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Downloaded from
YTS.MX
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MAN: Mikey, is there any reason
you wanted the teleprompter
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behind the camera so I'm looking
straight at you, or you don't care?
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MIKEY: No, I think it's okay.
MAN: Okay.
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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX
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MIKEY:
We're in a good spot.
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MAN: 'Cause my eyes are
a little shooting to the right.
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MIKEY: That's okay, though.
MAN: Are you sure?
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MIKEY: Mm-hmm.
MAN: Okay.
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MIKEY:
So you wanna start from the top?
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MAN: Yes.
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I'm just gonna do each point.
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MIKEY: Ready?
MAN: I am born ready.
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[sighs]
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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
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to an experiential-differentiated...
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Real estate is going
through a fundamental shift,
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from a must-have...
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It's a mouthful.
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Fromm a "fixed cost per seat" commodity
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to a must-have experiential...
[indistinct chatter]
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I can do it, I can do it, I can do it.
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Real estate...
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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! [sighs] 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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[farts]
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[crew shrieks, laughs]
Sorry.
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The universe had to release it.
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[crew laughing]
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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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REPORTER 1: WeWork is garnering
questions about its business model.
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REPORTER 2: There are all kinds of things
that just pop out as red flags in this.
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REPORTER 3: It feels like it's
valued as a tech company,
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but this is a real estate company.
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REPORTER 4: The founder
wanted total, complete control for life.
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REPORTER 5: The company
went from a $47 billion valuation
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to near bankruptcy in just six weeks.
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REPORTER 6: The future of the company
very uncertain at this point.
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SCOTT GALLOWAY:
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.
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- Start from the top. I'm gonna get this.
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Okay, I got it.
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- ♪ Ooh-la-la, ah, we we ♪
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♪ Ooh-la-la, ah, we we ♪
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♪ Ooh-la-la,
ah, we we ♪
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♪ Ah, we--ah, we-- ♪
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♪ Ah-ah-- Ah-ah-ah-ah ♪
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♪ Ah, we we we we we we... ♪
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ADAM NEUMANN:
Social media companies promised us
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that technology will bring us together.
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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.
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And the secret of success in our opinion,
is it's about real connection.
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It's about treating other people
the way you wanna be treated.
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It's about being part of something greater
than yourself.
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I want us to never forget that the future,
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while leveraging technology,
lies in ourselves.
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It is us who will blaze the path forward,
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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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[bell clanging]
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REPORTER: Not in generations
has Wall Street absorbed
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the number of body blows it took today.
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NEWS ANCHOR:
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.
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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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and we were looking for some way to
get out of it, we were looking for hope.
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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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MAN:
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..."
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- Are we starting?
MAN: 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?
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MAN: Now, don't worry about--
- He's not in your frame?
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MAN: We got you covered,
you got us covered.
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- WeWork is a community--
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Wait, who do you want me to
look at, you or the...? Okay.
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So they're taking this side.
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This is, we go to the details here.
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MAN: You look fantastic.
- We focus on a lot of details here.
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RANDALL LANE: Adam arrived
in New York like many immigrants,
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ready to hustle, full of ideas.
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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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♪ orchestral music playing ♪
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He had this idea called Krawlers,
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which was for babies
so they could have padded knees.
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You know, babies have been doing fine for
millions of years without padded knees.
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ADAM: Our tagline was,
"Just because they don't tell you
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doesn't meant they don't hurt."
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[audience laughing]
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ALEX KONRAD:
He's couch-surfing with his sister,
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who's had some success as a model.
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- What you see is what you get.
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ALEX:
And I think Adam really loves
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the New York lifestyle,
the nightlife.
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But professionally,
he's kind of a dilettante.
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ADAM:
I'm working in Dumbo, Brooklyn,
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and in the building there's an architect
whose name is Miguel McKelvey.
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And me and Miguel are talking about
different ideas of real estate businesses.
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- I was attracted
and interested in him because
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he was bringing energy to the room,
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and perhaps for him
I could be a calming element
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and take in some of that energy
that he had
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and reflect it back at him
in an interesting way.
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ADAM:
And we went out to build a business
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that's going to change
the way people work,
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that's based on community
and redefined success.
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RANDALL: And from
minute one with their partnership,
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it was Miguel who was Mr. Inside
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and Adam was Mr. Outside.
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ADAM:
The world has shifted.
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It used to be an "I" world. Right?
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iPhone, iMac, all about me, me, me.
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If you take the "me" and you flip it
and you get the "we,"
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you understand that we're
about to change the way people work
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and the way people live,
but more importantly, change the world.
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VIDEO NARRATOR:
The kibbutz.
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A working collective in a free society.
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Invented, unique,
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contemporary.
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The most important social experiment
of the last hundred years.
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RANDALL:
Every great business
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has a founding story
and WeWork's is excellent.
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You have Adam and Miguel,
uh, two children of communes.
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Literally grew up in communes
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and, you know, one in Oregon
and one in Israel in a kibbutz.
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And they wind up together with this idea
that they're gonna create a work commune.
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ADAM:
When we thought of WeWork,
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one of the thoughts
that I had in my head is,
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we need a capitalistic kibbutz.
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On the one hand, let's create a sharing
economy where everybody shares.
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On the other hand, if you choose
to work harder than others,
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you should also be compensated more.
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RANDALL:
Like any narrative,
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it gets boiled down and distilled.
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And as the company evolves,
the founding story evolves.
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But their founding narrative
actually really did translate
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to a lot of their early business success.
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- I mean, co-working,
as we think of it now,
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didn't really exist at the time.
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RANDALL: Before WeWork,
the real big player was Regus.
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♪ upbeat jazz playing ♪
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- Welcome to Regus, the new way to work.
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A global workstyle solution for today's
rapidly changing face of business.
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RANDALL: As corporate
and institutional as you could get,
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with cubicles and dull colors.
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And walking into a Regus
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was like walking into
the back of a dentist's office.
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ADAM:
We started by taking buildings.
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We cut them up to small spaces.
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We built everything from glass.
It was very communal.
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It's very see-through and transparent.
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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.
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And in that community, people are
almost forced to help other people.
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And when you have
a business community that's built
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on these kind of moral standards,
everybody becomes more successful.
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- In January 2010,
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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,
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we ended up standing
next to each other, talking,
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and he said,
"Oh, I might need a mortgage."
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I said, "Well, I'm opening
the mortgage seat.
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I'm gonna go do something else."
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He said, "What are you gonna do?"
I said, "I don't know.
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I want to do something that lights me up
and makes me feel excited."
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And he said, "Well, I just took
this building down in Soho.
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"I'm launching this concept called WeWork.
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You should come and take a look."
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♪ calm orchestral music playing ♪
[bell chimes]
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Three days later on Monday morning,
I started as their second employee.
