:17:34,865
Who was here last year?
346
00:17:34,889 --> 00:17:36,569
Raise your hand
if you were here last year!
347
00:17:39,268 --> 00:17:42,831
We were very worried that
we couldn't do better than last year,
348
00:17:42,855 --> 00:17:45,542
and I said to everybody,
"There must be a way."
349
00:17:45,566 --> 00:17:48,336
I said, "Well, what if we
add one more day,
350
00:17:48,360 --> 00:17:51,965
"do twice as many people,
five times as much alcohol?
351
00:17:51,989 --> 00:17:53,758
Then we could do this again!"
352
00:17:53,782 --> 00:17:55,802
Alcohol!
353
00:17:55,826 --> 00:17:57,804
I think the thing
that all of us know is,
354
00:17:57,828 --> 00:17:59,764
if you wanna succeed in this world,
355
00:17:59,788 --> 00:18:02,016
you have to build something
that has intention.
356
00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:05,854
And what puts us together, all of us here,
is because we wanna do something
357
00:18:05,878 --> 00:18:08,523
that actually makes
the world a better place,
358
00:18:08,547 --> 00:18:10,400
and we wanna make money doing it.
359
00:18:12,759 --> 00:18:14,428
It's okay.
360
00:18:15,929 --> 00:18:19,325
- I moved to New York in my early 20s,
361
00:18:19,349 --> 00:18:24,831
and I got off of a plane
with two suitcases.
362
00:18:24,855 --> 00:18:27,083
And I was going to live
with my sister's friend.
363
00:18:31,904 --> 00:18:35,341
I remember taking a cab over there,
364
00:18:35,365 --> 00:18:37,594
and it was at night
and just looking at the city
365
00:18:37,618 --> 00:18:39,429
and being in awe.
366
00:18:39,453 --> 00:18:41,538
Like I truly could not
believe I was there.
367
00:18:43,790 --> 00:18:47,145
My first job was at a hedge fund,
368
00:18:47,169 --> 00:18:49,772
and I was an executive assistant there.
369
00:18:49,796 --> 00:18:53,359
Like I had moved to New York
to "find my dreams."
370
00:18:53,383 --> 00:18:56,553
And here I was
really, really kind of lost.
371
00:18:57,304 --> 00:19:01,284
The friend reached out to me and said,
"I have a friend who has a startup
372
00:19:01,308 --> 00:19:03,703
and he's looking for an assistant.
Are you interested?"
373
00:19:03,727 --> 00:19:05,270
And I got connected to Adam.
374
00:19:06,688 --> 00:19:10,335
I walked in and Adam was super casual,
375
00:19:10,359 --> 00:19:14,255
very laid-back, very charismatic
from the moment I saw him.
376
00:19:14,279 --> 00:19:17,008
And he's very tall.
377
00:19:17,032 --> 00:19:20,803
And so he has a like
very commanding presence.
378
00:19:20,827 --> 00:19:23,723
Um, and he's also really, really...
379
00:19:23,747 --> 00:19:25,391
he's really friendly.
380
00:19:25,415 --> 00:19:28,895
- Hello, how are you?
- This is our founder, Adam Neumann.
381
00:19:28,919 --> 00:19:30,563
- Hi.
- Hey, how are you, Esther?
382
00:19:30,587 --> 00:19:33,650
- Nice to meet you.
- Joseph, why is
your office the messiest one?
383
00:19:33,674 --> 00:19:35,568
Shake my hand, it's good for the movie.
384
00:19:35,592 --> 00:19:37,153
Don't be shy, look at the camera.
385
00:19:37,177 --> 00:19:38,613
That's good. - Hello.
386
00:19:38,637 --> 00:19:40,698
- And he was giving me
a tour of the space,
387
00:19:40,722 --> 00:19:43,034
and I was interviewing at the same time,
388
00:19:43,058 --> 00:19:46,704
and we were just talking about their dream
of what WeWork would become.
389
00:19:46,728 --> 00:19:49,332
- You gotta put something
that we can grow into.
390
00:19:49,356 --> 00:19:51,292
We need to think...
391
00:19:51,316 --> 00:19:53,211
half a year forward if not a year.
392
00:19:53,235 --> 00:19:56,464
This is not just about
changing the way people work.
393
00:19:56,488 --> 00:19:59,300
We're gonna change, ultimately,
394
00:19:59,324 --> 00:20:02,703
every facet of the way
that people interact.
395
00:20:03,453 --> 00:20:05,348
It just really spoke to me.
396
00:20:05,372 --> 00:20:08,184
And I felt like, I felt
changed from that moment.
397
00:20:08,208 --> 00:20:09,602
- Hey.
398
00:20:09,626 --> 00:20:13,231
It's embarrassing, though,
with the camera in my face.
399
00:20:13,255 --> 00:20:16,109
Millennials don't just want a job.
400
00:20:16,133 --> 00:20:18,778
And they don't just want a career.
401
00:20:18,802 --> 00:20:21,072
They want a calling.
402
00:20:21,096 --> 00:20:23,575
And I will give Adam Neumann credit here.
403
00:20:23,599 --> 00:20:25,618
He assumed that everybody
404
00:20:25,642 --> 00:20:29,414
was achieving their calling
by participating in WeWork.
405
00:20:29,438 --> 00:20:33,918
He'll go down as one of
the most incredible salesmen in the world
406
00:20:33,942 --> 00:20:37,213
because he can get anyone to do
407
00:20:37,237 --> 00:20:40,758
whatever it is that he wants them to do
and what he sees in the vision.
408
00:20:40,782 --> 00:20:44,804
- I lived in 13 different places
until I moved to the U. S. when I was 23.
409
00:20:44,828 --> 00:20:48,600
And I had to go through
many different communities,
410
00:20:48,624 --> 00:20:51,769
and every time you go to a new school
as a kid, it's not an easy thing.
411
00:20:51,793 --> 00:20:54,856
Adam's world view was heavily shaped
412
00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:57,609
by this kind of nomadic childhood
413
00:20:57,633 --> 00:21:00,195
and a desire to belong.
414
00:21:00,219 --> 00:21:03,781
What he always wanted
was to kind of be part of this
415
00:21:03,805 --> 00:21:05,950
"sum is greater than the parts" collective
416
00:21:05,974 --> 00:21:08,786
where he still is kind of
the center of attention.
417
00:21:08,810 --> 00:21:10,872
- When I say "We," you say...
418
00:21:10,896 --> 00:21:12,332
Work! - We!
419
00:21:12,356 --> 00:21:14,125
Work! - We!
420
00:21:14,149 --> 00:21:15,627
- Work!
- We!
421
00:21:15,651 --> 00:21:17,754
At all these company events,
422
00:21:17,778 --> 00:21:21,466
Adam comes out, the lights are down,
423
00:21:21,490 --> 00:21:25,178
the strobe lights are going,
the crazy graphics are going.
424
00:21:25,202 --> 00:21:30,475
Please welcome
WeWork co-founder and CEO, Adam Neumann.
425
00:21:34,878 --> 00:21:38,566
- Thank you so much for coming tonight,
and I can't wait to get started.
426
00:21:38,590 --> 00:21:41,319
- I've kind of equated Adam
to like, you know,
427
00:21:41,343 --> 00:21:44,280
one of these, you know,
spiritual or religious people...
428
00:21:44,304 --> 00:21:46,115
- Lord God...
429
00:21:46,139 --> 00:21:50,411
...who think they can cure
like the plague by touching your head.
430
00:21:50,435 --> 00:21:51,704
Oh, Jesus!
431
00:21:51,728 --> 00:21:53,748
- Like he literally had people bought in
432
00:21:53,772 --> 00:21:55,750
and he grabs in a room like that...
433
00:21:55,774 --> 00:21:58,878
- You're a creator, and you're a creator,
and I know you're a creator.
434
00:21:58,902 --> 00:22:01,840
And the reason we are all creators
435
00:22:01,864 --> 00:22:04,884
is because we do something
that's greater than ourselves.
436
00:22:04,908 --> 00:22:07,262
- When I speak to somebody
who's so passionate about something,
437
00:22:07,286 --> 00:22:09,264
it's really difficult to not
438
00:22:09,288 --> 00:22:11,474
let that soak over me.
439
00:22:11,498 --> 00:22:14,269
You could not help but drink in
what he was saying,
440
00:22:14,293 --> 00:22:15,687
and it became your dream, too.
441
00:22:15,711 --> 00:22:18,064
If we know how to treat each other...
442
00:22:18,088 --> 00:22:21,151
You know, it's a lot of younger
people who've never really worked before.
443
00:22:21,175 --> 00:22:24,654
They were working like around the clock,
and they really, really believe in this.
444
00:22:24,678 --> 00:22:28,116
I was in my mid-20s looking for purpose
445
00:22:28,140 --> 00:22:31,286
and here's this person selling this dream,
446
00:22:31,310 --> 00:22:34,789
and...
I was an easy target for that.
447
00:22:34,813 --> 00:22:38,918
I definitely wanted the world
he was telling me about.
448
00:22:38,942 --> 00:22:43,298
- I sometimes feel that every
single person in this room
449
00:22:43,322 --> 00:22:46,801
is me having a different experience.
450
00:22:46,825 --> 00:22:48,136
And imagine...
451
00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:50,722
If you're a 25-year-old
and it's your first job,
452
00:22:50,746 --> 00:22:53,683
going to orientation and chanting,
"WeWork, WeWork, WeWork!"
453
00:22:53,707 --> 00:22:55,393
you know, may seem normal.
454
00:22:55,417 --> 00:22:57,419
All right, so now, go on, Sherman.
455
00:22:58,504 --> 00:23:01,441
If you're 45 and you've worked
at law firms and whatever,
456
00:23:01,465 --> 00:23:03,151
you're like, "Okay, this is different."
457
00:23:03,175 --> 00:23:04,652
But, you know,
you're into it, you're there.
458
00:23:04,676 --> 00:23:06,595
You get down with what people are doing.
459
00:23:08,597 --> 00:23:12,118
My experience with WeWork,
it was like living in another world.
460
00:23:12,142 --> 00:23:15,830
It was living in a world
where people were just happy.
461
00:23:15,854 --> 00:23:18,291
Right? They were happy to be
around each other.
462
00:23:18,315 --> 00:23:23,046
What WeWork created was this environment
of present existence
463
00:23:23,070 --> 00:23:26,925
and celebrating life with, with meaning.
464
00:23:26,949 --> 00:23:31,304
The world is a dark place,
and this little cave of WeWork
465
00:23:31,328 --> 00:23:33,515
was my happy spot.
466
00:23:33,539 --> 00:23:37,602
- The only thing that stands
in the way of achieving anything you want
467
00:23:37,626 --> 00:23:39,062
is just you.
468
00:23:39,086 --> 00:23:40,939
You know the most amazing thing...
469
00:23:40,963 --> 00:23:44,984
At one of these events,
I was sitting towards the back,
470
00:23:45,008 --> 00:23:46,820
and there was an older usher there.
471
00:23:46,844 --> 00:23:48,822
And it was an African-American guy.
472
00:23:48,846 --> 00:23:51,825
And he just started
asking me some questions.
473
00:23:51,849 --> 00:23:54,577
And he was like, you know,
"What's the company about?
474
00:23:54,601 --> 00:23:56,204
What do you do there?"
475
00:23:56,228 --> 00:23:58,289
And, you know,
I'm answering his questions.
476
00:23:58,313 --> 00:24:03,002
We're going on and on, and he just
kind of changed his tone of voice
477
00:24:03,026 --> 00:24:05,088
and he kind of looked down
on me a little bit
478
00:24:05,112 --> 00:24:08,132
and he was like, "Brother,
can I ask you a serious question?"
479
00:24:08,156 --> 00:24:10,426
I was like, "Yeah.
Sure, ask me the question."
480
00:24:10,450 --> 00:24:12,595
He says, "Is this some kind of cult?"
481
00:24:19,626 --> 00:24:22,647
I had been
to a couple of the summer camps,
482
00:24:22,671 --> 00:24:25,942
and I saw how much fun
everybody was having
483
00:24:25,966 --> 00:24:28,027
within the We community.
484
00:24:28,051 --> 00:24:31,739
So then a friend of mine
who worked for WeWork
485
00:24:31,763 --> 00:24:34,117
called me up and said, "Look...
486
00:24:34,141 --> 00:24:35,827
"WeWork is doing this new thing.
487
00:24:35,851 --> 00:24:38,246
"I can't tell you
anything about it right now.
488
00:24:38,270 --> 00:24:43,501
"Um, it's going to be
for the coolest people in New York,
489
00:24:43,525 --> 00:24:46,296
"and I promise you are going
to want to be a part of it.
490
00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:50,383
Are you willing to break your lease
to do this new WeWork venture?"
491
00:24:50,407 --> 00:24:53,094
Like... "Can I have a couple days?"
492
00:24:53,118 --> 00:24:55,763
And she said, "No, you can't
have a couple days.
493
00:24:55,787 --> 00:24:58,850
I need to know right now, are you
willing to break your lease for this?"
494
00:24:58,874 --> 00:25:01,644
Uh, and I said, "I guess...
495
00:25:01,668 --> 00:25:02,937
Yeah."
496
00:25:02,961 --> 00:25:05,464
Reluctantly.
I said, "Yeah, I will do it."
497
00:25:07,382 --> 00:25:10,987
So a couple of weeks later,
I got this invitation
498
00:25:11,011 --> 00:25:15,307
for what looked like Eyes Wide Shut ,that Tom Cruise movie.
499
00:25:16,183 --> 00:25:18,536
Like, non-informational whatsoever.
500
00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:21,706
A time, a place, a date,
and that's it, you know.
501
00:25:21,730 --> 00:25:25,168
"I'll see you there," basically.
So I was like, "Jesus, okay."
502
00:25:25,192 --> 00:25:29,005
So I show up and Adam Neumann
was there at this initial thing,
503
00:25:29,029 --> 00:25:31,799
and there was maybe
500 people in this room,
504
00:25:31,823 --> 00:25:35,178
and they revealed what was going on.
505
00:25:35,202 --> 00:25:38,598
WeWork is starting WeLive,
506
00:25:38,622 --> 00:25:43,812
that is all about this new way of living.
507
00:25:43,836 --> 00:25:49,049
And we had a very distinct opportunity
to be the first people in there.
508
00:25:50,217 --> 00:25:54,489
I believed every word that
came out of Adam's mouth.
509
00:25:54,513 --> 00:25:59,118
- The success of this will be
if you guys feel like this is your home.
510
00:25:59,142 --> 00:26:01,538
He seemed like he was talking
511
00:26:01,562 --> 00:26:03,915
like a man on a mission.
512
00:26:03,939 --> 00:26:05,333
So I signed the thing
513
00:26:05,357 --> 00:26:08,294
and they got back to me
and asked me to write
514
00:26:08,318 --> 00:26:13,299
a very sort of generic
"why you should live here."
515
00:26:13,323 --> 00:26:14,592
"Why should we pick you?"
516
00:26:14,616 --> 00:26:18,638
Like I didn't know anything about WeLive,
517
00:26:18,662 --> 00:26:23,393
so I was essentially writing a book report
for a book that I hadn't read.
518
00:26:23,417 --> 00:26:25,311
It's one of those things
where you're like,
519
00:26:25,335 --> 00:26:27,730
all I have to say is, "Wow!"
520
00:26:27,754 --> 00:26:33,194
So, you know, I wrote
way too long of an essay than I needed to.
521
00:26:33,218 --> 00:26:38,223
And, uh, shortly after that,
I was... accepted.
522
00:26:40,309 --> 00:26:43,705
This was supposed to be a space
where it's move-in ready.
523
00:26:43,729 --> 00:26:45,665
You don't need anything.
524
00:26:45,689 --> 00:26:49,085
So I packed a bag, just one big bag,
525
00:26:49,109 --> 00:26:52,738
like a drifter, and walked into the space.
526
00:26:53,697 --> 00:26:56,408
And it was...
527
00:26:57,492 --> 00:26:59,387
stunning, it was beautiful.
528
00:26:59,411 --> 00:27:02,247
You know, you walked in
and everything was perfect.
529
00:27:03,707 --> 00:27:06,793
I was the first designer at WeLive.
530
00:27:07,544 --> 00:27:08,688
I moved into WeLive,
531
00:27:08,712 --> 00:27:11,524
because I was one of the first
members to be a beta tester.
532
00:27:11,548 --> 00:27:14,652
And that meant that,
for the first six months,
533
00:27:14,676 --> 00:27:17,322
there was a drastically reduced price.
534
00:27:17,346 --> 00:27:20,492
I had designed the space
with my colleagues,
535
00:27:20,516 --> 00:27:22,368
and I couldn't pass up the opportunity,
536
00:27:22,392 --> 00:27:24,662
and it was really cool
because you were living
537
00:27:24,686 --> 00:27:26,939
in this brand-new living situation.
538
00:27:28,774 --> 00:27:31,002
The Murphy bed
was built into the couch.
539
00:27:31,026 --> 00:27:33,171
There was a little desk
tucked into a corner
540
00:27:33,195 --> 00:27:35,256
that you could put your computer on.
541
00:27:35,280 --> 00:27:38,593
The whole thing may
have been 200 square feet.