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[whistles]
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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.
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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,
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where we opened the first half of
one of the floors in our first building,
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which was 17 offices,
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and when I started
on that first day, Adam said,
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"I want to open in three weeks
and I want to be full with a wait list."
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[chuckles]
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And we were off to the races
from the very beginning.
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[drill whirring]
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- I want to talk to the investors.
I don't know who they are
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and where they're at,
but they're looking at this.
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I want them to feel
that I'm talking to them.
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MAN: At them.
- At them. To them.
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This is a story that I'm telling them.
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MAN: Okay, then, go right to the camera.
- Okay.
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MAN: Perfect. I'm ready.
- Okay.
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MAN: Action.
- Hey, guys.
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This is WeWork, the world's
first physical social network.
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Our mission is to empower
the world through collaboration.
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We know that the future of the world
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is in small business,
not in corporate America.
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So we're building a community
that's transparent and that's accountable.
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That is WeWork.
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♪
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PATRICK: Hey, guys,
Patrick here and I wanted to give you
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a quick tour of my WeWork office.
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WOMAN: I moved into a new office space
called WeWork.
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♪ It's beautiful ♪
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What I do like about WeWork,
we can, like, work wherever,
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and it's just like
a good environment to be in.
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[clarinet playing]
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JUSTIN ZHEN: There's a saying
that companies in Silicon Valley
237
00:11:27,646 --> 00:11:29,940
are founded in garages.
238
00:11:29,940 --> 00:11:32,401
In New York City,
they're founded in kitchens.
239
00:11:32,401 --> 00:11:35,737
MAN:
There it is. That's my new space.
240
00:11:35,737 --> 00:11:37,155
Yeah.
241
00:11:37,155 --> 00:11:39,992
JUSTIN:
The thing that made WeWork more special
242
00:11:39,992 --> 00:11:43,620
or more attractive was just
its marketing, right?
243
00:11:43,620 --> 00:11:45,289
- This says, "Do what you love."
244
00:11:45,289 --> 00:11:48,125
- Our friends who were doing
their tech startups,
245
00:11:48,125 --> 00:11:49,751
they all worked in WeWorks.
246
00:11:49,751 --> 00:11:53,338
We didn't even consider
any other co-working space.
247
00:11:53,338 --> 00:11:55,549
The thinking was,
if you have a tech startup
248
00:11:55,549 --> 00:11:57,759
and you want it to be successful,
249
00:11:57,759 --> 00:11:59,803
you start it at a WeWork.
250
00:11:59,803 --> 00:12:02,431
- I love co-working spaces so much.
251
00:12:02,431 --> 00:12:05,267
So let's start over here
at the snacks area.
252
00:12:05,267 --> 00:12:06,894
MAN:
We have the snack area.
253
00:12:06,894 --> 00:12:08,812
Coffee, lemon water.
254
00:12:08,812 --> 00:12:10,105
"Do what you love."
255
00:12:10,105 --> 00:12:13,317
I love drinking coffee, so...
I'm gonna do that.
256
00:12:13,317 --> 00:12:15,819
JUSTIN:
Everyone wanted to be an entrepreneur.
257
00:12:15,819 --> 00:12:17,654
We all want to raise $10 million.
258
00:12:17,654 --> 00:12:20,490
- I'm the founder of BrunchCritic.com.
259
00:12:20,490 --> 00:12:22,242
- Our company is SmileBack.
260
00:12:22,242 --> 00:12:24,203
- Co-founder of UPlanMe.
261
00:12:24,203 --> 00:12:25,913
- Scroll Kit.
- Consumer.
262
00:12:25,913 --> 00:12:27,331
- Handshake.
- MyThing.
263
00:12:27,331 --> 00:12:28,790
- Spindows.
- Scruff.
264
00:12:28,790 --> 00:12:30,083
- Yoink.
- RoomHints.
265
00:12:30,083 --> 00:12:32,211
- The company is Beer to Buds.
266
00:12:33,295 --> 00:12:36,340
ALEX:
WeWork embodied an optimism
267
00:12:36,340 --> 00:12:40,969
and this millennial excitement
about how to work
268
00:12:40,969 --> 00:12:44,431
and how to do things together,
do things flexibly
269
00:12:44,431 --> 00:12:49,603
and rebel against the office culture
set by the '80s and '90s.
270
00:12:52,147 --> 00:12:55,234
It was almost like somehow
being a member of a club,
271
00:12:55,234 --> 00:12:57,653
beyond just where your office building is.
272
00:12:57,653 --> 00:13:00,489
ADAM: The world is changing,
the way people work is changing.
273
00:13:00,489 --> 00:13:03,325
If you're 22 today and you're
out of college, you can't go and work
274
00:13:03,325 --> 00:13:05,911
for corporate America in the old way
and you need a new solution.
275
00:13:05,911 --> 00:13:08,372
We're sharing the same space,
we're doing different businesses.
276
00:13:08,372 --> 00:13:11,834
And we understand that, through helping
each other, we can become more successful.
277
00:13:12,626 --> 00:13:14,670
MAN: How fast are you growing?
ADAM: Very.
278
00:13:14,670 --> 00:13:16,505
MAN: What kind of numbers
are we talking about?
279
00:13:16,505 --> 00:13:18,257
ADAM: We're talking about
probably one of the fastest
280
00:13:18,257 --> 00:13:21,468
physical expansions that has been seen
for the past 10 years.
281
00:13:25,389 --> 00:13:28,892
- When I got introduced
to Adam through a friend,
282
00:13:28,892 --> 00:13:31,270
uh, I came in.
283
00:13:31,270 --> 00:13:34,481
I didn't even know the company
WeWork ever existed.
284
00:13:34,481 --> 00:13:38,110
He went right to the point. He's like,
"Look, we don't have a lot of time.
285
00:13:38,110 --> 00:13:41,530
"I have a campground upstate.
I want to host an event.
286
00:13:41,530 --> 00:13:43,991
I need you to help me.
I believe that you can help me."
287
00:13:43,991 --> 00:13:47,035
And then he told me the budget,
and I said, "Well...
288
00:13:47,035 --> 00:13:48,745
"you know, your budget's not too great.
289
00:13:48,745 --> 00:13:51,915
"I don't know how I'm, uh,
you know, gonna really pull this off
290
00:13:51,915 --> 00:13:53,417
and make a couple dollars."
291
00:13:53,417 --> 00:13:55,544
He said, "Don't worry,
you know, we're gonna grow.
292
00:13:55,544 --> 00:13:57,254
"We're gonna be big.
You're gonna stay with us.
293
00:13:57,254 --> 00:14:00,257
You're gonna do a lot of work with us.
You'll see, you'll see, you'll see."