542
00:27:38,617 --> 00:27:41,161
Might have been 200 square feet.
Like on a good day.
543
00:27:42,287 --> 00:27:44,807
But it was all about community.
544
00:27:44,831 --> 00:27:50,814
I think the initial group of people
definitely fit a certain criteria.
545
00:27:50,838 --> 00:27:55,217
I mean, beyond being young
with no actual responsibilities.
546
00:27:55,717 --> 00:27:58,029
- A lot of single people.
Everybody was single.
547
00:27:58,053 --> 00:28:00,657
We actually had a saying that
everything had to be designed
548
00:28:00,681 --> 00:28:02,075
to hold the weight of two people.
549
00:28:02,099 --> 00:28:04,702
Guess what all
those people had in common
550
00:28:04,726 --> 00:28:09,833
was the ability to pause their
personal lives to try out this new thing.
551
00:28:09,857 --> 00:28:13,419
They appealed to the same
WeWork generation of millennials.
552
00:28:13,443 --> 00:28:16,464
A lot of people worked at WeWork
who lived at WeLive at the time.
553
00:28:16,488 --> 00:28:21,177
A very, very small
percentage of us were outsiders,
554
00:28:21,201 --> 00:28:22,536
I guess you could say.
555
00:28:23,537 --> 00:28:29,060
The first six months, it was weird
if someone left the building.
556
00:28:29,084 --> 00:28:32,438
If someone were like, "Hey, I'm going
to a friend's birthday party,"
557
00:28:32,462 --> 00:28:34,691
and the very common next question is,
558
00:28:34,715 --> 00:28:36,192
"Oh, which floor is it on?"
559
00:28:36,216 --> 00:28:39,070
That's one of
the benefits of co-living is,
560
00:28:39,094 --> 00:28:41,865
you move in,
you get friends automatically,
you spend time with them.
561
00:28:41,889 --> 00:28:44,909
So it becomes your whole social circle.
562
00:28:44,933 --> 00:28:47,662
It all felt like
everybody was really dedicated
563
00:28:47,686 --> 00:28:49,747
to making this idea work,
564
00:28:49,771 --> 00:28:52,917
this sort of utopian...
565
00:28:52,941 --> 00:28:56,296
society of living situations,
566
00:28:56,320 --> 00:28:59,674
without really thinking
567
00:28:59,698 --> 00:29:03,845
of the consequences of that.
568
00:29:17,382 --> 00:29:20,802
WeWork wanted to become a unicorn.
569
00:29:22,596 --> 00:29:27,017
A unicorn is a company
valued at $1 billion.
570
00:29:30,354 --> 00:29:32,957
That one beautiful unicorn
571
00:29:32,981 --> 00:29:36,211
that can return
a hundred times your investment,
572
00:29:36,235 --> 00:29:39,738
that's how you're gonna make
a lot of money as a venture capitalist.
573
00:29:40,364 --> 00:29:43,301
So the entire world
of venture capital basically
574
00:29:43,325 --> 00:29:44,368
is on a unicorn hunt.
575
00:29:46,328 --> 00:29:48,389
Finding the next Uber,
576
00:29:48,413 --> 00:29:50,683
finding the next Facebook,
finding the next Google,
577
00:29:50,707 --> 00:29:54,062
that's going to make you a billionaire
578
00:29:54,086 --> 00:29:56,272
just by picking and betting
on the right horse,
579
00:29:56,296 --> 00:29:58,173
or in this case, the right unicorn.
580
00:30:01,176 --> 00:30:04,739
When WeWork was in its major
New York growth period,
581
00:30:04,763 --> 00:30:07,492
there were a lot of big players
who saw the potential.
582
00:30:07,516 --> 00:30:09,911
Venture capital firms saw this
583
00:30:09,935 --> 00:30:11,913
as a really great growth play
but they had to move fast.
584
00:30:11,937 --> 00:30:14,082
- I liked him immediately.
585
00:30:14,106 --> 00:30:16,501
Adam's just a charming, charismatic person
586
00:30:16,525 --> 00:30:18,777
who is very persuasive to a lot of people.
587
00:30:19,695 --> 00:30:21,256
In many ways for investors,
588
00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:23,007
WeWork was the future of work.
589
00:30:23,031 --> 00:30:26,261
It became this poster child
for this growing trend
590
00:30:26,285 --> 00:30:30,807
of flexible offices,
um, kind of digital nomads.
591
00:30:30,831 --> 00:30:33,309
Another thing that drove
these investors was FOMO,
592
00:30:33,333 --> 00:30:34,602
fear of missing out.
593
00:30:34,626 --> 00:30:37,814
They had seen what venture
capital firms had reaped
594
00:30:37,838 --> 00:30:40,441
with all these startups,
and they wanted to get in the action.
595
00:30:40,465 --> 00:30:43,444
For many people,
WeWork was that next big thing.
596
00:30:43,468 --> 00:30:47,490
WeWork was basically
getting interest from seed investors
597
00:30:47,514 --> 00:30:49,492
who were thinking,
"Oh, this is a small company.
598
00:30:49,516 --> 00:30:52,120
I'm gonna get in on the ground
with a small check."
599
00:30:52,144 --> 00:30:55,999
And yet they had quietly already reached
a billion-dollar valuation,
600
00:30:56,023 --> 00:31:00,003
i.e., one of New York's
very few tech unicorns,
601
00:31:00,027 --> 00:31:02,589
and yet people didn't know this
because they hadn't announced it.
602
00:31:02,613 --> 00:31:04,507
I'm like, wait a second.
603
00:31:04,531 --> 00:31:06,843
There's a billion-dollar
startup in New York
604
00:31:06,867 --> 00:31:09,554
that everybody wants to be a part of
605
00:31:09,578 --> 00:31:11,556
and nobody has a sense
of how big it is yet.
606
00:31:11,580 --> 00:31:14,350
And so that's when I started
spending a lot of time with Adam,
607
00:31:14,374 --> 00:31:16,585
to try to understand the company.
608
00:31:23,759 --> 00:31:27,489
- New York real estate is
one of the most interesting markets
609
00:31:27,513 --> 00:31:29,157
of any kind in the world,
610
00:31:29,181 --> 00:31:32,785
because you have to go back to the days
of John Jacob Astor,
611
00:31:32,809 --> 00:31:37,582
the famous saying, "Nobody ever got poor
with New York City real estate."
612
00:31:37,606 --> 00:31:39,584
But there's a caveat to that,
613
00:31:39,608 --> 00:31:41,669
which is you have to have
incredibly sharp elbows
614
00:31:41,693 --> 00:31:43,278
and you have to play for keeps.
615
00:31:44,780 --> 00:31:47,050
It is male-dominated.
616
00:31:47,074 --> 00:31:49,219
Businesses, portfolios.
617
00:31:49,243 --> 00:31:52,597
A lot of familial wealth in the city.
618
00:31:52,621 --> 00:31:56,559
It is a shark-eat-shark industry.
619
00:31:58,418 --> 00:32:01,940
The Roses and the LeFraks
and the Kushners and even the Trumps.
620
00:32:01,964 --> 00:32:05,068
It's not really about
entrepreneurs per se,
621
00:32:05,092 --> 00:32:07,278
but it's about families,
it's about dynasties.
622
00:32:07,302 --> 00:32:10,448
It's generally the kind of
business that once you're in
623
00:32:10,472 --> 00:32:13,409
and you establish a beachhead,
uh, you're in.
624
00:32:13,433 --> 00:32:16,246
- So it's almost like you're
a real estate company wrapped
625
00:32:16,270 --> 00:32:19,165
in this sort of, in this tech sheen.
626
00:32:19,189 --> 00:32:21,084
- We're definitely not
a real estate company.
627
00:32:21,108 --> 00:32:23,753
We are a community of creators.
628
00:32:23,777 --> 00:32:26,548
We create environment for
entrepreneurs and freelancers.
629
00:32:26,572 --> 00:32:30,552
We leverage technology to connect people.
And it's a new way of working.
630
00:32:30,576 --> 00:32:32,887
And just like Uber is
the sharing economy for cars
631
00:32:32,911 --> 00:32:34,389
- and Citi Bike for bicycle...
- Right.
632
00:32:34,413 --> 00:32:36,975
...we're the sharing economy for space.
633
00:32:38,667 --> 00:32:40,728
Do you buy the properties?
634
00:32:40,752 --> 00:32:42,522
So we definitely
do not buy the property.
635
00:32:42,546 --> 00:32:44,941
That again would make usa real estate company.Exactly.
636
00:32:44,965 --> 00:32:47,235
We create
long-term leases with landlords,
637
00:32:47,259 --> 00:32:50,530
and then we take the space and we
break it up and we create the community
638
00:32:50,554 --> 00:32:53,158
and the connections that happen
between our members.
639
00:32:53,182 --> 00:32:54,951
I saw what he was doing.
640
00:32:54,975 --> 00:32:57,912
I made a judgment as to this man's
leadership capabilities,
641
00:32:57,936 --> 00:32:59,873
which are truly extraordinary, okay?
642
00:32:59,897 --> 00:33:04,127
It's phenomenal, and it's a great concept,
and it's continuing to explode.
643
00:33:04,151 --> 00:33:07,797
- Taking these distressed buildings
and flipping them in a new way,
644
00:33:07,821 --> 00:33:10,216
that was an insight that no one else had.
645
00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:13,011
And, you know, they're validated
by the smartest people in real estate
646
00:33:13,035 --> 00:33:15,388
being like, "Wow!
That was a really interesting idea.
647
00:33:15,412 --> 00:33:18,207
It may be really risky,
but it's an interesting idea."
648
00:33:21,418 --> 00:33:23,980
Pretty quickly, the Kushner family,
649
00:33:24,004 --> 00:33:27,525
the Rudin family, and Boston Properties
650
00:33:27,549 --> 00:33:30,361
were all onboard with this idea.
651
00:33:30,385 --> 00:33:34,240
It was validating to the establishment
652
00:33:34,264 --> 00:33:37,243
and it was also validating to Wall Street.
653
00:33:37,267 --> 00:33:41,539
You know, JP Morgan leads
a large investment in WeWork.
654
00:33:41,563 --> 00:33:44,959
- Adam loved to namedrop to people.
655
00:33:44,983 --> 00:33:48,129
And, I mean, Jamie Dimon is the world's...
656
00:33:48,153 --> 00:33:50,131
top banker,
657
00:33:50,155 --> 00:33:53,534
and he would tell people
he was his personal banker.
658
00:33:56,995 --> 00:33:59,474
They started to consume everything.
659
00:33:59,498 --> 00:34:00,808
They were renting
as many office spaces
660
00:34:00,832 --> 00:34:02,310
in as many
neighborhoods as possible.
661
00:34:02,334 --> 00:34:04,294
It became a literal land grab.
662
00:34:06,213 --> 00:34:08,691
All of a sudden, WeWork became
663
00:34:08,715 --> 00:34:12,487
the largest lessee of office space
in all of New York City.
664
00:34:25,232 --> 00:34:27,168
Good afternoon, all of you.
665
00:34:27,192 --> 00:34:30,463
When we sat down
at the beginning of this year
666
00:34:30,487 --> 00:34:32,632
to decide the agenda,
667
00:34:32,656 --> 00:34:34,843
the first name we put
on the list and circled
668
00:34:34,867 --> 00:34:37,804
was Adam Neumann of WeWork,
and you're about to see why.
669
00:34:37,828 --> 00:34:41,808
But by the way, having lunch next to Adam
670
00:34:41,832 --> 00:34:43,518
and having him coach me
671
00:34:43,542 --> 00:34:46,020
on how we did the seating
all wrong here was...
672
00:34:46,044 --> 00:34:49,107
I mean, three or four times,
he was very...
673
00:34:49,131 --> 00:34:52,652
- But it bothers me because the center
of energy in this room is right here
674
00:34:52,676 --> 00:34:55,029
and no one's sitting there,
and it's right in front of us.
675
00:34:55,053 --> 00:34:57,824
And it's these little details
that we pay attention to,
676
00:34:57,848 --> 00:34:59,909
and this is why, this is how
you bring people together,
677
00:34:59,933 --> 00:35:02,704
and we have people sitting there
facing the wrong direction,
678
00:35:02,728 --> 00:35:04,831
and there's enough room
for all of us to get closer.
679
00:35:04,855 --> 00:35:09,627
- The last...
680
00:35:09,651 --> 00:35:12,797
- I remember in the very beginning
walking into the office
681
00:35:12,821 --> 00:35:15,675
and seeing Rebekah
and looking at her and saying,
682
00:35:15,699 --> 00:35:18,469
"Your husband has an incredible vision."
683
00:35:18,493 --> 00:35:21,806
And she said,
"I know. It's why I married him."
684
00:35:27,503 --> 00:35:28,629
- Are you okay?
685
00:35:32,591 --> 00:35:34,402
Oh, fuck, are you on drugs?
686
00:35:34,426 --> 00:35:35,653
- No.
- Are you?
687
00:35:35,677 --> 00:35:37,739
- No!
- What are you on right now?
688
00:35:37,763 --> 00:35:39,657
- I'm not on anything, Robin.
689
00:35:39,681 --> 00:35:42,076
Fuck.
690
00:35:42,100 --> 00:35:44,621
Rebekah was Adam's wife,
691
00:35:44,645 --> 00:35:49,542
and she had an office with us
because she was a filmmaker, an actress.
692
00:35:51,777 --> 00:35:56,883
She is, uh,
a cousin of Gwyneth Paltrow.
693
00:35:56,907 --> 00:35:58,968
You can't go far hearing about Rebekah
694
00:35:58,992 --> 00:36:01,721
or talking to Rebekah
without that kind of coming up.
695
00:36:01,745 --> 00:36:05,099
I went to a screening
of a film that she created.
696
00:36:05,123 --> 00:36:06,792
We all went to the screening.
697
00:36:07,251 --> 00:36:09,187
- This is your entire life story?
698
00:36:09,211 --> 00:36:12,172
- That is my entire story.
- No, it isn't.
699
00:36:14,341 --> 00:36:16,152
- It was interesting.
700
00:36:16,176 --> 00:36:19,405
She's around from
the beginning of WeWork,
701
00:36:19,429 --> 00:36:21,324
helping in unofficial ways.
702
00:36:21,348 --> 00:36:23,743
I meet my wife, I was 28.
703
00:36:23,767 --> 00:36:26,079
This was 10 years ago,
and she looks at me
704
00:36:26,103 --> 00:36:28,456
and she goes,
literally within five minutes,
705
00:36:28,480 --> 00:36:32,460
"You have a lot of potential,
but right now you're full of shit."
706
00:36:33,819 --> 00:36:36,047
"You have potential,
but you're full of shit."
707
00:36:36,071 --> 00:36:38,466
"You, my friend, are full of shit."
708
00:36:38,490 --> 00:36:41,427
"You have a lot of potential,
but you're full of shit."
709
00:36:42,995 --> 00:36:44,639
She said, "Find your passion.
710
00:36:44,663 --> 00:36:46,766
"Do something that
actually changes the world.
711
00:36:46,790 --> 00:36:48,810
"Bring those two together, I promise you,
712
00:36:48,834 --> 00:36:50,770
you'll have the best business
you ever imagined."
713
00:36:50,794 --> 00:36:53,731
I have to say I did all of that and,
Rebekah, I just want to say thank you.
714
00:36:53,755 --> 00:36:55,191
- Adam, my love.
- I'd be nothing without you.
715
00:36:55,215 --> 00:36:57,009
Well put. - Thank you.
716
00:36:57,467 --> 00:36:59,487
I would go to interview Adam.
717
00:36:59,511 --> 00:37:02,866
Rebekah was there
for a lot of the interviews.
718
00:37:02,890 --> 00:37:04,617
Sweetie, can I just say something?
719
00:37:04,641 --> 00:37:07,162
How do I pause this? You don't need this.
720
00:37:07,186 --> 00:37:11,708
- She was, um, grilling me
about my intentions with the story.
721
00:37:11,732 --> 00:37:14,210
- Really by putting 400,000
square feet of room...
722
00:37:14,234 --> 00:37:17,130
You're saying WeWork is
gonna make the neighborhood cool?
723
00:37:17,154 --> 00:37:19,257
- It's gonna make it work.
724
00:37:19,281 --> 00:37:21,342
It's gonna make the neighborhood, period.
725
00:37:21,366 --> 00:37:25,430
WeWork is gonna make the Lower East Side
the new Silicon Valley.
726
00:37:25,454 --> 00:37:28,516
Clearly she had a lot of authority,
727
00:37:28,540 --> 00:37:32,312
but she was not considered
at the time a co-founder.
728
00:37:32,336 --> 00:37:35,565
It's pretty clear that Rebekah's
trying to sort of shape Adam,
729
00:37:35,589 --> 00:37:39,444
or help him become this world leader type
730
00:37:39,468 --> 00:37:42,346
that, you know, he aspires
to be and that she likes.
731
00:37:45,098 --> 00:37:48,620
Working at WeWork,
we all felt like, "Oh, wow.
732
00:37:48,644 --> 00:37:52,123
"This is such a special place
to be at a special time,
733
00:37:52,147 --> 00:37:55,943
because as it grows, they're gonna need,
they're gonna need us."
734
00:38:00,322 --> 00:38:03,092
You're a hard-driving CEO.