294
00:14:00,257 --> 00:14:02,301
- It's exciting, it's gonna get bigger.
295
00:14:02,301 --> 00:14:04,261
LIRON DAVID:
Something about him stood out.
296
00:14:04,261 --> 00:14:08,182
I couldn't put my finger on it,
but Adam's a very convincing guy.
297
00:14:08,182 --> 00:14:11,101
He's... He's got a big personality and--
298
00:14:11,101 --> 00:14:13,812
I walked out of that meeting,
I said, "Okay, I'll make it happen."
299
00:14:13,812 --> 00:14:16,064
[bird chirping, frog croaking]
300
00:14:16,064 --> 00:14:19,443
We pulled every favor...
301
00:14:19,443 --> 00:14:22,571
from equipment to performers.
302
00:14:22,571 --> 00:14:26,241
And within a couple weeks,
produced what's now become
303
00:14:26,241 --> 00:14:27,492
WeWork Summer Camp.
304
00:14:27,492 --> 00:14:29,620
ADAM:
Hello, WeWorld.
305
00:14:29,620 --> 00:14:33,373
Thanks to you, things have been
going very well.
306
00:14:33,373 --> 00:14:37,794
And in gratitude, we decided to throw
a 72-hour weekend...
307
00:14:37,794 --> 00:14:39,546
[child cooing]
...rager!
308
00:14:39,546 --> 00:14:42,299
♪ frenzied symphonic music playing ♪
309
00:14:42,299 --> 00:14:45,135
LIRON: WeWork Summer Camp
was Fyre Festival gone right.
310
00:14:45,135 --> 00:14:47,012
PASSENGERS:
Do it, do it!
311
00:14:47,012 --> 00:14:50,098
LIRON: It's this mini festival
for members at WeWork,
312
00:14:50,098 --> 00:14:52,100
and all the employees
313
00:14:52,100 --> 00:14:56,730
going to this remote
children's summer camp
314
00:14:56,730 --> 00:14:58,106
in the middle of nowhere.
315
00:14:59,608 --> 00:15:01,276
MAN:
The most rad activity?
316
00:15:01,276 --> 00:15:04,530
WOMAN: Oh, my gosh, there has
been so much fun stuff to do.
317
00:15:04,530 --> 00:15:06,615
MAN: Honestly, these obstacle ropes
really challenged me.
318
00:15:06,615 --> 00:15:08,534
I was contemplating life up there.
319
00:15:08,534 --> 00:15:11,203
- Whoaaaa!
WOMAN: I think they're trying to kill us.
320
00:15:11,203 --> 00:15:13,622
MAN: I was just wakeboarding.
MAN 2: Waterskiing and tubing.
321
00:15:13,622 --> 00:15:14,831
Hit my head really hard
322
00:15:14,831 --> 00:15:17,084
and then had to lay down
and drink coconut water afterwards.
323
00:15:17,084 --> 00:15:19,962
- We almost tipped over like four times
and I had to ask the lifeguards
324
00:15:19,962 --> 00:15:21,922
to come get me, 'cause I was so scared.
325
00:15:21,922 --> 00:15:24,758
WOMAN: I went to the survival skills thing
and that was really fun.
326
00:15:24,758 --> 00:15:26,093
- Oh, the balloon things where
327
00:15:26,093 --> 00:15:28,178
you're like in the bubble
and like you run into people.
328
00:15:28,178 --> 00:15:29,054
[grunting]
329
00:15:30,097 --> 00:15:33,058
LIRON: WeWork Summer Camp,
I think, really kicked off
330
00:15:33,058 --> 00:15:35,602
the entire event side of the company,
331
00:15:35,602 --> 00:15:39,690
which became one of the most well-known,
you know, elements
332
00:15:39,690 --> 00:15:41,149
of what WeWork was.
333
00:15:41,149 --> 00:15:43,944
♪ triumphant fanfare plays ♪
334
00:15:43,944 --> 00:15:46,321
- I think I was probably,
I don't wanna misstate it,
335
00:15:46,321 --> 00:15:48,031
like the tenth lawyer at WeWork.
336
00:15:48,031 --> 00:15:50,701
Um, and it was just
an amazing, amazing culture.
337
00:15:50,701 --> 00:15:53,161
You know, the people were great.
338
00:15:53,161 --> 00:15:55,372
Uh, I think they shared
the same values I did, right?
339
00:15:55,372 --> 00:15:59,418
They basically had, it was like
a "work hard, play hard" environment.
340
00:15:59,418 --> 00:16:01,879
♪ Beethoven's Fifth Symphony playing ♪
341
00:16:01,879 --> 00:16:04,923
But it's totally different from
that at a white-shoe law firm.
342
00:16:04,923 --> 00:16:07,593
And that's because
of these company events.
343
00:16:07,593 --> 00:16:09,845
I mean, it is, it is legitimately
344
00:16:09,845 --> 00:16:12,472
the craziest work experience
you'll ever have in your life.
345
00:16:12,472 --> 00:16:16,351
♪ electronic music pounding ♪
346
00:16:16,351 --> 00:16:19,146
I think at four o'clock,
they start serving alcohol.
347
00:16:19,146 --> 00:16:21,857
And when I say they're serving alcohol,
348
00:16:21,857 --> 00:16:23,609
they are serving alcohol.
349
00:16:23,609 --> 00:16:26,778
Like every 50 yards,
there's like a bar set up.
350
00:16:26,778 --> 00:16:28,197
And it's unlimited.
351
00:16:28,197 --> 00:16:30,991
Like, if you wanted to drink
till the end of time,
352
00:16:30,991 --> 00:16:32,451
you could drink till the end of time.
353
00:16:32,451 --> 00:16:35,204
- Come on, Neumann. Gimme some more,
gimme some more!
354
00:16:35,204 --> 00:16:37,331
[cheering]
355
00:16:37,331 --> 00:16:38,665
DON LEWIS:
At all these events,
356
00:16:38,665 --> 00:16:41,793
during the day you listen
to presentations, speeches.
357
00:16:41,793 --> 00:16:44,213
There was always like
some famous people there.
358
00:16:44,922 --> 00:16:46,798
And then, you know, at night,
you do the WeWork thing,
359
00:16:46,798 --> 00:16:48,217
which is kind of just party.
360
00:16:48,217 --> 00:16:49,593
[crowd cheering]
361
00:16:49,593 --> 00:16:51,803
- ♪ Go, go, go, go, go... ♪
362
00:16:51,803 --> 00:16:55,140
DON: Adam grew up in Israel,
only had one TV channel.
363
00:16:55,140 --> 00:16:57,434
And he saw a lot of movies
like Animal House ...
364
00:16:57,434 --> 00:17:00,312
- Thanks, I needed that.
[glass shatters]
365
00:17:00,312 --> 00:17:01,813
DON:
And The Gong Show.