735
00:38:03,116 --> 00:38:08,181
We've seen with other hard-driving CEOs
and companies with a lot of hours
736
00:38:08,205 --> 00:38:10,725
that, that the culture can crumble.
737
00:38:10,749 --> 00:38:13,603
I was watching a video of yours where
738
00:38:13,627 --> 00:38:15,188
the typical Monday was described
739
00:38:15,212 --> 00:38:18,066
as arriving at 7 a. m.
And going home at 3 a. m.
740
00:38:18,090 --> 00:38:20,068
- This Monday,
I finished at 2 a. m., not at 3.
741
00:38:20,092 --> 00:38:23,321
It was a good, it was a good Monday.
742
00:38:23,345 --> 00:38:26,908
- I thought I was going to work at WeWork
for the rest of my life.
743
00:38:26,932 --> 00:38:29,577
I really thought that this
was my lifetime career
744
00:38:29,601 --> 00:38:31,830
and I would just grow with the company.
745
00:38:31,854 --> 00:38:35,416
- If you build an amazing culture,
one that people can give you feedback,
746
00:38:35,440 --> 00:38:38,044
one that works hard
but also has a great time,
747
00:38:38,068 --> 00:38:40,296
then you will deal with
the tough times when they come.
748
00:38:40,320 --> 00:38:43,675
And that's, that's what's really
important, and if you do it right...
749
00:38:43,699 --> 00:38:46,219
By the way, working hard is fulfilling.
750
00:38:46,243 --> 00:38:48,471
We would hustle so hard.
751
00:38:48,495 --> 00:38:50,723
And though we would hit the mark,
752
00:38:50,747 --> 00:38:55,186
there was always a way
that Adam grew the vision,
753
00:38:55,210 --> 00:38:59,423
so that everyone could see that we could
do more, hustle harder, hustle faster.
754
00:39:00,132 --> 00:39:02,735
When somebody tells you
they're changing the world
755
00:39:02,759 --> 00:39:06,156
and you are helping them do that,
it feels special.
756
00:39:06,180 --> 00:39:08,741
It feels really special.
757
00:39:08,765 --> 00:39:12,036
Everybody was just on it,
ready to be a part of this company,
758
00:39:12,060 --> 00:39:15,105
to be part of WeWork,
to be a part of the dream.
759
00:39:16,148 --> 00:39:18,692
At that time,
we were also being told like...
760
00:39:20,235 --> 00:39:21,915
Adam told me I was gonna be a millionaire.
761
00:39:23,530 --> 00:39:26,885
Most people agreed
to salaries less than
762
00:39:26,909 --> 00:39:30,805
they would make at somewhere else
in a regular field or whatnot,
763
00:39:30,829 --> 00:39:35,310
because you were given a salary
and a certain value of stock options.
764
00:39:35,334 --> 00:39:39,814
- When your business has a mission,
and that mission is world changing,
765
00:39:39,838 --> 00:39:43,485
and people can buy into the mission,
then they're gonna come in.
766
00:39:43,509 --> 00:39:45,695
Then they need the culture
that they're going to enjoy.
767
00:39:45,719 --> 00:39:48,948
To create that culture,
you got to put employees first.
768
00:39:48,972 --> 00:39:51,075
We've given every one
of our employees equity,
769
00:39:51,099 --> 00:39:54,245
so everyone is a partner in this business,
from the porter that cleans
770
00:39:54,269 --> 00:39:55,580
to the community manager,
771
00:39:55,604 --> 00:39:58,458
to the CFO and COO of the company.
772
00:39:58,482 --> 00:39:59,876
Everyone is a partner.
773
00:40:01,860 --> 00:40:04,589
So the idea was, people get
super rich off of stock options, right?
774
00:40:04,613 --> 00:40:06,674
You hear about the guy
who went to work at Amazon.
775
00:40:06,698 --> 00:40:08,343
He worked in the warehouse.
776
00:40:08,367 --> 00:40:11,429
He was like the 40th person in.
He became a multi-gazillionaire.
777
00:40:11,453 --> 00:40:13,431
So that's what was being sold.
778
00:40:13,455 --> 00:40:15,767
But the way the stock options worked
779
00:40:15,791 --> 00:40:18,561
was that's not really
like what would happen.
780
00:40:18,585 --> 00:40:21,523
"Equity" was kind of a buzzword.
781
00:40:21,547 --> 00:40:24,234
Adam would talk about it all the time.
782
00:40:24,258 --> 00:40:27,153
"You all have equity in the company."
783
00:40:27,177 --> 00:40:29,197
Which I don't think is quite true.
784
00:40:29,221 --> 00:40:32,534
If you have stock options, you don't
actually own equity in the company.
785
00:40:32,558 --> 00:40:36,770
You own a security that gives you
an option to buy equity in the company.
786
00:40:37,646 --> 00:40:39,374
I would see that people
didn't understand
787
00:40:39,398 --> 00:40:41,626
about that you're taking in
what you're getting.
788
00:40:41,650 --> 00:40:43,569
It's so exciting...
789
00:40:44,862 --> 00:40:47,799
to feel like you own
something that is so famous
790
00:40:47,823 --> 00:40:50,009
and so talked about.
791
00:40:50,033 --> 00:40:52,262
So that they can say like,
"Oh, I have equity."
792
00:40:52,286 --> 00:40:56,432
But if somebody actually did the math,
maybe their equity's worth like $2,000.
793
00:40:56,456 --> 00:41:00,979
You might think that the possibility
of getting a million-dollar payout
794
00:41:01,003 --> 00:41:04,983
is far higher than it
actually is in reality.
795
00:41:07,843 --> 00:41:09,445
There's a lot of room.
796
00:41:09,469 --> 00:41:12,699
You can sit next to the gong.
Don't be shy.
797
00:41:12,723 --> 00:41:14,576
WeWork onboarding meetings
798
00:41:14,600 --> 00:41:16,369
were on Monday mornings.
799
00:41:16,393 --> 00:41:19,706
And everybody would come in
and then a presentation would begin.
800
00:41:19,730 --> 00:41:22,876
And the presentation
was the mythology of WeWork.
801
00:41:27,613 --> 00:41:30,884
Like Adam walking
through a kibbutz in Israel.
802
00:41:30,908 --> 00:41:33,595
Like his hands grazing over lavender,
803
00:41:33,619 --> 00:41:36,472
as he thinks to himself with a narration
804
00:41:36,496 --> 00:41:41,895
about community and support
and loving one another.
805
00:41:41,919 --> 00:41:45,648
Then we get Miguel like walking through
his compound in Oregon.
806
00:41:45,672 --> 00:41:48,276
They didn't do that; that's what
they should have done.
They should have hired me for that.
807
00:41:48,300 --> 00:41:50,570
But anyway, um, you know, kind of this...
808
00:41:50,594 --> 00:41:53,198
But it's definitely like
a couple of slides about WeWork
809
00:41:53,222 --> 00:41:57,535
and then lots of slides
about every single person at the C level.
810
00:42:00,145 --> 00:42:02,624
At some point, they changed
the organizational structure
811
00:42:02,648 --> 00:42:06,211
to have like mini CEOs
in different regions.
812
00:42:06,235 --> 00:42:09,005
And they call them C-We-Os.
813
00:42:09,029 --> 00:42:10,673
So...
814
00:42:10,697 --> 00:42:12,550
I'm not kidding, you know,
and I was like, "Look
815
00:42:12,574 --> 00:42:15,053
"I'm not referring to anybody
as a C-We-O
816
00:42:15,077 --> 00:42:16,453
for my entire life."
817
00:42:20,791 --> 00:42:23,019
And they made some weird videos.
818
00:42:23,043 --> 00:42:25,230
Everything about the videos
819
00:42:25,254 --> 00:42:27,232
was propaganda.
820
00:42:27,256 --> 00:42:29,108
Everything about it was propaganda.
821
00:42:29,132 --> 00:42:32,821
The tone-deafness and lack
of awareness to show these videos,
822
00:42:32,845 --> 00:42:34,447
it was incredible.
823
00:42:34,471 --> 00:42:37,242
Basically, you had the CEO,
you had all the C-We-Os,
824
00:42:37,266 --> 00:42:41,120
and you really didn't see
any minorities up in the higher echelons.
825
00:42:41,144 --> 00:42:44,666
There wasn't proper diversity
at WeWork, period, hard stop.
826
00:42:44,690 --> 00:42:46,084
The C-We-Os are people
827
00:42:46,108 --> 00:42:48,711
who just want to talk
about their awesomeness.
828
00:42:48,735 --> 00:42:51,756
They have that very much
in common with Adam.
829
00:42:51,780 --> 00:42:54,884
It was almost like you needed
to know who was at the top
830
00:42:54,908 --> 00:42:56,952
so when they came past,
you could bow down to them.
831
00:42:59,121 --> 00:43:01,224
The events themselves
really were meant
832
00:43:01,248 --> 00:43:05,478
to kind of like engender
a loyalty to WeWork.
833
00:43:05,502 --> 00:43:09,107
There would be like
50 to 70 people starting every Monday,
834
00:43:09,131 --> 00:43:11,693
and you'd be sitting in your office,
and all of a sudden
835
00:43:11,717 --> 00:43:13,637
you hear chanting
throughout the entire building.
836
00:43:15,179 --> 00:43:17,490
While we're all trying to do our work.
837
00:43:17,514 --> 00:43:20,702
It's deafening.
The music and everybody screaming.
838
00:43:22,686 --> 00:43:26,374
They were willing to spend any amount
of money to make themselves feel good
839
00:43:26,398 --> 00:43:28,960
and look good to their employees.
840
00:43:41,496 --> 00:43:46,352
The offices were,
to put it mildly, they were cramped.
841
00:43:46,376 --> 00:43:49,564
The mantra we got from on top,
and I specifically remember
842
00:43:49,588 --> 00:43:52,442
an all-company meeting
where we were kind of told
843
00:43:52,466 --> 00:43:56,154
that we would be quadrupling up,
quintupling up, sixing up.
844
00:43:56,178 --> 00:43:58,239
"You don't need the corner office anymore.
845
00:43:58,263 --> 00:44:00,074
"You don't need
the house on the hill anymore.
846
00:44:00,098 --> 00:44:03,077
It's all about energy, togetherness,
working with your fellow humans."
847
00:44:03,101 --> 00:44:06,247
And then meanwhile, you know,
I slide by Adam's office
848
00:44:06,271 --> 00:44:08,524
and he's got a veritable palace in there.
849
00:44:11,568 --> 00:44:13,296
There's a little bit
of hypocrisy to all this.
850
00:44:13,320 --> 00:44:15,089
You know, I remember
at some old company speech,
851
00:44:15,113 --> 00:44:18,551
it was about, you know, taking
some small steps to make sure
852
00:44:18,575 --> 00:44:23,223
that we saved a million dollars
on the operating budget every year.
853
00:44:23,247 --> 00:44:27,185
And then Adam just bought
a $60 million private jet, right?
854
00:44:27,209 --> 00:44:30,063
So, you know, you hear these
and you're kind of wondering like,
855
00:44:30,087 --> 00:44:33,549
what is the message that's being told
and how are people really living?
856
00:44:37,803 --> 00:44:40,240
There was definitely a lot of chaos
857
00:44:40,264 --> 00:44:43,892
and lack of organization at WeWork.
858
00:44:44,935 --> 00:44:48,414
Multiple times,
I end up doing other people's jobs.
859
00:44:48,438 --> 00:44:50,232
Because they're not working fast enough.
860
00:44:50,732 --> 00:44:52,794
So then eventually my supervisor
861
00:44:52,818 --> 00:44:55,588
writes his password on a Post-It
and he hands it to me.
862
00:44:55,612 --> 00:44:57,882
I used his log-in for everything.
863
00:44:57,906 --> 00:45:00,927
I was logging in and out so often
864
00:45:00,951 --> 00:45:04,430
that more than once,
I would click on his Gmail icon
865
00:45:04,454 --> 00:45:06,891
and end up opening his email,
only to realize it's his email
866
00:45:06,915 --> 00:45:11,062
and then have to log back out
of everything and have to log back in.
867
00:45:11,086 --> 00:45:13,773
And, you know, one day
868
00:45:13,797 --> 00:45:15,817
a title of an email caught my eye.
869
00:45:15,841 --> 00:45:19,469
And then sort of the rest, as they say,
is history.
870
00:45:19,928 --> 00:45:22,699
So I click on it, of course,
871
00:45:22,723 --> 00:45:25,368
and it's a list of people
that he's gonna fire.
872
00:45:25,392 --> 00:45:26,661
And I'm on the list.
873
00:45:26,685 --> 00:45:30,456
But when you read further down in it,
874
00:45:30,480 --> 00:45:34,544
you realize that it's a mandate
to cut 7% of their employees.
875
00:45:34,568 --> 00:45:38,548
Because WeWork was just
flushing cash down the toilet.
876
00:45:38,572 --> 00:45:43,368
Just hemorrhaging, hemorrhaging money,
so we had to cut jobs.
877
00:45:44,119 --> 00:45:45,638
He wrote something like,
878
00:45:45,662 --> 00:45:49,058
"Ha! Bitches, I cut more
than 7% of my team,"
879
00:45:49,082 --> 00:45:51,144
'cause everybody was supposed to cut 7%.
880
00:45:51,168 --> 00:45:52,794
And I was like, "What?"
881
00:45:54,880 --> 00:45:57,025
After I saw that email, I thought,
882
00:45:57,049 --> 00:45:59,986
well, he gave me his password,
and so I went digging
883
00:46:00,010 --> 00:46:01,488
because I thought, okay,
884
00:46:01,512 --> 00:46:03,156
I know we're running out of money.
885
00:46:03,180 --> 00:46:05,265
Now they're laying people off.
What's going wrong?
886
00:46:08,852 --> 00:46:13,416
When I go back in,
one of the documents that I find,
887
00:46:13,440 --> 00:46:15,710
it was obviously, the information
was not meant to be disseminated,
888
00:46:15,734 --> 00:46:17,545
but it showed that
889
00:46:17,569 --> 00:46:21,299
we had to adjust our revenue down
890
00:46:21,323 --> 00:46:24,368
by something like 80%.
891
00:46:25,035 --> 00:46:26,763
I didn't know if they were
not gonna tell investors.
892
00:46:26,787 --> 00:46:30,475
They certainly were lying to every time
they put out something in the media.
893
00:46:30,499 --> 00:46:32,018
- Are you actually turning a profit
in the business?
894
00:46:32,042 --> 00:46:33,645
We are definitely turning a profit.
895
00:46:33,669 --> 00:46:36,606
I'm bored of the businesses
that don't turn a profit.
I don't believe in them.
896
00:46:36,630 --> 00:46:38,566
I need a cash flow-positive business.
897
00:46:38,590 --> 00:46:41,444
And so I thought, well, I'll just give it
898
00:46:41,468 --> 00:46:43,822
to somebody in the media
and then it will go to the right place
899
00:46:43,846 --> 00:46:46,265
and then they will be
taken to task for it.
900
00:46:49,184 --> 00:46:51,454
When I went to try
to report on this leak,
901
00:46:51,478 --> 00:46:53,498
you know, we get
this statement from WeWork
902
00:46:53,522 --> 00:46:57,168
that the person has broken the law
and that they're going to pursue this,
903
00:46:57,192 --> 00:47:00,296
and they kind of were trying
to come off a bit as a victim
904
00:47:00,320 --> 00:47:02,173
in the leak.
905
00:47:02,197 --> 00:47:05,301
They kind of said, "Okay, well,
some buildings have been delayed,
906
00:47:05,325 --> 00:47:08,346
but we can sort of paint the overall
narrative that things will still be fine."
907
00:47:08,370 --> 00:47:10,348
And they had these really powerful backers
908
00:47:10,372 --> 00:47:12,934
who have pumped them with money,
and so I think at that time
909
00:47:12,958 --> 00:47:15,019
it was hard to say...
910
00:47:15,043 --> 00:47:18,064
are they faking it till they make it a bit
and things are gonna work out?
911
00:47:18,088 --> 00:47:20,817
Will they grow up and kind of
figure out these problems?
912
00:47:20,841 --> 00:47:22,735
Or is this a runaway train?
913
00:47:22,759 --> 00:47:26,322
And then all that gets
kind of tossed out the window
914
00:47:26,346 --> 00:47:29,784
when just a few months later,
SoftBank enters the picture.
915
00:47:32,186 --> 00:47:33,997
- How's that?
- That's good.
916
00:47:34,021 --> 00:47:36,332
Much better. Yeah.
917
00:47:36,356 --> 00:47:39,127
Okay, you guys
have 60 seconds left
918
00:47:39,151 --> 00:47:41,320
'cause I hear the money counting.
919
00:47:44,740 --> 00:47:49,470
- Masayoshi Son is the founder
and CEO of SoftBank,
920
00:47:49,494 --> 00:47:52,765
a large holding company
based out of Japan.
921
00:47:52,789 --> 00:47:54,851
Known as Masa.
922
00:47:54,875 --> 00:47:58,688
He is one of the richest people in Japan.
923
00:47:58,712 --> 00:48:01,232
In 2017, Masa
924
00:48:01,256 --> 00:48:04,360
raised the largest
venture capital fund of all time.