366
00:17:01,813 --> 00:17:04,066
So, in a lot of the WeWork space,
there was a gong.
367
00:17:04,066 --> 00:17:05,901
At a lot of big events,
somebody hit a gong.
368
00:17:05,901 --> 00:17:07,361
[gong rings]
369
00:17:07,361 --> 00:17:10,781
And all WeWork spaces, everybody knows,
there was kegs of beer.
370
00:17:10,781 --> 00:17:13,450
You know, it's beautiful young people.
371
00:17:13,450 --> 00:17:15,827
Coworkers got along there amazingly.
372
00:17:15,827 --> 00:17:18,539
Like, you met people
from all over the world.
373
00:17:18,539 --> 00:17:20,874
♪ electronic music pounding ♪
374
00:17:20,874 --> 00:17:23,710
I think people really liked
the coolness of it.
375
00:17:23,710 --> 00:17:26,171
And that's kind of what was being sold.
376
00:17:26,171 --> 00:17:28,173
[crowd cheering]
377
00:17:28,173 --> 00:17:32,094
- I am, I am so happy to have
all of you here tonight.
378
00:17:32,094 --> 00:17:33,929
[crowd whooping]
Like, this is unbelievable.
379
00:17:33,929 --> 00:17:34,888
Who was here last year?
380
00:17:34,888 --> 00:17:36,139
Raise your hand
if you were here last year!
381
00:17:36,139 --> 00:17:39,268
[cheering]
382
00:17:39,268 --> 00:17:42,855
We were very worried that
we couldn't do better than last year,
383
00:17:42,855 --> 00:17:45,566
and I said to everybody,
"There must be a way."
384
00:17:45,566 --> 00:17:48,360
I said, "Well, what if we
add one more day,
385
00:17:48,360 --> 00:17:51,989
"do twice as many people,
five times as much alcohol?
386
00:17:51,989 --> 00:17:53,782
Then we could do this again!"
387
00:17:53,782 --> 00:17:55,826
MAN: Alcohol!
388
00:17:55,826 --> 00:17:57,828
ADAM: I think the thing
that all of us know is,
389
00:17:57,828 --> 00:17:59,788
if you wanna succeed in this world,
390
00:17:59,788 --> 00:18:02,040
you have to build something
that has intention.
391
00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:05,878
And what puts us together, all of us here,
is because we wanna do something
392
00:18:05,878 --> 00:18:08,547
that actually makes
the world a better place,
393
00:18:08,547 --> 00:18:10,424
and we wanna make money doing it.
394
00:18:10,424 --> 00:18:12,759
[cheering and applause]
395
00:18:12,759 --> 00:18:14,428
It's okay.
396
00:18:15,929 --> 00:18:19,349
- I moved to New York in my early 20s,
397
00:18:19,349 --> 00:18:24,855
and I got off of a plane
with two suitcases.
398
00:18:24,855 --> 00:18:27,107
And I was going to live
with my sister's friend.
399
00:18:27,107 --> 00:18:29,359
♪
400
00:18:31,904 --> 00:18:35,365
I remember taking a cab over there,
401
00:18:35,365 --> 00:18:37,618
and it was at night
and just looking at the city
402
00:18:37,618 --> 00:18:39,453
and being in awe.
403
00:18:39,453 --> 00:18:41,538
Like I truly could not
believe I was there.
404
00:18:43,790 --> 00:18:47,169
My first job was at a hedge fund,
405
00:18:47,169 --> 00:18:49,796
and I was an executive assistant there.
406
00:18:49,796 --> 00:18:53,383
Like I had moved to New York
to "find my dreams."
407
00:18:53,383 --> 00:18:56,553
And here I was
really, really kind of lost.
408
00:18:57,304 --> 00:19:01,308
The friend reached out to me and said,
"I have a friend who has a startup
409
00:19:01,308 --> 00:19:03,727
and he's looking for an assistant.
Are you interested?"
410
00:19:03,727 --> 00:19:05,270
And I got connected to Adam.
411
00:19:06,688 --> 00:19:10,359
I walked in and Adam was super casual,
412
00:19:10,359 --> 00:19:14,279
very laid-back, very charismatic
from the moment I saw him.
413
00:19:14,279 --> 00:19:17,032
And he's very tall.
414
00:19:17,032 --> 00:19:20,827
And so he has a like
very commanding presence.
415
00:19:20,827 --> 00:19:23,747
Um, and he's also really, really...
416
00:19:23,747 --> 00:19:25,415
he's really friendly.
417
00:19:25,415 --> 00:19:28,919
ADAM: Hello, how are you?
MAN: This is our founder, Adam Neumann.
418
00:19:28,919 --> 00:19:30,587
ESTHER: Hi.
- Hey, how are you, Esther?
419
00:19:30,587 --> 00:19:33,674
- Nice to meet you.
- Joseph, why is
your office the messiest one?
420
00:19:33,674 --> 00:19:35,592
Shake my hand, it's good for the movie.
421
00:19:35,592 --> 00:19:37,177
Don't be shy, look at the camera.
422
00:19:37,177 --> 00:19:38,637
That's good.
- Hello.
423
00:19:38,637 --> 00:19:40,722
- And he was giving me
a tour of the space,
424
00:19:40,722 --> 00:19:43,058
and I was interviewing at the same time,
425
00:19:43,058 --> 00:19:46,728
and we were just talking about their dream
of what WeWork would become.
426
00:19:46,728 --> 00:19:49,356
- You gotta put something
that we can grow into.
427
00:19:49,356 --> 00:19:51,316
We need to think...
428
00:19:51,316 --> 00:19:53,235
half a year forward if not a year.
429
00:19:53,235 --> 00:19:56,488
MEGAN MALLOW: This is not just about
changing the way people work.
430
00:19:56,488 --> 00:19:59,324
We're gonna change, ultimately,
431
00:19:59,324 --> 00:20:02,703
every facet of the way
that people interact.
432
00:20:03,453 --> 00:20:05,372
It just really spoke to me.
433
00:20:05,372 --> 00:20:08,208
And I felt like, I felt
changed from that moment.
434
00:20:08,208 --> 00:20:09,626
- Hey.
435
00:20:09,626 --> 00:20:13,255
It's embarrassing, though,
with the camera in my face.
436
00:20:13,255 --> 00:20:16,133
DEREK THOMPSON:
Millennials don't just want a job.
437
00:20:16,133 --> 00:20:18,802
And they don't just want a career.
438
00:20:18,802 --> 00:20:21,096
They want a calling.
439
00:20:21,096 --> 00:20:23,599
And I will give Adam Neumann credit here.
440
00:20:23,599 --> 00:20:25,642
He assumed that everybody
441
00:20:25,642 --> 00:20:29,438
was achieving their calling
by participating in WeWork.