925
00:48:04,384 --> 00:48:05,504
It's called the Vision Fund.
926
00:48:06,136 --> 00:48:09,699
The size of the Vision Fund
was unlike anything
927
00:48:09,723 --> 00:48:11,910
anyone had ever seen before.
928
00:48:11,934 --> 00:48:13,953
It was $100 billion.
929
00:48:13,977 --> 00:48:16,831
That essentially equated
to several years' worth
930
00:48:16,855 --> 00:48:19,584
of every U. S. venture capital fund.
931
00:48:19,608 --> 00:48:22,337
You put them all together
and it's around that size.
932
00:48:22,361 --> 00:48:23,671
So when you told people
933
00:48:23,695 --> 00:48:25,465
you were gonna raise
a hundred-billion-dollar fund,
934
00:48:25,489 --> 00:48:27,300
what was the vision
that you actually gave them?
935
00:48:27,324 --> 00:48:30,929
- So, one vision, which is singularity.
936
00:48:30,953 --> 00:48:33,640
Singularity is the concept
937
00:48:33,664 --> 00:48:37,936
that in 30 years,
computers, artificial intelligence,
938
00:48:37,960 --> 00:48:39,896
they will be smarter than us.
939
00:48:39,920 --> 00:48:41,189
That's my belief.
940
00:48:41,213 --> 00:48:44,400
The singularity has a lot of implications
941
00:48:44,424 --> 00:48:46,945
for how technology
will be used by society,
942
00:48:46,969 --> 00:48:50,657
and I think it also represents
this massive existential threat
943
00:48:50,681 --> 00:48:55,620
where someday our creations
will outstrip us and not need us,
944
00:48:55,644 --> 00:49:00,291
and we will be living lives
dictated by machines.
945
00:49:00,315 --> 00:49:02,961
- So we are investing
a hundred billion dollars
946
00:49:02,985 --> 00:49:05,463
just on one thing, AI.
947
00:49:05,487 --> 00:49:07,715
The Vision Fund could basically play king,
948
00:49:07,739 --> 00:49:09,926
and Masa was going around
looking for markets
949
00:49:09,950 --> 00:49:12,262
that he thought
could be really high growth
950
00:49:12,286 --> 00:49:15,890
and companies with a potential
to morph into something
951
00:49:15,914 --> 00:49:19,102
to fit his vision of the future
of the singularity.
952
00:49:19,126 --> 00:49:23,589
And Adam wanted WeWork
to be part of this huge vision.
953
00:49:26,842 --> 00:49:29,737
- Adam Neumann and Masa Son
had met many times.
954
00:49:29,761 --> 00:49:33,992
However, Masa had always thought
that WeWork was overvalued
955
00:49:34,016 --> 00:49:36,870
and it would be too easy to replicate.
956
00:49:36,894 --> 00:49:38,955
- The sharing economy's the future.
957
00:49:38,979 --> 00:49:42,000
If I treat you
the way that I wanna be treated,
958
00:49:42,024 --> 00:49:45,044
then we can actually make
a difference and be successful.
959
00:49:45,068 --> 00:49:47,881
But because of Adam Neumann's charisma,
960
00:49:47,905 --> 00:49:50,717
Masa Son arranged to meet with Adam
961
00:49:50,741 --> 00:49:53,702
for this big two-hour tour
of headquarters.
962
00:49:56,622 --> 00:49:58,874
Adam has been preparing
for this for weeks.
963
00:50:01,126 --> 00:50:04,397
And he's pacing around, pacing around,
watching his clock.
964
00:50:06,924 --> 00:50:09,360
Fifteen minutes goes by, no Masa.
965
00:50:11,011 --> 00:50:13,406
Half an hour goes by, no Masa.
966
00:50:15,682 --> 00:50:18,644
A full hour goes by
and he's still looking at his clock.
967
00:50:21,230 --> 00:50:23,625
Finally, Masa shows up, and he says,
968
00:50:23,649 --> 00:50:27,611
"Adam, I'm so sorry, I'm late,
but we only have 12 minutes."
969
00:50:31,031 --> 00:50:34,868
And they're going through WeWork
and he's giving him the super-speed tour.
970
00:50:36,787 --> 00:50:40,391
At exactly 12 minutes,
Masa Son looks at his watch
971
00:50:40,415 --> 00:50:43,335
and he says, "Adam,
I'm so sorry, but I have to go.
972
00:50:46,296 --> 00:50:51,468
But," Masa said, "if you'd like,
you can ride with me to my next meeting."
973
00:50:54,012 --> 00:50:59,536
So Adam grabs his iPad
with the whole WeWork SoftBank pitch,
974
00:50:59,560 --> 00:51:01,353
and they jump in the car.
975
00:51:03,647 --> 00:51:06,042
Adam pulls up his WeWork pitch,
976
00:51:06,066 --> 00:51:09,319
and Masa says, "I don't need
the pitch deck. Let's just talk."
977
00:51:12,322 --> 00:51:16,201
Masa turns to Adam and he says,
"Adam, let me ask you a question.
978
00:51:17,995 --> 00:51:21,039
In a fight, who wins,
the smart guy or the crazy guy?"
979
00:51:23,083 --> 00:51:25,770
And Adam says, "The crazy guy."
980
00:51:25,794 --> 00:51:29,524
And he goes, "You're right,
but you're not crazy enough.
981
00:51:29,548 --> 00:51:32,068
"You gotta be the crazy one.
982
00:51:32,092 --> 00:51:34,028
"You need to think bigger.
983
00:51:34,052 --> 00:51:36,346
You need to think 10 times bigger."
984
00:51:38,599 --> 00:51:42,829
And Masa begins, you know,
doodling his vision for WeWork,
985
00:51:42,853 --> 00:51:45,856
this grand plan to take WeWork global.
986
00:51:48,525 --> 00:51:51,754
So basically Masa Son gave Adam Neumann
987
00:51:51,778 --> 00:51:55,782
a check for $4 billion
and said, "Go crazy."
988
00:51:57,743 --> 00:51:59,244
And that changes everything.
989
00:52:01,038 --> 00:52:02,891
The Wall Street Journal
is reporting that SoftBank,
990
00:52:02,915 --> 00:52:05,894
the Japanese investment firm,
is considering putting
991
00:52:05,918 --> 00:52:08,813
$4 billion in your company.
992
00:52:08,837 --> 00:52:10,023
Is that accurate?
993
00:52:10,047 --> 00:52:12,066
- There is nothing
I can say on that topic,
994
00:52:12,090 --> 00:52:13,651
but that sounds like a big number.
995
00:52:13,675 --> 00:52:16,362
That would be nice, wouldn't it?
996
00:52:16,386 --> 00:52:18,990
- Sounds big.
997
00:52:57,594 --> 00:52:59,697
- I don't remember the exact moment
998
00:52:59,721 --> 00:53:03,993
I first heard about
the SoftBank investment.
999
00:53:04,017 --> 00:53:06,412
You would hear rumors.
1000
00:53:06,436 --> 00:53:08,289
And to me it just seemed normal, you know.
1001
00:53:08,313 --> 00:53:09,874
They were raising money every year.
1002
00:53:09,898 --> 00:53:12,544
Their growth expectations
were really high.
1003
00:53:12,568 --> 00:53:15,296
I didn't think it would be...
1004
00:53:15,320 --> 00:53:18,657
as transformative as it ended up being.
1005
00:53:20,492 --> 00:53:22,846
With the SoftBank money,
WeWork is able
1006
00:53:22,870 --> 00:53:26,182
to massively accelerate
global expansion plans.
1007
00:53:26,206 --> 00:53:29,519
SoftBank unlocks Asia in a new way.
1008
00:53:29,543 --> 00:53:32,939
You know, this meets Adam's big ambitions.
1009
00:53:32,963 --> 00:53:35,358
I mean, the growth was insane.
1010
00:53:35,382 --> 00:53:38,987
In the two and a half years I was
at WeWork, I negotiated more deals
1011
00:53:39,011 --> 00:53:41,739
and spoke to more lawyers
than I probably will the rest of my life.
1012
00:53:41,763 --> 00:53:44,993
Typically on a project you
wanna make sure it's photography-ready.
1013
00:53:45,017 --> 00:53:48,913
You want it to look perfectly staged.
You wanna have a good first impression.
1014
00:53:48,937 --> 00:53:51,207
You go to a WeWork opening "day of,"
1015
00:53:51,231 --> 00:53:53,668
they'd still be painting,
there'd be ladders everywhere.
1016
00:53:53,692 --> 00:53:54,961
People would be installing lights.
1017
00:53:54,985 --> 00:53:56,796
The AC wouldn't be working.
1018
00:53:56,820 --> 00:53:59,090
Because of the speed of everything,
1019
00:53:59,114 --> 00:54:01,551
nothing was finished
when it should have been.
1020
00:54:01,575 --> 00:54:04,888
And the major goal,
from what I could tell, was just,
1021
00:54:04,912 --> 00:54:08,099
how many offices could open and how much
you could say the offices were filled
1022
00:54:08,123 --> 00:54:09,309
and how many people were in them.
1023
00:54:09,333 --> 00:54:11,394
It's almost like at car dealerships
1024
00:54:11,418 --> 00:54:13,813
in craziness with getting the cars sold
at the end of the month.
1025
00:54:13,837 --> 00:54:16,691
You know, sales guy comes to me,
it's the last day of the month,
1026
00:54:16,715 --> 00:54:18,902
and, you know,
"I really have to do this deal.
1027
00:54:18,926 --> 00:54:22,405
It's 800 desks.
It's gonna help us to get to the goal."
1028
00:54:22,429 --> 00:54:24,491
And, you know,
I look at the deal and it's like,
1029
00:54:24,515 --> 00:54:26,034
you know, "First eight months free,
1030
00:54:26,058 --> 00:54:28,077
and WeWork's building custom space."
1031
00:54:28,101 --> 00:54:30,371
And the response was,
you know, "Get 'em in.
1032
00:54:30,395 --> 00:54:32,040
They love it, they'll grow."
1033
00:54:32,064 --> 00:54:34,542
And, you know, I come to find out
1034
00:54:34,566 --> 00:54:37,170
that the small company
that can't afford to pay
1035
00:54:37,194 --> 00:54:41,174
for the 800 seats
for eight months is Microsoft.
1036
00:54:41,198 --> 00:54:43,718
They stopped being
those savvy deal makers
1037
00:54:43,742 --> 00:54:48,181
and the edge that they might have been
bringing to negotiations is gone.
1038
00:54:48,205 --> 00:54:50,725
Plus, of course, everyone talks, and so
1039
00:54:50,749 --> 00:54:54,729
if everyone knows that SoftBank
has given these guys a ton of money,
1040
00:54:54,753 --> 00:54:58,274
are you really gonna let them cry "poor"
or drive a really hard bargain?
1041
00:54:58,298 --> 00:54:59,818
You're gonna say, "No," you know.
1042
00:54:59,842 --> 00:55:02,529
"You guys have billions of dollars,
you know, let us in."
1043
00:55:02,553 --> 00:55:06,115
The ship of state, all the employees,
1044
00:55:06,139 --> 00:55:09,285
all the tenants and the customers,
all the partners,
1045
00:55:09,309 --> 00:55:10,745
were leaning on Adam.
1046
00:55:10,769 --> 00:55:13,206
Again, even Miguel, who's co-founder,
1047
00:55:13,230 --> 00:55:16,835
slowly... was shunted aside.
1048
00:55:16,859 --> 00:55:18,503
Adam wanted the spotlight.
1049
00:55:18,527 --> 00:55:21,172
Then he wanted Rebekah
to share the spotlight.
1050
00:55:21,196 --> 00:55:25,468
She became
a bigger executive at WeWork.
1051
00:55:25,492 --> 00:55:28,096
And it speaks to kind of
her power with Adam
1052
00:55:28,120 --> 00:55:31,391
and with the company that,
over time, it's kind of like,
1053
00:55:31,415 --> 00:55:33,268
"Oh, now there are three co-founders,
1054
00:55:33,292 --> 00:55:36,479
there's Adam, Miguel, and Rebekah."
1055
00:55:36,503 --> 00:55:40,275
Adam felt that she had pulled him
out of whatever spiral that he was in.
1056
00:55:40,299 --> 00:55:42,735
And he gave her
a lot of credence for that,
1057
00:55:42,759 --> 00:55:46,114
and he really felt like she was
the backbone of their family.
1058
00:55:46,138 --> 00:55:50,118
That doesn't mean she belongs
in a corporate environment.
1059
00:55:50,142 --> 00:55:52,996
- She had the sort of like New Age vibe
1060
00:55:53,020 --> 00:55:55,373
and she starts guiding a huge
amount of decisions at WeWork
1061
00:55:55,397 --> 00:55:57,333
about the way they spent their money.
1062
00:55:57,357 --> 00:55:59,544
Adam's and Rebekah's spiritual advisor
1063
00:55:59,568 --> 00:56:02,172
would speak to executives
on a weekly basis,
1064
00:56:02,196 --> 00:56:06,801
and this constant dose of spiritualism
was due to Rebekah.
1065
00:56:06,825 --> 00:56:09,053
Hello, New York.
1066
00:56:09,077 --> 00:56:10,138
Hello, WeWork.
1067
00:56:10,162 --> 00:56:12,724
Hello, global citizens of this Earth.
1068
00:56:12,748 --> 00:56:15,852
You know what a global citizen
of this Earth is?
1069
00:56:15,876 --> 00:56:17,645
It's a member of the We generation,
1070
00:56:17,669 --> 00:56:20,231
and a member of the We generation
does not discriminate
1071
00:56:20,255 --> 00:56:23,860
with age, race, gender, or religion.
1072
00:56:23,884 --> 00:56:27,113
If you're a member of the We generation,
make some noise!
1073
00:56:29,681 --> 00:56:31,826
- WeWork is also expanding
1074
00:56:31,850 --> 00:56:35,747
its kind of diverse and
sometimes confusing portfolio.
1075
00:56:35,771 --> 00:56:38,791
It makes a bunch of acquisitions
of other startups.
1076
00:56:38,815 --> 00:56:40,752
We had this idea of,
1077
00:56:40,776 --> 00:56:43,087
why don't we just invest money
in companies that make impact?
1078
00:56:43,111 --> 00:56:45,507
All the employees
will wanna work for them,
1079
00:56:45,531 --> 00:56:49,093
everybody wanna be part of it, and it's
just gonna work out in an amazing way.
1080
00:56:49,117 --> 00:56:51,262
And I looked at our team
and everybody looked at each other.
1081
00:56:51,286 --> 00:56:52,889
They said, "Of course, Adam,
1082
00:56:52,913 --> 00:56:54,891
that makes a lot of sense,
but who's gonna pay for that?"
1083
00:56:54,915 --> 00:56:56,601
And we said, "Well...
1084
00:56:56,625 --> 00:56:58,102
Masa might..." No.
1085
00:56:58,126 --> 00:56:59,604
We said, "Well..."
1086
00:56:59,628 --> 00:57:01,064
That was a private joke.
1087
00:57:01,088 --> 00:57:03,733
- I went back to meet with Adam
1088
00:57:03,757 --> 00:57:06,486
at sort of the new-and-improved
headquarters.
1089
00:57:06,510 --> 00:57:08,988
I get sort of the quick
version of the tour
1090
00:57:09,012 --> 00:57:11,699
and now WeWork has its own barista.
1091
00:57:11,723 --> 00:57:14,994
So I say, "Okay, I want a cappuccino,"
1092
00:57:15,018 --> 00:57:17,247
and Adam orders a latte.
1093
00:57:17,271 --> 00:57:20,250
And I reach for my coffee,
1094
00:57:20,274 --> 00:57:22,919
and Adam's like,
"Oh, no, no, that's mine."
1095
00:57:22,943 --> 00:57:25,755
And I was like, "No... Hold on, you know.
1096
00:57:25,779 --> 00:57:28,800
I got the cappuccino.
Like that's a cappuccino."
1097
00:57:28,824 --> 00:57:32,595
And Adam just looks really
confused and upset.
1098
00:57:32,619 --> 00:57:36,432
And one of the staff is like,
"Oh, I'm sorry.
1099
00:57:36,456 --> 00:57:39,936
We actually call those lattes
and those cappuccinos here,"
1100
00:57:39,960 --> 00:57:41,855
pointing at the opposite one.
1101
00:57:41,879 --> 00:57:45,984
It stood out to me as just like
a strange, gratuitous
1102
00:57:46,008 --> 00:57:50,989
reality-distortion moment around Adam
because he was ordering lattes
1103
00:57:51,013 --> 00:57:52,991
but wants cappuccinos.
1104
00:57:53,015 --> 00:57:55,535
And rather than try to explain
to him that he's wrong,
1105
00:57:55,559 --> 00:57:57,603
they're just gonna change
the meaning of that word.
1106
00:57:59,521 --> 00:58:00,915
The money got insane.
1107
00:58:00,939 --> 00:58:03,585
And they shifted from this little idea...
1108
00:58:03,609 --> 00:58:06,629
Then it was, "Okay, we're now
going to tell you how to live, WeLive.
1109
00:58:06,653 --> 00:58:08,673
And now we're gonna redefine
how you live."
1110
00:58:08,697 --> 00:58:10,884
And that wasn't good enough. "WeGrow.