442
00:20:29,438 --> 00:20:33,942
LISA SKYE: He'll go down as one of
the most incredible salesmen in the world
443
00:20:33,942 --> 00:20:37,237
because he can get anyone to do
444
00:20:37,237 --> 00:20:40,782
whatever it is that he wants them to do
and what he sees in the vision.
445
00:20:40,782 --> 00:20:44,828
- I lived in 13 different places
until I moved to the U. S. when I was 23.
446
00:20:44,828 --> 00:20:48,624
And I had to go through
many different communities,
447
00:20:48,624 --> 00:20:51,793
and every time you go to a new school
as a kid, it's not an easy thing.
448
00:20:51,793 --> 00:20:54,880
ALEX:
Adam's world view was heavily shaped
449
00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:57,633
by this kind of nomadic childhood
450
00:20:57,633 --> 00:21:00,219
and a desire to belong.
451
00:21:00,219 --> 00:21:03,805
What he always wanted
was to kind of be part of this
452
00:21:03,805 --> 00:21:05,974
"sum is greater than the parts" collective
453
00:21:05,974 --> 00:21:08,810
where he still is kind of
the center of attention.
454
00:21:08,810 --> 00:21:10,896
- When I say "We," you say...
455
00:21:10,896 --> 00:21:12,356
ALL: Work!
- We!
456
00:21:12,356 --> 00:21:14,149
CROWD: Work!
- We!
457
00:21:14,149 --> 00:21:15,651
- Work!
- We!
458
00:21:15,651 --> 00:21:17,778
DON:
At all these company events,
459
00:21:17,778 --> 00:21:21,490
Adam comes out, the lights are down,
460
00:21:21,490 --> 00:21:25,202
the strobe lights are going,
the crazy graphics are going.
461
00:21:25,202 --> 00:21:30,499
ANNOUNCER: Please welcome
WeWork co-founder and CEO, Adam Neumann.
462
00:21:30,499 --> 00:21:32,751
[cheering and applause]
463
00:21:34,878 --> 00:21:38,590
- Thank you so much for coming tonight,
and I can't wait to get started.
464
00:21:38,590 --> 00:21:41,343
- I've kind of equated Adam
to like, you know,
465
00:21:41,343 --> 00:21:44,304
one of these, you know,
spiritual or religious people...
466
00:21:44,304 --> 00:21:46,139
- Lord God...
467
00:21:46,139 --> 00:21:50,435
DON: ...who think they can cure
like the plague by touching your head.
468
00:21:50,435 --> 00:21:51,728
PASTOR: Oh, Jesus!
469
00:21:51,728 --> 00:21:53,772
- Like he literally had people bought in
470
00:21:53,772 --> 00:21:55,774
and he grabs in a room like that...
471
00:21:55,774 --> 00:21:58,902
- You're a creator, and you're a creator,
and I know you're a creator.
472
00:21:58,902 --> 00:22:01,864
And the reason we are all creators
473
00:22:01,864 --> 00:22:04,908
is because we do something
that's greater than ourselves.
474
00:22:04,908 --> 00:22:07,286
- When I speak to somebody
who's so passionate about something,
475
00:22:07,286 --> 00:22:09,288
it's really difficult to not
476
00:22:09,288 --> 00:22:11,498
let that soak over me.
477
00:22:11,498 --> 00:22:14,293
You could not help but drink in
what he was saying,
478
00:22:14,293 --> 00:22:15,711
and it became your dream, too.
479
00:22:15,711 --> 00:22:18,088
ADAM:
If we know how to treat each other...
480
00:22:18,088 --> 00:22:21,175
DON: You know, it's a lot of younger
people who've never really worked before.
481
00:22:21,175 --> 00:22:24,678
They were working like around the clock,
and they really, really believe in this.
482
00:22:24,678 --> 00:22:28,140
MEGAN:
I was in my mid-20s looking for purpose
483
00:22:28,140 --> 00:22:31,310
and here's this person selling this dream,
484
00:22:31,310 --> 00:22:34,813
and...
I was an easy target for that.
485
00:22:34,813 --> 00:22:38,942
I definitely wanted the world
he was telling me about.
486
00:22:38,942 --> 00:22:43,322
- I sometimes feel that every
single person in this room
487
00:22:43,322 --> 00:22:46,825
is me having a different experience.
488
00:22:46,825 --> 00:22:48,160
And imagine...
489
00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:50,746
DON: If you're a 25-year-old
and it's your first job,
490
00:22:50,746 --> 00:22:53,707
going to orientation and chanting,
"WeWork, WeWork, WeWork!"
491
00:22:53,707 --> 00:22:55,417
you know, may seem normal.
492
00:22:55,417 --> 00:22:57,419
ADAM:
All right, so now, go on, Sherman.
493
00:22:58,504 --> 00:23:01,465
DON: If you're 45 and you've worked
at law firms and whatever,
494
00:23:01,465 --> 00:23:03,175
you're like, "Okay, this is different."
495
00:23:03,175 --> 00:23:04,676
But, you know,
you're into it, you're there.
496
00:23:04,676 --> 00:23:06,595
You get down with what people are doing.
497
00:23:08,597 --> 00:23:12,142
LIRON: My experience with WeWork,
it was like living in another world.
498
00:23:12,142 --> 00:23:15,854
It was living in a world
where people were just happy.
499
00:23:15,854 --> 00:23:18,315
Right? They were happy to be
around each other.
500
00:23:18,315 --> 00:23:23,070
What WeWork created was this environment
of present existence
501
00:23:23,070 --> 00:23:26,949
and celebrating life with, with meaning.
502
00:23:26,949 --> 00:23:31,328
The world is a dark place,
and this little cave of WeWork
503
00:23:31,328 --> 00:23:33,539
was my happy spot.
504
00:23:33,539 --> 00:23:37,626
- The only thing that stands
in the way of achieving anything you want
505
00:23:37,626 --> 00:23:39,086
is just you.
506
00:23:39,086 --> 00:23:40,963
You know the most amazing thing...
507
00:23:40,963 --> 00:23:45,008
DON: At one of these events,
I was sitting towards the back,
508
00:23:45,008 --> 00:23:46,844
and there was an older usher there.
509
00:23:46,844 --> 00:23:48,846
And it was an African-American guy.
510
00:23:48,846 --> 00:23:51,849
And he just started
asking me some questions.
511
00:23:51,849 --> 00:23:54,601
And he was like, you know,
"What's the company about?
512
00:23:54,601 --> 00:23:56,228
What do you do there?"
513
00:23:56,228 --> 00:23:58,313
And, you know,
I'm answering his questions.