1111
00:58:10,908 --> 00:58:12,343
We're gonna educate your kids better."
1112
00:58:12,367 --> 00:58:14,262
- When my eldest daughter
was in kindergarten,
1113
00:58:14,286 --> 00:58:16,181
as we started to look around for schools
1114
00:58:16,205 --> 00:58:18,725
in both New York and the west coast,
1115
00:58:18,749 --> 00:58:23,438
I wasn't finding a place that was
gonna nurture her spirit and her soul
1116
00:58:23,462 --> 00:58:25,398
as much as her mind.
1117
00:58:25,422 --> 00:58:27,108
You know, at some point
1118
00:58:27,132 --> 00:58:29,652
Rebekah was talking
to the company about WeGrow,
1119
00:58:29,676 --> 00:58:32,739
and she's talking in front of
a cross-section of 700 employees,
1120
00:58:32,763 --> 00:58:34,574
and is basically saying that,
1121
00:58:34,598 --> 00:58:37,535
New York City private schools
aren't good enough for our children.
1122
00:58:37,559 --> 00:58:41,498
And then meanwhile,
you're gonna start a school that has
1123
00:58:41,522 --> 00:58:46,544
like a 35, 40 grand tuition fee
per elementary school kid.
1124
00:58:46,568 --> 00:58:49,047
That school is exclusionary
to a lot of people, right?
1125
00:58:49,071 --> 00:58:54,844
That's just a prototypical person
who's grown up in certain circles
1126
00:58:54,868 --> 00:58:57,514
and doesn't realize there's
other people in the world.
1127
00:58:57,538 --> 00:59:01,768
The idea that you're gonna reinvent work
1128
00:59:01,792 --> 00:59:04,562
is incredibly audacious unto itself.
1129
00:59:04,586 --> 00:59:08,233
To say, "While we're doing that,
we're also gonna reinvent education..."
1130
00:59:08,257 --> 00:59:11,069
which people have been trying
to do for centuries,
1131
00:59:11,093 --> 00:59:14,989
that's the kind of decision tree
that you see in a company
1132
00:59:15,013 --> 00:59:18,368
where you start to believe your own BS.
1133
00:59:18,392 --> 00:59:21,037
All right, welcome, everyone,
to The School of Greatness podcast.
1134
00:59:21,061 --> 00:59:23,206
We've got Rebekah Neumann in the house.
1135
00:59:23,230 --> 00:59:25,542
- Thanks for having me.
- Yeah, this is fun.
1136
00:59:25,566 --> 00:59:28,837
What is the mission of WeGrow,
just so I understand clearly?
1137
00:59:28,861 --> 00:59:32,131
- The mission of WeGrow,
and quite honestly the collective "we"
1138
00:59:32,155 --> 00:59:33,341
that we're all living under,
1139
00:59:33,365 --> 00:59:35,260
is to elevate the world's consciousness.
1140
00:59:35,284 --> 00:59:38,513
- Hmm.
- At WeGrow, specifically,
1141
00:59:38,537 --> 00:59:41,057
through unleashing
every human's superpowers
1142
00:59:41,081 --> 00:59:43,393
and expanding happiness.
1143
00:59:43,417 --> 00:59:44,978
- Okay, and it's...
1144
00:59:45,002 --> 00:59:47,021
And WeGrow is starting as a school?
- Yes.
1145
00:59:47,045 --> 00:59:50,066
- But it's going to be evolving into
much more, I'm assuming, right?
1146
00:59:50,090 --> 00:59:52,485
- It's kind of a practice
and a new approach to life.
1147
00:59:52,509 --> 00:59:55,321
We have started with children,
but we're...
1148
00:59:55,345 --> 00:59:58,283
as soon as next week starting
to pilot some of the curriculum
1149
00:59:58,307 --> 01:00:00,285
on our WeGrownups.
1150
01:00:00,309 --> 01:00:01,911
- Really?
- Uh-huh.
1151
01:00:01,935 --> 01:00:03,580
- Is that what you call us?
- Just for the moment.
1152
01:00:03,604 --> 01:00:05,105
- For fun, yeah.
- Yeah, why not?
1153
01:00:08,483 --> 01:00:10,211
I was working in WeWork
1154
01:00:10,235 --> 01:00:13,173
and living in WeLive.
1155
01:00:13,197 --> 01:00:16,509
My entire life...
1156
01:00:16,533 --> 01:00:19,929
was being propped up by the We community.
1157
01:00:19,953 --> 01:00:24,017
Every time a friend outside
of the We community would come over,
1158
01:00:24,041 --> 01:00:26,603
they would only come over that one time.
1159
01:00:26,627 --> 01:00:30,756
Because they would walk out with
this strange impression of what it is.
1160
01:00:33,300 --> 01:00:37,197
And pretty quickly I had
1161
01:00:37,221 --> 01:00:40,682
alienated most of my friends
outside of the building.
1162
01:00:42,226 --> 01:00:44,329
- When Adam had an investor
coming through,
1163
01:00:44,353 --> 01:00:46,706
we would know ahead of time
or 10 minutes before,
1164
01:00:46,730 --> 01:00:48,917
and we were being told,
"Go into the space.
1165
01:00:48,941 --> 01:00:51,127
Just hang out, be casual.
Bring your laptop."
1166
01:00:51,151 --> 01:00:53,505
And we would go there
and activate the space.
1167
01:00:53,529 --> 01:00:55,882
They were like,
"Everybody should come,"
1168
01:00:55,906 --> 01:00:58,968
just so there's pockets of folks that are
1169
01:00:58,992 --> 01:01:03,056
living the WeLive life so Adam
can come and sort of show it off.
1170
01:01:07,709 --> 01:01:10,438
And they'd put on
"Juicy" by Biggie Smalls,
1171
01:01:10,462 --> 01:01:12,982
and they'd be playing a loop
over and over again,
1172
01:01:13,006 --> 01:01:15,735
waiting for that one moment
when the investor came
1173
01:01:15,759 --> 01:01:18,363
so that when they
walked the space, we were there
1174
01:01:18,387 --> 01:01:20,657
just to fill it up and make it look good.
1175
01:01:20,681 --> 01:01:22,951
Adam showed up with this investor
1176
01:01:22,975 --> 01:01:26,996
and with every drink, he had another
vision of what WeWork could be,
1177
01:01:27,020 --> 01:01:31,251
like the We community could be,
what it was growing into.
1178
01:01:31,275 --> 01:01:32,961
And...
1179
01:01:32,985 --> 01:01:37,465
at a certain point, you're like,
"Dude, just shut the fuck up, man.
1180
01:01:37,489 --> 01:01:39,425
"Like, we are just having a good time.
1181
01:01:39,449 --> 01:01:41,803
"Can we just... can we just hang out
1182
01:01:41,827 --> 01:01:45,515
and have this drink
and just talk about anything else?"
1183
01:01:45,539 --> 01:01:48,476
It got really draining
and really exhausting,
1184
01:01:48,500 --> 01:01:51,563
to constantly...
1185
01:01:51,587 --> 01:01:54,506
be a part of... this...
1186
01:01:55,924 --> 01:01:57,092
thing.
1187
01:01:58,260 --> 01:02:00,905
The initial clients of WeWork
1188
01:02:00,929 --> 01:02:03,366
thought that they were members.
1189
01:02:03,390 --> 01:02:05,451
But they were actually a resource
1190
01:02:05,475 --> 01:02:09,539
from which WeWork
could extract a reputation
1191
01:02:09,563 --> 01:02:12,917
and then they could sort of
slingshot that reputation
1192
01:02:12,941 --> 01:02:15,461
to get big corporations to think,
1193
01:02:15,485 --> 01:02:18,715
"We need to ask WeWork
1194
01:02:18,739 --> 01:02:21,885
"how to attract the best and brightest
1195
01:02:21,909 --> 01:02:24,536
of this up-and-coming generation."
1196
01:02:25,996 --> 01:02:29,225
I eventually, I was
promoted to operations manager,
1197
01:02:29,249 --> 01:02:32,937
and so I was getting
a little more distant from Adam.
1198
01:02:32,961 --> 01:02:37,484
His excitement
isn't so close to me that I...
1199
01:02:37,508 --> 01:02:41,321
am breathing it in
and, like, intoxicated by it.
1200
01:02:41,345 --> 01:02:47,035
And I'm able to start seeing more clearly
that he was manipulative.
1201
01:02:47,059 --> 01:02:50,079
He had ways of using psychology
1202
01:02:50,103 --> 01:02:54,042
to maneuver through people's flaws
1203
01:02:54,066 --> 01:02:56,485
and to use that to his benefit.
1204
01:02:57,903 --> 01:02:59,964
Adam was giving me a review.
1205
01:02:59,988 --> 01:03:02,467
We were in one of
the glass conference rooms.
1206
01:03:02,491 --> 01:03:05,929
He was telling me I was doing a great job.
1207
01:03:05,953 --> 01:03:08,932
And then another employee walked by
1208
01:03:08,956 --> 01:03:13,102
who was very peppy and very pretty,
1209
01:03:13,126 --> 01:03:16,064
and he said, "But you're not her."
1210
01:03:16,088 --> 01:03:18,483
And he pointed out her and said,
"You could be,
1211
01:03:18,507 --> 01:03:21,009
but you don't have
the confidence that she has."
1212
01:03:22,761 --> 01:03:25,490
I went home and thought,
"What do I need to do
1213
01:03:25,514 --> 01:03:27,975
to become a better employee here
and become like her?"
1214
01:03:30,185 --> 01:03:35,416
You're constantly in this fear of,
"somebody else is gonna take my job.
1215
01:03:35,440 --> 01:03:37,377
I have to fight to stay here."
1216
01:03:37,401 --> 01:03:40,612
Like, I felt constantly like
I couldn't just breathe.
1217
01:03:42,322 --> 01:03:46,952
Adam would state, "I could fire all of you
and do this by myself."
1218
01:03:48,078 --> 01:03:53,250
That's a bold statement to say to people
who are working their ass off for you.
1219
01:03:55,919 --> 01:03:57,230
- Good morning.
- Shalom.
1220
01:03:57,254 --> 01:03:58,898
- Shalom. Um...
1221
01:03:58,922 --> 01:04:00,400
I'm sure that there are lots
of people here
1222
01:04:00,424 --> 01:04:02,819
who know what WeWork is,
who maybe have worked
1223
01:04:02,843 --> 01:04:05,780
in one or several WeWorks...
1224
01:04:05,804 --> 01:04:10,160
So I met Adam in Washington, D.C.
for an event.
1225
01:04:10,184 --> 01:04:12,495
My friends who worked
at WeWork told me about him.
1226
01:04:12,519 --> 01:04:16,416
And they just said this was
1227
01:04:16,440 --> 01:04:18,835
one of the most charismatic...
1228
01:04:18,859 --> 01:04:20,879
one of the most visionary
1229
01:04:20,903 --> 01:04:24,674
and ingenious leaders
1230
01:04:24,698 --> 01:04:27,594
of any tech company in the world.
1231
01:04:27,618 --> 01:04:30,805
He just sounded like a mythical figure.
1232
01:04:30,829 --> 01:04:33,391
And I was just really curious, like,
1233
01:04:33,415 --> 01:04:38,188
what does he understand about leasing
real estate and subdividing it?
1234
01:04:38,212 --> 01:04:39,564
Like, we're talking about
1235
01:04:39,588 --> 01:04:43,318
one of the most boring
business models in the world,
1236
01:04:43,342 --> 01:04:45,236
and I was really curious
to know what was behind it.
1237
01:04:45,260 --> 01:04:47,822
It's fascinating to me
about WeWork because
1238
01:04:47,846 --> 01:04:49,365
lots of people here who have been there,
1239
01:04:49,389 --> 01:04:52,202
they've seen how lovely
the interior decoration is.
1240
01:04:52,226 --> 01:04:56,039
But there are lots of companies
that make beautiful spaces.
1241
01:04:56,063 --> 01:04:59,334
Um, but they're not worth $20 billion,
1242
01:04:59,358 --> 01:05:01,878
which is WeWork's most recent valuation.
1243
01:05:01,902 --> 01:05:05,882
So I wonder what do you consider
to be your special sauce?
1244
01:05:05,906 --> 01:05:08,468
- So, first of all, excellent question.
1245
01:05:08,492 --> 01:05:12,263
From the first day that we started WeWork,
it was about bringing people together.
1246
01:05:12,287 --> 01:05:14,724
As our mission, and our mission always...
1247
01:05:14,748 --> 01:05:17,310
- And his answer was everything
that we've heard in the last few years,
1248
01:05:17,334 --> 01:05:19,312
it's that they were doing
something special with the culture,
1249
01:05:19,336 --> 01:05:22,941
that their special sauce
couldn't be found in earnings
1250
01:05:22,965 --> 01:05:24,859
or cash flow or revenue.
1251
01:05:24,883 --> 01:05:27,487
It was a... a spirit of We
1252
01:05:27,511 --> 01:05:29,572
that was the truly distinguishing part
of this company.
1253
01:05:29,596 --> 01:05:31,741
- And the one thing, you say,
"Are you a co-working space?"
1254
01:05:31,765 --> 01:05:34,911
We're as much a co-working space as Amazon
is a book-selling store.
1255
01:05:34,935 --> 01:05:37,539
Anybody who thought that Amazon
was there just to sell books
1256
01:05:37,563 --> 01:05:40,375
just didn't understand the vision,
and you just need to look now and see
1257
01:05:40,399 --> 01:05:42,001
how much greater the vision is.
1258
01:05:42,025 --> 01:05:44,963
You know,
I wish I'd pressed him harder on it.
1259
01:05:44,987 --> 01:05:46,756
But I didn't because
1260
01:05:46,780 --> 01:05:50,593
I had no idea
what the company actually was.
1261
01:05:50,617 --> 01:05:52,762
And I think in the case of Adam Neumann,
1262
01:05:52,786 --> 01:05:57,517
there were a lot of people
who were impressed by his live charisma,
1263
01:05:57,541 --> 01:06:02,230
who privately harbored doubts
about exactly how all of this worked.
1264
01:06:02,254 --> 01:06:04,983
I was one of them, I suppose, you know?
1265
01:06:05,007 --> 01:06:06,901
I didn't say in that interview,
1266
01:06:06,925 --> 01:06:10,530
"I think that this company is just,
you know, a lot of smoke and mirrors."
1267
01:06:10,554 --> 01:06:12,157
I didn't, I didn't know for sure.
1268
01:06:12,181 --> 01:06:15,160
I just privately harbored
this doubt that said that
1269
01:06:15,184 --> 01:06:17,328
this was all kind of a magic show.
1270
01:06:17,352 --> 01:06:19,914
- So our first mission was,
create the world where people make a life.
1271
01:06:19,938 --> 01:06:23,376
That was for WeWork. WeLive
is helping you live and not just exist.
1272
01:06:23,400 --> 01:06:25,211
And now we have a WeOS,
1273
01:06:25,235 --> 01:06:27,755
which is our operating system
for physical spaces.
1274
01:06:27,779 --> 01:06:30,675
And it's growing very fast
and it's everything from your entry system
1275
01:06:30,699 --> 01:06:33,178
when you enter the building,
but then how do you book a conference room
1276
01:06:33,202 --> 01:06:35,680
and how do you attend an event
and who's signed in the building...?
1277
01:06:35,704 --> 01:06:39,893
Real estate usually is a very
dependable, predictable business.
1278
01:06:39,917 --> 01:06:41,936
It doesn't grow that much,
but it's steady.
1279
01:06:41,960 --> 01:06:43,730
You can kind of map out these returns.
1280
01:06:43,754 --> 01:06:48,193
But WeWork was growing
so fast that it was being valued
1281
01:06:48,217 --> 01:06:52,405
by investors as an ultrafast growth,
1282
01:06:52,429 --> 01:06:54,699
low-overhead technology company.
1283
01:06:54,723 --> 01:06:59,245
They created this sort of
Facebook-type platform for members
1284
01:06:59,269 --> 01:07:02,540
where you could get people
connected through technology.
1285
01:07:02,564 --> 01:07:05,710
WeWork has what's like
its internal LinkedIn, I call it, right?
1286
01:07:05,734 --> 01:07:07,378
It's called the WeWork Member Network.
1287
01:07:07,402 --> 01:07:09,088
You know, you have your profile page.
1288
01:07:09,112 --> 01:07:11,007
- Adam was often saying,
1289
01:07:11,031 --> 01:07:13,551
"Oh, and people are posting
job opportunities
1290
01:07:13,575 --> 01:07:16,137
and connecting with each other
on the platform."
1291
01:07:16,161 --> 01:07:19,641
They had acquired a bunch
of interesting technologies
1292
01:07:19,665 --> 01:07:22,268
and were stitching together
what might have been by far
1293
01:07:22,292 --> 01:07:25,939
the most comprehensive tool
for how people work.
1294
01:07:25,963 --> 01:07:29,234
We use beacon technology
but a lot of other aspects.
1295
01:07:29,258 --> 01:07:32,111
We're using our video cameras to actually
see where interactions are happening.
1296
01:07:32,135 --> 01:07:36,157
And our entire process is built to make
our members more successful.