514
00:23:58,313 --> 00:24:03,026
We're going on and on, and he just
kind of changed his tone of voice
515
00:24:03,026 --> 00:24:05,112
and he kind of looked down
on me a little bit
516
00:24:05,112 --> 00:24:08,156
and he was like, "Brother,
can I ask you a serious question?"
517
00:24:08,156 --> 00:24:10,450
I was like, "Yeah.
Sure, ask me the question."
518
00:24:10,450 --> 00:24:12,619
He says, "Is this some kind of cult?"
519
00:24:12,619 --> 00:24:14,663
[gulls screeching]
520
00:24:19,626 --> 00:24:22,671
AUGUST URBISH: I had been
to a couple of the summer camps,
521
00:24:22,671 --> 00:24:25,966
and I saw how much fun
everybody was having
522
00:24:25,966 --> 00:24:28,051
within the We community.
523
00:24:28,051 --> 00:24:31,763
So then a friend of mine
who worked for WeWork
524
00:24:31,763 --> 00:24:34,141
called me up and said, "Look...
525
00:24:34,141 --> 00:24:35,851
"WeWork is doing this new thing.
526
00:24:35,851 --> 00:24:38,270
"I can't tell you
anything about it right now.
527
00:24:38,270 --> 00:24:43,525
"Um, it's going to be
for the coolest people in New York,
528
00:24:43,525 --> 00:24:46,320
"and I promise you are going
to want to be a part of it.
529
00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:50,407
Are you willing to break your lease
to do this new WeWork venture?"
530
00:24:50,407 --> 00:24:53,118
Like... "Can I have a couple days?"
531
00:24:53,118 --> 00:24:55,787
And she said, "No, you can't
have a couple days.
532
00:24:55,787 --> 00:24:58,874
I need to know right now, are you
willing to break your lease for this?"
533
00:24:58,874 --> 00:25:01,668
Uh, and I said, "I guess...
534
00:25:01,668 --> 00:25:02,961
Yeah."
535
00:25:02,961 --> 00:25:05,464
Reluctantly.
I said, "Yeah, I will do it."
536
00:25:07,382 --> 00:25:11,011
So a couple of weeks later,
I got this invitation
537
00:25:11,011 --> 00:25:15,307
for what looked like Eyes Wide Shut ,
that Tom Cruise movie.
538
00:25:16,183 --> 00:25:18,560
Like, non-informational whatsoever.
539
00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:21,730
A time, a place, a date,
and that's it, you know.
540
00:25:21,730 --> 00:25:25,192
"I'll see you there," basically.
So I was like, "Jesus, okay."
541
00:25:25,192 --> 00:25:29,029
So I show up and Adam Neumann
was there at this initial thing,
542
00:25:29,029 --> 00:25:31,823
and there was maybe
500 people in this room,
543
00:25:31,823 --> 00:25:35,202
and they revealed what was going on.
544
00:25:35,202 --> 00:25:38,622
WeWork is starting WeLive,
545
00:25:38,622 --> 00:25:43,836
that is all about this new way of living.
546
00:25:43,836 --> 00:25:49,049
And we had a very distinct opportunity
to be the first people in there.
547
00:25:50,217 --> 00:25:54,513
I believed every word that
came out of Adam's mouth.
548
00:25:54,513 --> 00:25:59,142
- The success of this will be
if you guys feel like this is your home.
549
00:25:59,142 --> 00:26:01,562
AUGUST:
He seemed like he was talking
550
00:26:01,562 --> 00:26:03,939
like a man on a mission.
551
00:26:03,939 --> 00:26:05,357
So I signed the thing
552
00:26:05,357 --> 00:26:08,318
and they got back to me
and asked me to write
553
00:26:08,318 --> 00:26:13,323
a very sort of generic
"why you should live here."
554
00:26:13,323 --> 00:26:14,616
"Why should we pick you?"
555
00:26:14,616 --> 00:26:18,662
Like I didn't know anything about WeLive,
556
00:26:18,662 --> 00:26:23,417
so I was essentially writing a book report
for a book that I hadn't read.
557
00:26:23,417 --> 00:26:25,335
It's one of those things
where you're like,
558
00:26:25,335 --> 00:26:27,754
all I have to say is, "Wow!"
559
00:26:27,754 --> 00:26:33,218
So, you know, I wrote
way too long of an essay than I needed to.
560
00:26:33,218 --> 00:26:38,223
And, uh, shortly after that,
I was... accepted.
561
00:26:40,309 --> 00:26:43,729
This was supposed to be a space
where it's move-in ready.
562
00:26:43,729 --> 00:26:45,689
You don't need anything.
563
00:26:45,689 --> 00:26:49,109
So I packed a bag, just one big bag,
564
00:26:49,109 --> 00:26:52,738
like a drifter, and walked into the space.
565
00:26:53,697 --> 00:26:56,408
And it was...
566
00:26:57,492 --> 00:26:59,411
stunning, it was beautiful.
567
00:26:59,411 --> 00:27:02,247
You know, you walked in
and everything was perfect.
568
00:27:03,707 --> 00:27:06,793
QUINTON KERNS:
I was the first designer at WeLive.
569
00:27:07,544 --> 00:27:08,712
I moved into WeLive,
570
00:27:08,712 --> 00:27:11,548
because I was one of the first
members to be a beta tester.
571
00:27:11,548 --> 00:27:14,676
And that meant that,
for the first six months,
572
00:27:14,676 --> 00:27:17,346
there was a drastically reduced price.
573
00:27:17,346 --> 00:27:20,516
I had designed the space
with my colleagues,
574
00:27:20,516 --> 00:27:22,392
and I couldn't pass up the opportunity,
575
00:27:22,392 --> 00:27:24,686
and it was really cool
because you were living
576
00:27:24,686 --> 00:27:26,939
in this brand-new living situation.
577
00:27:28,774 --> 00:27:31,026
AUGUST: The Murphy bed
was built into the couch.
578
00:27:31,026 --> 00:27:33,195
There was a little desk
tucked into a corner
579
00:27:33,195 --> 00:27:35,280
that you could put your computer on.
580
00:27:35,280 --> 00:27:38,617
The whole thing may
have been 200 square feet.
581
00:27:38,617 --> 00:27:41,161
Might have been 200 square feet.
Like on a good day.
582
00:27:42,287 --> 00:27:44,831
But it was all about community.
583
00:27:44,831 --> 00:27:50,838
I think the initial group of people
definitely fit a certain criteria.
584
00:27:50,838 --> 00:27:55,217
I mean, beyond being young
with no actual responsibilities.
585
00:27:55,717 --> 00:27:58,053
- A lot of single people.
Everybody was single.
586
00:27:58,053 --> 00:28:00,681
We actually had a saying that
everything had to be designed
587
00:28:00,681 --> 00:28:02,099
to hold the weight of two people.