1297
01:07:36,181 --> 01:07:38,368
The cynical read, of course, is,
1298
01:07:38,392 --> 01:07:42,705
well, those intentions are all great,
but what you still do is office space
1299
01:07:42,729 --> 01:07:44,833
and you are a real estate company.
1300
01:07:44,857 --> 01:07:48,628
But I think that, you know,
when companies are private,
1301
01:07:48,652 --> 01:07:51,530
it's hard for us to know what's
happening behind the scenes.
1302
01:07:54,658 --> 01:07:57,720
- My business is called
Thinknum Alternative Data.
1303
01:07:57,744 --> 01:08:02,767
And we index and crawl
public information from the Web.
1304
01:08:02,791 --> 01:08:07,856
Our bots just happened to add WeWork
into our list of companies,
1305
01:08:07,880 --> 01:08:12,819
and then our bots found something
astonishing about WeWork.
1306
01:08:12,843 --> 01:08:17,824
WeWork painted themselves as this company
that was growing extremely fast,
1307
01:08:17,848 --> 01:08:22,120
and once people joined
they don't really leave.
1308
01:08:22,144 --> 01:08:25,456
But using data on the public Web,
1309
01:08:25,480 --> 01:08:27,834
we actually plotted the churn rate,
1310
01:08:27,858 --> 01:08:31,421
which is how many people join
and then leave.
1311
01:08:31,445 --> 01:08:34,799
And we did see that
the churn rate had increased
1312
01:08:34,823 --> 01:08:36,926
and this was accelerating.
1313
01:08:36,950 --> 01:08:39,470
The other trend we found was
1314
01:08:39,494 --> 01:08:42,414
no one ever used
their internal social network.
1315
01:08:43,498 --> 01:08:46,436
When you call yourselves
a technology company,
1316
01:08:46,460 --> 01:08:50,857
and when you actually build
a social network to help
further paint that picture,
1317
01:08:50,881 --> 01:08:54,527
if no one uses it, then you're
not a technology company.
1318
01:08:56,053 --> 01:08:58,656
Our next instinct was,
let's write a blog post
1319
01:08:58,680 --> 01:09:00,450
and, you know, just share our findings.
1320
01:09:00,474 --> 01:09:02,619
It really started taking off there.
1321
01:09:02,643 --> 01:09:07,290
Then, about three hours later,
WeWork sent us an email
1322
01:09:07,314 --> 01:09:11,169
asking if we could
take down the blog post.
1323
01:09:11,193 --> 01:09:14,380
Our first instinct was to just ignore it.
1324
01:09:14,404 --> 01:09:20,011
And then the community manager
stopped by to our office.
1325
01:09:20,035 --> 01:09:21,763
And she says,
1326
01:09:21,787 --> 01:09:25,850
"You've violated our membership
happiness clause,"
1327
01:09:25,874 --> 01:09:29,813
and the kicker was, she said,
"You have 30 minutes to leave."
1328
01:09:29,837 --> 01:09:34,025
In the wake of our blog post
and publication,
1329
01:09:34,049 --> 01:09:36,260
WeWork kept raising more money.
1330
01:09:40,472 --> 01:09:44,494
I first read about WeWork
when they raised money on SoftBank,
1331
01:09:44,518 --> 01:09:47,372
at a $20 billion valuation.
1332
01:09:47,396 --> 01:09:50,583
And at that point they had
about 200 locations.
1333
01:09:50,607 --> 01:09:53,086
I went through and looked at the buildings
1334
01:09:53,110 --> 01:09:55,380
that they actually had
their facilities in.
1335
01:09:55,404 --> 01:09:58,258
And I determined at that valuation
1336
01:09:58,282 --> 01:10:01,803
that the 200 buildings
were each worth less
1337
01:10:01,827 --> 01:10:05,122
than that WeWork office
was being valued at.
1338
01:10:06,748 --> 01:10:10,836
And I said that WeWork was the most
overvalued private company in the world.
1339
01:10:12,921 --> 01:10:18,236
Adam Neumann told us
repeatedly that WeWork was profitable.
1340
01:10:18,260 --> 01:10:20,405
We've since found out
1341
01:10:20,429 --> 01:10:24,409
that how Neumann and WeWork
were considering themselves profitable
1342
01:10:24,433 --> 01:10:26,685
was a stretch at best.
1343
01:10:27,436 --> 01:10:29,038
Are you profitable?
1344
01:10:29,062 --> 01:10:31,040
So we are... as per choice.
1345
01:10:31,064 --> 01:10:33,960
Because when you have a 40% business,
when you have a margin,
1346
01:10:33,984 --> 01:10:36,671
you can actually choose
when to be profitable.
Right.
1347
01:10:36,695 --> 01:10:40,425
- We like to hover around
an EBITDA, a break even,
1348
01:10:40,449 --> 01:10:42,844
and then we can choose when we wanna move,
where we wanna move.
1349
01:10:42,868 --> 01:10:45,555
Right now we're in
a very high-growth stage of our business,
1350
01:10:45,579 --> 01:10:49,058
and we don't see that
stopping anytime soon.
1351
01:10:49,082 --> 01:10:50,393
- So EBITDA...
1352
01:10:50,417 --> 01:10:53,104
Earnings before interest, tax,
depreciation and amortization...
1353
01:10:53,128 --> 01:10:57,901
Is sort of this accepted metric
for how profitable a company might be.
1354
01:10:57,925 --> 01:11:01,488
But WeWork started inventing
their own financial metrics
1355
01:11:01,512 --> 01:11:04,324
to enter into this
consensual hallucination,
1356
01:11:04,348 --> 01:11:08,203
and they used this term
"community adjusted EBITDA."
1357
01:11:08,227 --> 01:11:09,913
Basically it was an attempt to say,
1358
01:11:09,937 --> 01:11:14,334
"we want to pretend to be
profitable by ignoring these expenses."
1359
01:11:14,358 --> 01:11:16,419
They adjusted for things
1360
01:11:16,443 --> 01:11:20,298
that were ridiculous to strip out
and say you're profitable.
1361
01:11:20,322 --> 01:11:23,718
So suddenly they went
from a loss-making company
1362
01:11:23,742 --> 01:11:25,929
to a profitable company,
1363
01:11:25,953 --> 01:11:30,058
just by financial engineering
and gimmickry.
1364
01:11:30,082 --> 01:11:34,854
Every year WeWork would project profits,
1365
01:11:34,878 --> 01:11:37,232
would fail to make any profits
1366
01:11:37,256 --> 01:11:40,652
and actually their losses
would get larger and larger.
1367
01:11:40,676 --> 01:11:46,241
Yet investors in the private markets
kept on bidding up the price of WeWork.
1368
01:11:46,265 --> 01:11:48,368
It kept on getting
higher and higher and higher.
1369
01:11:48,392 --> 01:11:51,538
It's sort of mind-boggling
that that happened.
1370
01:11:51,562 --> 01:11:55,708
And I mean that more than anything else
speaks to the gifts of Adam Neumann.
1371
01:11:55,732 --> 01:11:59,629
- It is my honor and pleasure
to introduce to you right now
1372
01:11:59,653 --> 01:12:02,215
our co-founders, Miguel McKelvey
and Adam Neumann.
1373
01:12:02,239 --> 01:12:04,157
Help me welcome them to the stage!
1374
01:12:07,494 --> 01:12:08,912
- Shalom!
1375
01:12:10,914 --> 01:12:13,542
I was proud to see
the events continue to grow.
1376
01:12:15,294 --> 01:12:17,605
But I saw the change in Adam.
1377
01:12:17,629 --> 01:12:20,007
I think it was money blindness.
1378
01:12:20,841 --> 01:12:24,737
There's so much money behind us
that nothing can happen, right?
1379
01:12:24,761 --> 01:12:27,157
We'd become untouchable, in a sense.
1380
01:12:28,765 --> 01:12:31,244
It started to feel like it was
more just about the business
1381
01:12:31,268 --> 01:12:36,523
and not about this community
that I grew to love over those many years.
1382
01:12:37,316 --> 01:12:41,320
I think that's where I started to lose
my creative juices for the company.
1383
01:12:42,321 --> 01:12:45,008
After my first summer camp,
1384
01:12:45,032 --> 01:12:46,968
I tried to get out
of entering the second year.
1385
01:12:46,992 --> 01:12:51,347
I sat down with one of the executives
and explained to her that,
1386
01:12:51,371 --> 01:12:53,600
"Last year I went, I didn't enjoy myself.
1387
01:12:53,624 --> 01:12:57,562
It's not for everybody,
and please don't make me go again."
1388
01:12:57,586 --> 01:13:01,024
And she kindly said, "I see your point,
1389
01:13:01,048 --> 01:13:05,570
but it's a mandatory event,
as most company outings are."
1390
01:13:05,594 --> 01:13:09,741
- The "We" is, I think,
the really big thing in
1391
01:13:09,765 --> 01:13:11,910
the mission of what we're doing.
1392
01:13:11,934 --> 01:13:15,872
So let's just close our eyes
for one second.
1393
01:13:15,896 --> 01:13:18,958
Close eyes, hold hands.
1394
01:13:18,982 --> 01:13:22,253
The way these events worked
was that you would go
1395
01:13:22,277 --> 01:13:24,923
hear presentations for like
almost eight hours a day
1396
01:13:24,947 --> 01:13:26,823
for maybe two or three days.
1397
01:13:27,741 --> 01:13:32,180
And to make sure that people
were actually attending...
1398
01:13:32,204 --> 01:13:34,098
we had tracking bracelets on.
1399
01:13:34,122 --> 01:13:37,352
Just think about a reality in which
1400
01:13:37,376 --> 01:13:41,523
the energy that we're feeling
right now with one another
1401
01:13:41,547 --> 01:13:45,944
is an energy of unity,
an energy where I am you and you are me
1402
01:13:45,968 --> 01:13:48,154
and we all are we.
1403
01:13:48,178 --> 01:13:50,281
They would address the crowd,
1404
01:13:50,305 --> 01:13:54,369
uh, talking about whatever
word of the day that was...
1405
01:13:54,393 --> 01:13:56,120
like "authenticity."
1406
01:13:56,144 --> 01:13:58,164
And as we're sitting in the mud,
I'm thinking,
1407
01:13:58,188 --> 01:14:01,459
"Well, you forced me to come
to this summer camp and sit in the mud.
1408
01:14:01,483 --> 01:14:03,962
Nothing about this to me seems authentic."
1409
01:14:03,986 --> 01:14:06,339
If we do the work right and we find a way
1410
01:14:06,363 --> 01:14:09,509
to become a real family
in this community and company,
1411
01:14:09,533 --> 01:14:11,386
we could wake up one day and say,
1412
01:14:11,410 --> 01:14:14,472
"We want to solve the problem of children
without parents in this world."
1413
01:14:14,496 --> 01:14:17,308
We can win... and do it.
And children who are
in abusive situations.
1414
01:14:17,332 --> 01:14:19,144
And then children
in abusive situations.
1415
01:14:19,168 --> 01:14:21,563
And from that we can go to world hunger,
1416
01:14:21,587 --> 01:14:24,399
and there's so many topics
that we could take one by one,
1417
01:14:24,423 --> 01:14:28,635
and we will be able to tackle
anything that we set our minds to.
1418
01:14:30,512 --> 01:14:32,740
He would talk about being
president of the world.
1419
01:14:32,764 --> 01:14:35,118
He would say things like that
and people would say,
1420
01:14:35,142 --> 01:14:36,744
"Eh, is he serious?"
1421
01:14:36,768 --> 01:14:39,080
It seemed really wild and crazy,
1422
01:14:39,104 --> 01:14:43,775
but it was hard to make sense
of what made sense in unicorn land.
1423
01:14:45,861 --> 01:14:49,799
I wanted to talk a little bit about
the past and where we came from.
1424
01:14:49,823 --> 01:14:52,010
We're not here by mistake.
1425
01:14:52,034 --> 01:14:55,054
This was thought about
and planned 10 years ago.
1426
01:14:55,078 --> 01:14:57,765
And the funniest thing about it,
from the day we moved to Brooklyn,
1427
01:14:57,789 --> 01:15:00,852
Miguel and I were meeting regularly,
just like that picture,
1428
01:15:00,876 --> 01:15:02,812
planning for the future.
1429
01:15:02,836 --> 01:15:05,172
We knew that...
1430
01:15:06,048 --> 01:15:08,526
whatever it is we're looking for
1431
01:15:08,550 --> 01:15:10,612
must be greater than ourselves.
1432
01:15:10,636 --> 01:15:15,307
Moving forward the "We" company.
1433
01:15:17,601 --> 01:15:20,455
SoftBank had bet
on Adam as an entrepreneur.
1434
01:15:20,479 --> 01:15:23,666
They knew that the valuation was high.
1435
01:15:23,690 --> 01:15:26,544
But they thought that, you know,
a winner-take-all in this market,
1436
01:15:26,568 --> 01:15:28,505
like they had seen in other markets,
1437
01:15:28,529 --> 01:15:31,466
would be so big that they could,
you know, tolerate
1438
01:15:31,490 --> 01:15:33,051
that, that valuation.
1439
01:15:33,075 --> 01:15:36,930
But when there's sort of
a critical mass of doubt
1440
01:15:36,954 --> 01:15:39,265
coming back to SoftBank,
1441
01:15:39,289 --> 01:15:41,601
what are the sovereign wealth funds,
1442
01:15:41,625 --> 01:15:44,437
who are the biggest investors
in SoftBank's Vision Fund,
1443
01:15:44,461 --> 01:15:45,671
what are they saying?
1444
01:15:47,589 --> 01:15:49,776
When you're raising $100 billion,
1445
01:15:49,800 --> 01:15:51,861
you're going to the biggest
deep-pocket sources,
1446
01:15:51,885 --> 01:15:54,155
so, of course, where does Masa go
1447
01:15:54,179 --> 01:15:57,075
but he goes to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia
1448
01:15:57,099 --> 01:15:59,661
and they became his biggest backers.
1449
01:15:59,685 --> 01:16:04,624
- The Saudis put dumb money
into Masa Son's Vision Fund,
1450
01:16:04,648 --> 01:16:07,460
because he says,
"I'll get you in on the ground floor
1451
01:16:07,484 --> 01:16:10,004
"of the next generation
of great tech companies
1452
01:16:10,028 --> 01:16:11,714
"that are gonna rule the world.
1453
01:16:11,738 --> 01:16:16,219
Give me $45 billion, and I'll
make you a trillion dollars."
1454
01:16:16,243 --> 01:16:18,555
They wanna get out of the oil business
1455
01:16:18,579 --> 01:16:21,182
and get into as many other
businesses as possible.
1456
01:16:21,206 --> 01:16:23,726
Because they're sitting
on a dwindling asset.
1457
01:16:23,750 --> 01:16:27,856
And so what better business
to diversify than technology
1458
01:16:27,880 --> 01:16:31,568
and what better way than with the most
renowned tech investor in the world
1459
01:16:31,592 --> 01:16:34,904
who wants to play on the scale
that you can play on?
1460
01:16:34,928 --> 01:16:39,242
- The problem, however, is that you
can't really get in on the ground floor
1461
01:16:39,266 --> 01:16:41,995
at Facebook or Google
or Amazon or Netflix.
1462
01:16:42,019 --> 01:16:43,580
It's way too late.
1463
01:16:43,604 --> 01:16:46,791
So you have Masa Son
investing all this money in companies
1464
01:16:46,815 --> 01:16:51,462
he's telling the world are tech companies
but aren't real tech companies.
1465
01:16:51,486 --> 01:16:54,591
And that's a lot of
pressure to put on a team,
1466
01:16:54,615 --> 01:16:58,386
to say, "Pretty soon this company
better be worth $100 billion,"
1467
01:16:58,410 --> 01:17:01,806
and at some point you have to have
the numbers to back up that valuation.
1468
01:17:01,830 --> 01:17:03,224
- You and me...
1469
01:17:03,248 --> 01:17:06,936
And that meant
that they had to show growth
1470
01:17:06,960 --> 01:17:08,188
at any cost.
1471
01:17:08,212 --> 01:17:09,981
And that's a problem.
1472
01:17:10,005 --> 01:17:13,401
- Show them your heart,
show them your truth.
1473
01:17:13,425 --> 01:17:14,986
Never give up!
1474
01:17:16,386 --> 01:17:18,615
Work until you drop!
1475
01:17:35,864 --> 01:17:38,760
It's Christmas Eve 2018,
1476
01:17:38,784 --> 01:17:42,347
Adam is with his family in Hawaii.
1477
01:17:42,371 --> 01:17:45,457
Surfing, you know, relaxing.
It's vacation time.
1478
01:17:49,670 --> 01:17:52,315
Masa and Adam were working on a plan
1479
01:17:52,339 --> 01:17:55,527
that they were calling
internally Project Fortitude.
1480
01:17:55,551 --> 01:17:59,656
And it was essentially a plan for SoftBank
1481
01:17:59,680 --> 01:18:01,699
to spend about $20 billion
1482
01:18:01,723 --> 01:18:05,519
and become a majority owner of WeWork.
1483
01:18:07,604 --> 01:18:09,582
Because of SoftBank's money
1484
01:18:09,606 --> 01:18:13,419
and a lot of what Masa pushed Adam to do,
1485
01:18:13,443 --> 01:18:16,673
they were spending as if they
were gonna have this deal done
1486
01:18:16,697 --> 01:18:20,009
and bring so much capital to keep growing.