588
00:28:02,099 --> 00:28:04,726
AUGUST: Guess what all
those people had in common
589
00:28:04,726 --> 00:28:09,857
was the ability to pause their
personal lives to try out this new thing.
590
00:28:09,857 --> 00:28:13,443
QUINTON: They appealed to the same
WeWork generation of millennials.
591
00:28:13,443 --> 00:28:16,488
A lot of people worked at WeWork
who lived at WeLive at the time.
592
00:28:16,488 --> 00:28:21,201
AUGUST: A very, very small
percentage of us were outsiders,
593
00:28:21,201 --> 00:28:22,536
I guess you could say.
594
00:28:23,537 --> 00:28:29,084
The first six months, it was weird
if someone left the building.
595
00:28:29,084 --> 00:28:32,462
If someone were like, "Hey, I'm going
to a friend's birthday party,"
596
00:28:32,462 --> 00:28:34,715
and the very common next question is,
597
00:28:34,715 --> 00:28:36,216
"Oh, which floor is it on?"
598
00:28:36,216 --> 00:28:39,094
QUINTON: That's one of
the benefits of co-living is,
599
00:28:39,094 --> 00:28:41,889
you move in,
you get friends automatically,
you spend time with them.
600
00:28:41,889 --> 00:28:44,933
So it becomes your whole social circle.
601
00:28:44,933 --> 00:28:47,686
AUGUST: It all felt like
everybody was really dedicated
602
00:28:47,686 --> 00:28:49,771
to making this idea work,
603
00:28:49,771 --> 00:28:52,941
this sort of utopian...
604
00:28:52,941 --> 00:28:56,320
society of living situations,
605
00:28:56,320 --> 00:28:59,698
without really thinking
606
00:28:59,698 --> 00:29:03,869
of the consequences of that.
607
00:29:03,869 --> 00:29:06,246
[thunder crashing]
608
00:29:09,541 --> 00:29:12,586
♪ ethereal choral music playing ♪
609
00:29:14,296 --> 00:29:15,964
[hooves galloping]
610
00:29:17,382 --> 00:29:20,802
RANDALL:
WeWork wanted to become a unicorn.
611
00:29:22,596 --> 00:29:27,017
A unicorn is a company
valued at $1 billion.
612
00:29:30,354 --> 00:29:32,981
That one beautiful unicorn
613
00:29:32,981 --> 00:29:36,235
that can return
a hundred times your investment,
614
00:29:36,235 --> 00:29:39,738
that's how you're gonna make
a lot of money as a venture capitalist.
615
00:29:40,364 --> 00:29:43,325
So the entire world
of venture capital basically
616
00:29:43,325 --> 00:29:44,368
is on a unicorn hunt.
617
00:29:46,328 --> 00:29:48,413
Finding the next Uber,
618
00:29:48,413 --> 00:29:50,707
finding the next Facebook,
finding the next Google,
619
00:29:50,707 --> 00:29:54,086
that's going to make you a billionaire
620
00:29:54,086 --> 00:29:56,296
just by picking and betting
on the right horse,
621
00:29:56,296 --> 00:29:58,173
or in this case, the right unicorn.
622
00:30:01,176 --> 00:30:04,763
When WeWork was in its major
New York growth period,
623
00:30:04,763 --> 00:30:07,516
there were a lot of big players
who saw the potential.
624
00:30:07,516 --> 00:30:09,935
Venture capital firms saw this
625
00:30:09,935 --> 00:30:11,937
as a really great growth play
but they had to move fast.
626
00:30:11,937 --> 00:30:14,106
- I liked him immediately.
627
00:30:14,106 --> 00:30:16,525
Adam's just a charming, charismatic person
628
00:30:16,525 --> 00:30:18,777
who is very persuasive to a lot of people.
629
00:30:19,695 --> 00:30:21,280
STEVE BERTONI:
In many ways for investors,
630
00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:23,031
WeWork was the future of work.
631
00:30:23,031 --> 00:30:26,285
It became this poster child
for this growing trend
632
00:30:26,285 --> 00:30:30,831
of flexible offices,
um, kind of digital nomads.
633
00:30:30,831 --> 00:30:33,333
Another thing that drove
these investors was FOMO,
634
00:30:33,333 --> 00:30:34,626
fear of missing out.
635
00:30:34,626 --> 00:30:37,838
They had seen what venture
capital firms had reaped
636
00:30:37,838 --> 00:30:40,465
with all these startups,
and they wanted to get in the action.
637
00:30:40,465 --> 00:30:43,468
For many people,
WeWork was that next big thing.
638
00:30:43,468 --> 00:30:47,514
ALEX: WeWork was basically
getting interest from seed investors
639
00:30:47,514 --> 00:30:49,516
who were thinking,
"Oh, this is a small company.
640
00:30:49,516 --> 00:30:52,144
I'm gonna get in on the ground
with a small check."
641
00:30:52,144 --> 00:30:56,023
And yet they had quietly already reached
a billion-dollar valuation,
642
00:30:56,023 --> 00:31:00,027
i.e., one of New York's
very few tech unicorns,
643
00:31:00,027 --> 00:31:02,613
and yet people didn't know this
because they hadn't announced it.
644
00:31:02,613 --> 00:31:04,531
I'm like, wait a second.
645
00:31:04,531 --> 00:31:06,867
There's a billion-dollar
startup in New York
646
00:31:06,867 --> 00:31:09,578
that everybody wants to be a part of
647
00:31:09,578 --> 00:31:11,580
and nobody has a sense
of how big it is yet.
648
00:31:11,580 --> 00:31:14,374
And so that's when I started
spending a lot of time with Adam,
649
00:31:14,374 --> 00:31:16,585
to try to understand the company.
650
00:31:18,754 --> 00:31:20,088
[cash register dings]
651
00:31:23,759 --> 00:31:27,513
- New York real estate is
one of the most interesting markets
652
00:31:27,513 --> 00:31:29,181
of any kind in the world,
653
00:31:29,181 --> 00:31:32,809
because you have to go back to the days
of John Jacob Astor,
654
00:31:32,809 --> 00:31:37,606
the famous saying, "Nobody ever got poor
with New York City real estate."
655
00:31:37,606 --> 00:31:39,608
But there's a caveat to that,
656
00:31:39,608 --> 00:31:41,693
which is you have to have
incredibly sharp elbows
657
00:31:41,693 --> 00:31:43,278
and you have to play for keeps.
658
00:31:44,780 --> 00:31:47,074
LISA:
It is male-dominated.
659
00:31:47,074 --> 00:31:49,243
Businesses, portfolios.
660
00:31:49,243 --> 00:31:52,621
A lot of familial wealth in the city.
661
00:31:52,621 --> 00:31:56,583
It is a shark-eat-shark industry.