1487
01:18:20,033 --> 01:18:22,637
There was this hole,
this future hole coming,
1488
01:18:22,661 --> 01:18:25,455
that they were gonna need
a lot more capital to fill it.
1489
01:18:27,749 --> 01:18:29,561
This was a company that was burning,
1490
01:18:29,585 --> 01:18:31,437
at one point,
$100 million a week.
1491
01:18:31,461 --> 01:18:34,399
Think about this, you could buy
two Bombardier Global Expresses
1492
01:18:34,423 --> 01:18:38,194
at $50 million each,
crash both into a mountain,
1493
01:18:38,218 --> 01:18:40,888
and that was the burn
every week of this company.
1494
01:18:42,514 --> 01:18:45,577
And so kind of everything was
working towards this goal
1495
01:18:45,601 --> 01:18:47,811
of this SoftBank partnership.
1496
01:18:49,229 --> 01:18:51,416
- There's something called
the Nantucket Sleigh Ride,
1497
01:18:51,440 --> 01:18:53,835
which is, when you harpoon a whale,
1498
01:18:53,859 --> 01:18:57,463
you're supposed to bring him to the ship,
but occasionally a Nantucket Sleigh Ride
1499
01:18:57,487 --> 01:19:00,091
is when the whale takes you out to sea
and you're stuck.
1500
01:19:00,115 --> 01:19:03,803
You gotta ride that whale out
even if that whale takes you to Greenland.
1501
01:19:03,827 --> 01:19:07,098
Adam clearly thought he was taking Masa
on a Nantucket Sleigh Ride,
1502
01:19:07,122 --> 01:19:09,851
and that SoftBank had already
committed so much money,
1503
01:19:09,875 --> 01:19:12,854
they were already in,
that they were kind of stuck.
1504
01:19:12,878 --> 01:19:14,772
And so the way Adam
was running the company,
1505
01:19:14,796 --> 01:19:16,733
it was the assumption that
1506
01:19:16,757 --> 01:19:20,820
he had an infinite supply
of billions to keep growing.
1507
01:19:20,844 --> 01:19:23,740
- Adam had been convinced
earlier in the month
1508
01:19:23,764 --> 01:19:25,408
that this was gonna happen
1509
01:19:25,432 --> 01:19:28,411
and the people doing the deal
were essentially done.
1510
01:19:28,435 --> 01:19:31,998
It was pencils down on sort of
December 24 at WeWork.
1511
01:19:32,022 --> 01:19:33,607
Everyone expected it was gonna happen.
1512
01:19:38,737 --> 01:19:40,632
And then Adam
1513
01:19:40,656 --> 01:19:43,301
gets a call from Masa on Christmas Eve,
1514
01:19:43,325 --> 01:19:47,305
basically telling him,
"Sorry, I can't go through with it.
1515
01:19:47,329 --> 01:19:50,350
"The market's working against me.
Investors don't like it.
1516
01:19:50,374 --> 01:19:52,000
We just can't make it work right now."
1517
01:19:53,836 --> 01:19:56,189
When Masa decides
he's not gonna put that money in,
1518
01:19:56,213 --> 01:20:00,443
Adam Neumann had a problem,
because he had nowhere else to go.
1519
01:20:00,467 --> 01:20:02,779
Nobody else is gonna
write him a check because
1520
01:20:02,803 --> 01:20:04,614
everyone knows SoftBank has the money.
1521
01:20:04,638 --> 01:20:07,766
So if SoftBank's not putting in more
money, there must be a problem.
1522
01:20:10,644 --> 01:20:12,705
Like it or not,
1523
01:20:12,729 --> 01:20:16,167
they're going to need more money somehow.
1524
01:20:21,655 --> 01:20:23,091
- It's really funny, I've been looking,
1525
01:20:23,115 --> 01:20:25,426
I've been watching the press
around this last fundraise
1526
01:20:25,450 --> 01:20:27,053
and I actually think it's hilarious
1527
01:20:27,077 --> 01:20:29,764
because for some reason
there was an expectation
1528
01:20:29,788 --> 01:20:33,643
that there was gonna be
like a $20 billion or $16 billion raise.
1529
01:20:33,667 --> 01:20:36,020
It's a $6 billion raise.
1530
01:20:36,044 --> 01:20:40,024
It's the second largest
venture capital investment of all time.
1531
01:20:40,048 --> 01:20:43,278
I'm an investor in Uber
so I know what the first largest one was.
1532
01:20:43,302 --> 01:20:45,071
It's the second largest of all time.
1533
01:20:45,095 --> 01:20:47,031
It's SoftBank coming into this company.
1534
01:20:47,055 --> 01:20:49,492
Now they have $10 billion
invested in this company.
1535
01:20:49,516 --> 01:20:51,619
So the notion that anybody is projecting
1536
01:20:51,643 --> 01:20:53,913
that they don't have confidence
in the company I think is crazy.
1537
01:20:53,937 --> 01:20:55,373
I have confidence in the company.
1538
01:20:55,397 --> 01:20:58,376
- First of all, thank you,
Ashton, it's amazing.
1539
01:20:58,400 --> 01:21:00,128
After the collapse of the deal,
1540
01:21:00,152 --> 01:21:03,798
they're out there trying
to put this really good face on.
1541
01:21:03,822 --> 01:21:06,551
He brings along Ashton Kutcher
as this pump-up guy.
1542
01:21:06,575 --> 01:21:09,929
And it was really disingenuous.
1543
01:21:09,953 --> 01:21:13,308
- It's above and beyond what we need
to fund the company for the next...
1544
01:21:13,332 --> 01:21:14,809
- Okay.
- ...four to five years.
1545
01:21:14,833 --> 01:21:18,563
Adam was saying things
that were completely false.
1546
01:21:18,587 --> 01:21:21,566
WeWork was currently a bonfire of cash
1547
01:21:21,590 --> 01:21:24,652
and was gonna run out of money
by the end of the year.
1548
01:21:24,676 --> 01:21:26,738
- The interesting thing
about the investment,
1549
01:21:26,762 --> 01:21:28,823
there's a lot of rumors
and there's what happened.
1550
01:21:28,847 --> 01:21:31,451
The most important thing is,
when Masa called me and said,
1551
01:21:31,475 --> 01:21:33,119
"You know, this has happened
and that happened
1552
01:21:33,143 --> 01:21:34,496
and the world is changing,"
1553
01:21:34,520 --> 01:21:37,624
the first thing he said is, "I'm calling
you to share this as a partner.
1554
01:21:37,648 --> 01:21:39,751
And I just wanted to come up
with a solution together."
1555
01:21:39,775 --> 01:21:41,961
- Because that deal didn't happen,
does that change your thoughts
1556
01:21:41,985 --> 01:21:43,713
on an IPO timeline?
1557
01:21:43,737 --> 01:21:46,007
- Just so we... we keep saying
"did not happen," just so we're clear.
1558
01:21:46,031 --> 01:21:47,217
We never signed the deal.
1559
01:21:47,241 --> 01:21:49,010
It's not that we signed
the deal and something happened.
1560
01:21:49,034 --> 01:21:51,804
We were trying to figure out
the best way to do it.
1561
01:21:51,828 --> 01:21:54,974
But, no, regarding an IPO,
it's always been an option.
1562
01:21:54,998 --> 01:21:57,393
We are ready for an IPO.
1563
01:21:57,417 --> 01:22:01,397
- You are ready?
- WeWork is always ready for an IPO.
1564
01:22:01,421 --> 01:22:03,149
We will choose the right time to do it
1565
01:22:03,173 --> 01:22:04,943
when it's correct
for the mission of the company.
1566
01:22:04,967 --> 01:22:06,945
- What are you looking for?
1567
01:22:06,969 --> 01:22:09,197
- I want to elevate
the world's consciousness.
1568
01:22:09,221 --> 01:22:11,449
- Okay, so when you do that,
then you can go public?
1569
01:22:11,473 --> 01:22:12,700
- It's not one or the other.
1570
01:22:12,724 --> 01:22:14,828
When I feel that to achieve that mission,
1571
01:22:14,852 --> 01:22:17,938
going public will help it,
that will be the day.
1572
01:22:21,775 --> 01:22:23,795
Were you anticipating
1573
01:22:23,819 --> 01:22:26,047
WeWork's S1 when it came out?
1574
01:22:26,071 --> 01:22:29,050
- No. I remember I was
on vacation, it was in August,
1575
01:22:29,074 --> 01:22:30,885
and I remember telling my family
1576
01:22:30,909 --> 01:22:33,054
when someone sent me a link to it,
1577
01:22:33,078 --> 01:22:35,056
and I started reading the first few pages,
1578
01:22:35,080 --> 01:22:37,851
I said, "I apologize.
I'm out for the weekend,"
1579
01:22:37,875 --> 01:22:41,020
because this was just too good
and I needed to read through this.
1580
01:22:41,044 --> 01:22:43,356
It felt more like a, uh...
1581
01:22:43,380 --> 01:22:45,900
a novel written by someone
who was shrooming
1582
01:22:45,924 --> 01:22:47,467
than an S1.
1583
01:22:48,594 --> 01:22:50,655
An S1 is a form you have to fill out
1584
01:22:50,679 --> 01:22:52,556
that's a precursor to going public.
1585
01:22:53,599 --> 01:22:56,911
It's a first introduction
to your company, to the world,
1586
01:22:56,935 --> 01:22:59,831
where you're representing
that these are the facts.
1587
01:22:59,855 --> 01:23:03,650
But that means you've gotta come clean,
and there are a lot of details in there,
1588
01:23:04,067 --> 01:23:07,362
and in WeWork's case,
the devil was in the details.
1589
01:23:08,697 --> 01:23:10,884
- So the first red flag was on page one.
1590
01:23:10,908 --> 01:23:13,094
It says, "We dedicate this
to the energy of We...
1591
01:23:13,118 --> 01:23:16,139
Greater than any one of us
but inside each of us."
1592
01:23:16,163 --> 01:23:18,808
I mean, for God sakes,
they're renting fucking desks.
1593
01:23:18,832 --> 01:23:21,853
I was actually on vacation
in the middle of Austria,
1594
01:23:21,877 --> 01:23:23,730
hiking with some friends,
1595
01:23:23,754 --> 01:23:26,649
and then I get to a place
where there's a little service.
1596
01:23:28,175 --> 01:23:30,653
I just start getting
these texts and emails,
1597
01:23:30,677 --> 01:23:32,363
and it's like "WTF."
1598
01:23:32,387 --> 01:23:34,574
And like, "Oh, my God!"
1599
01:23:34,598 --> 01:23:36,517
And I was like,
"I think I know what happened."
1600
01:23:38,268 --> 01:23:40,038
Almost everyone you talked to
1601
01:23:40,062 --> 01:23:44,834
had a different item
that horrified them.
1602
01:23:44,858 --> 01:23:46,586
So like one by one, they would say,
1603
01:23:46,610 --> 01:23:49,672
"I cannot believe his wife
is choosing his successor,"
1604
01:23:49,696 --> 01:23:53,843
or, "So egregious that he would
have these 20-1 voting shares."
1605
01:23:53,867 --> 01:23:57,805
Or, "I can't believe the company
is paying him $6 million
1606
01:23:57,829 --> 01:24:02,519
for the trademark to the word 'we'
in the company name."
1607
01:24:02,543 --> 01:24:04,646
He was buying buildings,
1608
01:24:04,670 --> 01:24:07,524
and then asking WeWork
1609
01:24:07,548 --> 01:24:09,609
to lease those buildings from him.
1610
01:24:09,633 --> 01:24:13,029
And then he took $700 million
out of this company
1611
01:24:13,053 --> 01:24:17,242
at the very time he was asking the public
to put money in the company.
1612
01:24:17,266 --> 01:24:19,369
- With many of these unicorn IPOs,
1613
01:24:19,393 --> 01:24:22,622
the CO is mentioned anywhere
between 12 and 40 times.
1614
01:24:22,646 --> 01:24:26,417
In the case of Adam Neumann,
it was 170 times.
1615
01:24:27,776 --> 01:24:29,963
If you tell a 30-something male
1616
01:24:29,987 --> 01:24:34,092
that he's Jesus Christ,
he's inclined to believe you.
1617
01:24:34,116 --> 01:24:36,386
Rebekah is very involved
1618
01:24:36,410 --> 01:24:39,264
in the part of the document
that people laughed at,
1619
01:24:39,288 --> 01:24:41,975
and they were spending
a lot of time in the Hamptons.
1620
01:24:41,999 --> 01:24:45,645
And they had this sort of constant string
of WeWork employees
1621
01:24:45,669 --> 01:24:49,065
who would get a seaplane or helicopter
to go out to the Hamptons
1622
01:24:49,089 --> 01:24:51,776
just to meet with them on some IPO stuff.
1623
01:24:51,800 --> 01:24:53,903
You just keep reading it and be like,
1624
01:24:53,927 --> 01:24:56,948
"Oh, my God, did anyone pr...
Like, look at this
1625
01:24:56,972 --> 01:24:59,284
and tell them what
it was gonna look like?"
1626
01:24:59,308 --> 01:25:01,661
The reality is that, like, people
had been telling Adam that for a while
1627
01:25:01,685 --> 01:25:03,746
but he didn't care; he thought
that people would look past it
1628
01:25:03,770 --> 01:25:05,665
or he wanted to enrich himself
1629
01:25:05,689 --> 01:25:08,066
and thought that
it wouldn't be a big deal.
1630
01:25:11,153 --> 01:25:14,257
Meanwhile, he was around WeWork less.
1631
01:25:14,281 --> 01:25:16,968
He went on a month-long
birthday celebration
1632
01:25:16,992 --> 01:25:20,597
where he went to the Maldives to surf.
1633
01:25:20,621 --> 01:25:23,057
You know, I think generally he was seen
1634
01:25:23,081 --> 01:25:26,352
as more erratic and nervous and...
1635
01:25:26,376 --> 01:25:28,104
in hindsight,
he probably had a view
1636
01:25:28,128 --> 01:25:30,255
that maybe this has gone too far.
1637
01:25:33,217 --> 01:25:36,845
Him going surfing was a way
of avoiding reality...
1638
01:25:38,764 --> 01:25:41,767
and keeping the high life
going as much as he could.
1639
01:25:44,770 --> 01:25:48,374
This company has
just been savaged after its S1 came out.
1640
01:25:48,398 --> 01:25:51,252
The price has
come down and down and down.
1641
01:25:51,276 --> 01:25:54,839
$47 billion dropped down to 10 to 15.
1642
01:25:54,863 --> 01:25:56,549
Every day now they're trying to come up
1643
01:25:56,573 --> 01:25:59,573
with something to salvage this IPO,
and I don't know if they're gonna do it.
1644
01:26:00,369 --> 01:26:01,804
- We'll clean it up. I think we're great,
1645
01:26:01,828 --> 01:26:03,932
and I think we're preparing
for the roadshow right now.
1646
01:26:03,956 --> 01:26:05,391
Just hope my hair is good.
1647
01:26:05,415 --> 01:26:07,894
- Your hair looks great.
- Okay.
1648
01:26:07,918 --> 01:26:09,729
This is harder than 20-foot waves.
1649
01:26:09,753 --> 01:26:11,564
- I get it.
- You know why?
1650
01:26:11,588 --> 01:26:13,775
'Cause I control the 20-foot waves.
1651
01:26:16,760 --> 01:26:19,239
I'll take a 20-foot wave...
1652
01:26:19,263 --> 01:26:21,515
every day for the next 10 days.
1653
01:26:22,933 --> 01:26:25,286
I'm scared of drowning
just thinking about it.
1654
01:26:25,310 --> 01:26:26,603
- All right.
1655
01:26:28,522 --> 01:26:32,043
Real estate is going
through a fundamental shift.
1656
01:26:32,067 --> 01:26:34,587
From a "fixed cost per seat" commodity...
1657
01:26:34,611 --> 01:26:36,130
The world was kind of up in arms
1658
01:26:36,154 --> 01:26:40,635
about how egregious this company was.
1659
01:26:40,659 --> 01:26:43,263
But Adam had to go public anyway.
1660
01:26:43,287 --> 01:26:45,849
- ...have a 12-year headstart.
1661
01:26:45,873 --> 01:26:47,976
- There's a two-week period you start
1662
01:26:48,000 --> 01:26:50,478
marketing your shares
officially to investors.
1663
01:26:50,502 --> 01:26:52,856
It's called a roadshow.
1664
01:26:52,880 --> 01:26:55,859
Kind of like a central part
of the roadshow
1665
01:26:55,883 --> 01:26:57,986
is a video that goes along with it.
1666
01:26:58,010 --> 01:27:02,490
So, they had filmed
portions of it already.
1667
01:27:02,514 --> 01:27:05,785
So theoretically he was just
gonna do his part of it,
1668
01:27:05,809 --> 01:27:07,620
they can edit it in.
1669
01:27:07,644 --> 01:27:10,165
- Fixed cost commodity,
fixed cost commodity.
1670
01:27:10,189 --> 01:27:11,416
Fixed cost commodity...
1671
01:27:11,440 --> 01:27:13,626
Adam kept delaying,
1672
01:27:13,650 --> 01:27:17,755
and even literally would leave
rooms full of people
1673
01:27:17,779 --> 01:27:20,258
waiting, set up for him to come.
1674
01:27:20,282 --> 01:27:24,703
They spent hundreds of thousand dollars
on shoots that Adam didn't go to.
1675
01:27:27,956 --> 01:27:29,517
That one sounded great.
1676
01:27:29,541 --> 01:27:30,935
- Thank you.
1677
01:27:30,959 --> 01:27:33,271
It seems kind of,
like, it's procrastination,
1678
01:27:33,295 --> 01:27:35,315
but, you know, was there something deeper,
1679
01:27:35,339 --> 01:27:38,634
I don't know, of why you don't
show up to film this thing?
1680
01:27:40,177 --> 01:27:45,074
Finally they start filming him,
but that day he was just off.
1681
01:27:45,098 --> 01:27:46,493
- Just a second.
1682
01:27:46,517 --> 01:27:48,912
Zack, you need the sentences
to be full for me.
1683
01:27:48,936 --> 01:27:50,830
So whenever you have
a dead space like this,
1684
01:27:50,854 --> 01:27:52,499
put that up there.
1685
01:27:52,523 --> 01:27:55,126
- In general, he's an incredible speaker
if you see him,
1686
01:27:55,150 --> 01:27:56,628
but he can't really
read off a teleprompter.
1687
01:27:56,652 --> 01:27:58,213
He struggles with that.
1688
01:27:58,237 --> 01:28:00,673
- Yeah, the reason
it's a little hard for me is,
1689
01:28:00,697 --> 01:28:03,051
I'm not a guy who reads
from a script, that's the thing.
1690
01:28:03,075 --> 01:28:05,470
To do it totally free, though,
I need to, I can't...
1691
01:28:05,494 --> 01:28:08,723
I'm doing word-for-word so I'm gonna
need to loosen it up a little bit.
1692
01:28:08,747 --> 01:28:10,600
And I think as the day wore on,
1693
01:28:10,624 --> 01:28:13,353
it just went on and on and on and on.
1694
01:28:13,377 --> 01:28:15,188
And he seemed more frazzled
1695
01:28:15,212 --> 01:28:17,690
and wasn't getting through it
and wasn't making sense.
1696
01:28:17,714 --> 01:28:19,275
- Based on our savor...
1697
01:28:19,299 --> 01:28:22,278
Agh! Ugh! Let's go.
1698
01:28:22,302 --> 01:28:25,406
It became somewhat like a party.
1699
01:28:25,430 --> 01:28:27,575
It just almost like
devolved the whole night.
1700
01:28:27,599 --> 01:28:31,246
- The employees of all companies
all need the same thing.
1701
01:28:31,270 --> 01:28:33,706
Wellness, food.
1702
01:28:33,730 --> 01:28:37,252
He just didn't do
a good job by everyone there.
1703
01:28:37,276 --> 01:28:40,380
And I think a lot of people who
were there were quite stressed.
1704
01:28:40,404 --> 01:28:43,284
They're like, "This has to get done.
We're supposed to do this tomorrow."
1705
01:28:43,949 --> 01:28:47,804
It's almost like,
this is your worst nightmare.
1706
01:28:47,828 --> 01:28:50,598
- This is who I am. This is what I do.
1707
01:28:50,622 --> 01:28:53,893
I tackle something until it's right.
1708
01:28:53,917 --> 01:28:55,669
I will not stop.
1709
01:28:58,422 --> 01:29:00,608
This is what no one's
understanding right now,
1710
01:29:00,632 --> 01:29:03,343
but it's okay because
we'll make sure they learn.
1711
01:29:06,180 --> 01:29:08,199
And then the next morning,
1712
01:29:08,223 --> 01:29:11,244
they decide...
"No, it's just not gonna happen.
1713
01:29:11,268 --> 01:29:13,020
We need to call it off."
1714
01:29:17,441 --> 01:29:19,752
Adam came in to WeWork's office.
1715
01:29:19,776 --> 01:29:22,589
He comes in, he's more
dressed up than usual.
1716
01:29:22,613 --> 01:29:25,258
And gives an all-hands talk.
1717
01:29:25,282 --> 01:29:29,095
And there he basically told all the staff,
1718
01:29:29,119 --> 01:29:30,555
"This doesn't mean the IPO's off.
1719
01:29:30,579 --> 01:29:33,433
"Like, we're gonna come back
and this is gonna be amazing
1720
01:29:33,457 --> 01:29:36,978
and, um, we will do
an IPO later this year."
1721
01:29:37,002 --> 01:29:40,356
But like everything behind the scenes
was beginning to happen
1722
01:29:40,380 --> 01:29:42,424
to start to oust him.
1723
01:29:45,385 --> 01:29:47,697
At the time, it was less known
1724
01:29:47,721 --> 01:29:51,326
that Adam was this totally erratic CEO
1725
01:29:51,350 --> 01:29:53,244
that had sort of messianic statements
1726
01:29:53,268 --> 01:29:56,581
and was doing things in a way
that a lot of people would call crazy.
1727
01:29:56,605 --> 01:30:01,276
Uh, and so we basically
laid that out in a story.
1728
01:30:02,611 --> 01:30:05,465
The signature anecdote to the thing
that probably got the most attention
1729
01:30:05,489 --> 01:30:10,220
was about how he took
a plane trip with friends to Israel,
1730
01:30:10,244 --> 01:30:11,971
and they were smoking pot on the plane,
1731
01:30:11,995 --> 01:30:15,350
and then in Israel
they didn't finish all the pot
1732
01:30:15,374 --> 01:30:17,209
and so they stuffed some in a cereal box.
1733
01:30:18,293 --> 01:30:21,255
The crew on the plane finds it
and is sort of incensed.
1734
01:30:22,923 --> 01:30:24,526
And so they recall the plane.
1735
01:30:24,550 --> 01:30:27,427
Uh, and so then Adam has to find
his own way back from Israel.
1736
01:30:30,222 --> 01:30:31,991
When you can land
1737
01:30:32,015 --> 01:30:34,869
two rockets concurrently
on barges and you smoke pot,
1738
01:30:34,893 --> 01:30:38,081
you're seen as quirky and likable.
1739
01:30:38,105 --> 01:30:41,084
When you don't go public
and your investors lose money,
1740
01:30:41,108 --> 01:30:45,255
all of a sudden they decide that
smoking pot is a criminal activity.
1741
01:30:45,279 --> 01:30:48,049
Once Eliot's article came out,
1742
01:30:48,073 --> 01:30:50,117
he became pretty much
untouchable on Wall Street.
1743
01:30:51,577 --> 01:30:53,847
And so, he made
the decision to step down
1744
01:30:53,871 --> 01:30:56,790
at, like, the urging
of a lot of different people.
1745
01:30:59,042 --> 01:31:01,980
- Adam Neumann is expected
to step down as...
1746
01:31:02,004 --> 01:31:04,482
The company went
from a $47 billion valuation
1747
01:31:04,506 --> 01:31:06,317
to near bankruptcy in just six weeks.
1748
01:31:06,341 --> 01:31:08,278
- The future of the company
very uncertain at this point.
1749
01:31:08,302 --> 01:31:13,992
When I first heard about
WeWork's financial collapse,
1750
01:31:14,016 --> 01:31:18,538
I honestly did feel really, really sad
1751
01:31:18,562 --> 01:31:20,147
for Adam.
1752
01:31:21,773 --> 01:31:26,129
Because it felt like he believed
in what he was doing
1753
01:31:26,153 --> 01:31:29,591
with every fiber of his being.
1754
01:31:29,615 --> 01:31:31,926
WeWork now is suddenly in decline,
1755
01:31:31,950 --> 01:31:35,096
the office-sharing company's
new financial lifeline
1756
01:31:35,120 --> 01:31:37,765
giving its controversial
co-founder Adam Neumann
1757
01:31:37,789 --> 01:31:40,768
a $1.7 billion payout to step down
1758
01:31:40,792 --> 01:31:44,588
while the troubled company's
reportedly planning massive layoffs.
1759
01:31:46,340 --> 01:31:50,069
When I started to learn
a little bit more about it,
1760
01:31:50,093 --> 01:31:52,113
um...
1761
01:31:52,137 --> 01:31:54,699
that sadness
1762
01:31:54,723 --> 01:31:57,452
turned to anger pretty quickly.
1763
01:31:57,476 --> 01:31:59,704
Because...
1764
01:31:59,728 --> 01:32:04,417
now all of a sudden,
it felt like this person
1765
01:32:04,441 --> 01:32:07,295
lied to me, lied to a bunch of people,
1766
01:32:07,319 --> 01:32:10,507
about this beautiful way of working
1767
01:32:10,531 --> 01:32:12,550
and this beautiful way of living.
1768
01:32:12,574 --> 01:32:15,929
I felt angry at him
1769
01:32:15,953 --> 01:32:18,890
for doing that, but also felt angry at me
1770
01:32:18,914 --> 01:32:20,832
for, like, buying the bullshit.
1771
01:32:22,835 --> 01:32:28,549
And when they started laying people off,
the anger switched to rage.
1772
01:32:29,633 --> 01:32:32,403
It seemed like WeThis,
WeGrow, WeLive, WeWork.
1773
01:32:32,427 --> 01:32:33,947
We-we-we-we-we.
1774
01:32:33,971 --> 01:32:35,949
You know, it's gotta be we, not me.
1775
01:32:35,973 --> 01:32:39,828
It was we for everybody, except for Adam.
1776
01:32:39,852 --> 01:32:44,874
He got a golden
parachute worth $1.7 billion.
1777
01:32:44,898 --> 01:32:48,795
The idea that there would be
all this money given to Adam
1778
01:32:48,819 --> 01:32:51,130
was demoralizing.
1779
01:32:51,154 --> 01:32:53,424
Y ou know, that kind ofsticks in your craw a little bit,
1780
01:32:53,448 --> 01:32:56,427
particularly when you've been
preached at about, "It's all about we."
1781
01:32:56,451 --> 01:32:59,347
If that's your deal
and you're sitting on all this money
1782
01:32:59,371 --> 01:33:01,891
and you really believe
in what you were saying the whole time,
1783
01:33:01,915 --> 01:33:05,127
you should give some of the money back
to help the employees who got screwed.
1784
01:33:07,838 --> 01:33:10,483
I think what's
frustrating about all of that
1785
01:33:10,507 --> 01:33:14,654
is that, when you focus the story on Adam,
1786
01:33:14,678 --> 01:33:18,324
you miss how many people
worked really, really hard
1787
01:33:18,348 --> 01:33:21,369
to bring this impossible vision to life,
1788
01:33:21,393 --> 01:33:23,788
who got nothing.
1789
01:33:23,812 --> 01:33:25,748
They cared about WeWork a lot.
1790
01:33:25,772 --> 01:33:27,500
They were invested in its success.
1791
01:33:27,524 --> 01:33:30,503
They were invested in the community.
1792
01:33:30,527 --> 01:33:33,923
And they were hurt financially.
1793
01:33:33,947 --> 01:33:35,758
Reputationally.
1794
01:33:35,782 --> 01:33:40,180
Suddenly this company
that they spent years on
1795
01:33:40,204 --> 01:33:42,206
is a laughingstock.
1796
01:33:45,042 --> 01:33:48,146
- My mind was warped
in such a way at WeWork
1797
01:33:48,170 --> 01:33:52,466
that I felt, when I left,
I had to unwarp it.
1798
01:33:54,218 --> 01:33:55,820
They don't care about you.
1799
01:33:55,844 --> 01:33:59,032
You know, like that really,
really messed with me,
1800
01:33:59,056 --> 01:34:01,850
because I thought,
"Who is telling me the truth?"
1801
01:34:03,936 --> 01:34:08,458
I have done a lot of therapy
to like navigate through
1802
01:34:08,482 --> 01:34:09,876
what happened there.
1803
01:34:09,900 --> 01:34:12,736
Why was I so devastated when it ended?
1804
01:34:13,570 --> 01:34:18,009
Why did it feel like,
not that I lost a job,
1805
01:34:18,033 --> 01:34:19,785
but like I lost my purpose?
1806
01:34:21,537 --> 01:34:24,998
Some mind trick has been
played on a lot of us.
1807
01:34:28,293 --> 01:34:32,214
You know, it just...
...I think of myself as this...
1808
01:34:33,841 --> 01:34:37,987
younger girl,
and I wanna say to her,
1809
01:34:38,011 --> 01:34:40,156
"You didn't do anything wrong."
1810
01:34:40,180 --> 01:34:42,158
Like, "You're valuable
1811
01:34:42,182 --> 01:34:45,078
and that company is not your worth."
1812
01:34:45,102 --> 01:34:49,374
But because I felt like,
how am I gonna change the world now?
1813
01:34:49,398 --> 01:34:51,441
Like, I needed that.
1814
01:34:55,654 --> 01:34:59,217
When I look back on my time spent
1815
01:34:59,241 --> 01:35:02,303
in the We community...
1816
01:35:02,327 --> 01:35:05,557
I see all the friends that I made.
1817
01:35:05,581 --> 01:35:08,292
Um, all the relationships
that I still have.
1818
01:35:10,586 --> 01:35:14,065
All the people that I deeply care about.
1819
01:35:14,089 --> 01:35:18,695
The people that I wouldn't have met
outside of the We community.
1820
01:35:18,719 --> 01:35:22,574
Those are the people
that I choose to remember.
1821
01:35:22,598 --> 01:35:24,826
Not...
1822
01:35:24,850 --> 01:35:26,518
the asshole that wrecked it.
1823
01:35:33,817 --> 01:35:36,254
You know, people
will see in Adam Neumann
1824
01:35:36,278 --> 01:35:37,881
what they wanna see.
1825
01:35:37,905 --> 01:35:41,509
That may not be the most fulfilling answer
for a lot of people,
1826
01:35:41,533 --> 01:35:45,638
but I do think that he
can represent a lot more
1827
01:35:45,662 --> 01:35:47,265
than what he really is.
1828
01:35:47,289 --> 01:35:49,392
And I think that, you know,
1829
01:35:49,416 --> 01:35:52,687
the reason that maybe
he resonates with people
1830
01:35:52,711 --> 01:35:56,215
is because it felt like he was close.
1831
01:35:59,009 --> 01:36:02,906
Clearly there was something about WeWork
and something about Adam
1832
01:36:02,930 --> 01:36:07,267
where maybe he could have pulled it off.
1833
01:36:09,394 --> 01:36:11,897
It could have come together
into something beautiful.
1834
01:36:14,525 --> 01:36:18,004
But, unfortunately he set an example
1835
01:36:18,028 --> 01:36:21,341
which maybe is harmful for
other entrepreneurs to follow,
1836
01:36:21,365 --> 01:36:25,470
or he's embodied the American dream
in a way that worries us
1837
01:36:25,494 --> 01:36:28,932
because it was so attractive
and it was so intoxicating
1838
01:36:28,956 --> 01:36:31,392
and yet had this disastrous result,
1839
01:36:31,416 --> 01:36:33,978
that that bothers us more
than if he had just been
1840
01:36:34,002 --> 01:36:36,338
a failure with WeWork.
1841
01:36:46,640 --> 01:36:49,160
There's a lot of really
special elements about WeWork
1842
01:36:49,184 --> 01:36:50,352
that...
1843
01:36:52,062 --> 01:36:54,499
I hope continue to last.
1844
01:36:54,523 --> 01:36:57,335
Like especially as we sit
in this time of COVID
1845
01:36:57,359 --> 01:37:00,213
and we're, you know,
people are working from home,
1846
01:37:00,237 --> 01:37:04,133
and, you know,
I, myself, have been inside,
1847
01:37:04,157 --> 01:37:07,637
mostly inside for,
you know, months and months.
1848
01:37:07,661 --> 01:37:11,182
And it is on the days that I get
to interact with other people
1849
01:37:11,206 --> 01:37:14,793
that I come home and I'm like,
"Wow, that was a fulfilling day."
1850
01:37:20,465 --> 01:37:23,862
Community, I think, has been...
1851
01:37:23,886 --> 01:37:26,239
taken piece by piece from our world
1852
01:37:26,263 --> 01:37:28,658
for quite a while, like very slowly,
1853
01:37:28,682 --> 01:37:34,247
and then now here we are sitting
literally in... in a pandemic
1854
01:37:34,271 --> 01:37:40,194
of lack of interaction
and I would give anything to like...
1855
01:37:42,029 --> 01:37:46,116
be consumed with people again.
1856
01:37:52,539 --> 01:37:56,060
The vision of us working together,
1857
01:37:56,084 --> 01:37:59,755
to be better together, is lacking today.
1858
01:38:09,681 --> 01:38:11,409
I think we need that.
1859
01:38:11,433 --> 01:38:16,080
We go back in time
to the Greek town squares.
1860
01:38:16,104 --> 01:38:17,624
It has existed forever.
1861
01:38:17,648 --> 01:38:20,101
Community has existed forever.
1862
01:38:20,125 --> 01:38:24,880
Because it's crucial to
our survival as human beings.
1863
01:38:31,303 --> 01:38:34,712
What are we if we don't have each other?
1864
01:39:19,292 --> 01:39:21,292
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