662
00:31:56,583 --> 00:31:58,418
♪ Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" playing ♪
663
00:31:58,418 --> 00:32:01,964
RANDALL: The Roses and the LeFraks
and the Kushners and even the Trumps.
664
00:32:01,964 --> 00:32:05,092
It's not really about
entrepreneurs per se,
665
00:32:05,092 --> 00:32:07,302
but it's about families,
it's about dynasties.
666
00:32:07,302 --> 00:32:10,472
It's generally the kind of
business that once you're in
667
00:32:10,472 --> 00:32:13,433
and you establish a beachhead,
uh, you're in.
668
00:32:13,433 --> 00:32:16,270
- So it's almost like you're
a real estate company wrapped
669
00:32:16,270 --> 00:32:19,189
in this sort of, in this tech sheen.
670
00:32:19,189 --> 00:32:21,108
- We're definitely not
a real estate company.
671
00:32:21,108 --> 00:32:23,777
We are a community of creators.
672
00:32:23,777 --> 00:32:26,572
We create environment for
entrepreneurs and freelancers.
673
00:32:26,572 --> 00:32:30,576
We leverage technology to connect people.
And it's a new way of working.
674
00:32:30,576 --> 00:32:32,911
And just like Uber is
the sharing economy for cars
675
00:32:32,911 --> 00:32:34,413
and Citi Bike for bicycle...
HOST: Right.
676
00:32:34,413 --> 00:32:36,999
...we're the sharing economy for space.
677
00:32:36,999 --> 00:32:38,667
♪ "Four Seasons" continues ♪
678
00:32:38,667 --> 00:32:40,752
HOST:
Do you buy the properties?
679
00:32:40,752 --> 00:32:42,546
ADAM: So we definitely
do not buy the property.
680
00:32:42,546 --> 00:32:44,965
That again would make us
a real estate company.
HOST: Exactly.
681
00:32:44,965 --> 00:32:47,259
ADAM: We create
long-term leases with landlords,
682
00:32:47,259 --> 00:32:50,554
and then we take the space and we
break it up and we create the community
683
00:32:50,554 --> 00:32:53,182
and the connections that happen
between our members.
684
00:32:53,182 --> 00:32:54,975
MORT ZUCKERMAN:
I saw what he was doing.
685
00:32:54,975 --> 00:32:57,936
I made a judgment as to this man's
leadership capabilities,
686
00:32:57,936 --> 00:32:59,897
which are truly extraordinary, okay?
687
00:32:59,897 --> 00:33:04,151
It's phenomenal, and it's a great concept,
and it's continuing to explode.
688
00:33:04,151 --> 00:33:07,821
- Taking these distressed buildings
and flipping them in a new way,
689
00:33:07,821 --> 00:33:10,240
that was an insight that no one else had.
690
00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:13,035
And, you know, they're validated
by the smartest people in real estate
691
00:33:13,035 --> 00:33:15,412
being like, "Wow!
That was a really interesting idea.
692
00:33:15,412 --> 00:33:18,207
It may be really risky,
but it's an interesting idea."
693
00:33:21,418 --> 00:33:24,004
Pretty quickly, the Kushner family,
694
00:33:24,004 --> 00:33:27,549
the Rudin family, and Boston Properties
695
00:33:27,549 --> 00:33:30,385
were all onboard with this idea.
696
00:33:30,385 --> 00:33:34,264
It was validating to the establishment
697
00:33:34,264 --> 00:33:37,267
and it was also validating to Wall Street.
698
00:33:37,267 --> 00:33:41,563
You know, JP Morgan leads
a large investment in WeWork.
699
00:33:41,563 --> 00:33:44,983
- Adam loved to namedrop to people.
700
00:33:44,983 --> 00:33:48,153
And, I mean, Jamie Dimon is the world's...
701
00:33:48,153 --> 00:33:50,155
top banker,
702
00:33:50,155 --> 00:33:53,534
and he would tell people
he was his personal banker.
703
00:33:56,995 --> 00:33:59,498
RANDALL:
They started to consume everything.
704
00:33:59,498 --> 00:34:00,832
They were renting
as many office spaces
705
00:34:00,832 --> 00:34:02,334
in as many
neighborhoods as possible.
706
00:34:02,334 --> 00:34:04,294
It became a literal land grab.
707
00:34:06,213 --> 00:34:08,715
All of a sudden, WeWork became
708
00:34:08,715 --> 00:34:12,511
the largest lessee of office space
in all of New York City.
709
00:34:12,511 --> 00:34:15,138
♪ dramatic music playing ♪
710
00:34:25,232 --> 00:34:27,192
MAN:
Good afternoon, all of you.
711
00:34:27,192 --> 00:34:30,487
When we sat down
at the beginning of this year
712
00:34:30,487 --> 00:34:32,656
to decide the agenda,
713
00:34:32,656 --> 00:34:34,867
the first name we put
on the list and circled
714
00:34:34,867 --> 00:34:37,828
was Adam Neumann of WeWork,
and you're about to see why.
715
00:34:37,828 --> 00:34:41,832
But by the way, having lunch next to Adam
716
00:34:41,832 --> 00:34:43,542
and having him coach me
717
00:34:43,542 --> 00:34:46,044
on how we did the seating
all wrong here was...
718
00:34:46,044 --> 00:34:49,131
I mean, three or four times,
he was very--
719
00:34:49,131 --> 00:34:52,676
- But it bothers me because the center
of energy in this room is right here
720
00:34:52,676 --> 00:34:55,053
and no one's sitting there,
and it's right in front of us.
721
00:34:55,053 --> 00:34:57,848
And it's these little details
that we pay attention to,
722
00:34:57,848 --> 00:34:59,933
and this is why, this is how
you bring people together,
723
00:34:59,933 --> 00:35:02,728
and we have people sitting there
facing the wrong direction,
724
00:35:02,728 --> 00:35:04,855
and there's enough room
for all of us to get closer.
725
00:35:04,855 --> 00:35:09,651
- The last...
[laughter and applause]
726
00:35:09,651 --> 00:35:12,821
- I remember in the very beginning
walking into the office
727
00:35:12,821 --> 00:35:15,699
and seeing Rebekah
and looking at her and saying,
728
00:35:15,699 --> 00:35:18,493
"Your husband has an incredible vision."
729
00:35:18,493 --> 00:35:21,830
And she said,
"I know. It's why I married him."
730
00:35:21,830 --> 00:35:24,625
♪
731
00:35:27,503 --> 00:35:28,629
- Are you okay?
732
00:35:31,173 --> 00:35:32,591
[exhales sharply]
733
00:35:32,591 --> 00:35:34,426
Oh, fuck, are you on drugs?
734
00:35:34,426 --> 00:35:35,677
- No.
- Are you?
735
00:35:35,677 --> 00:35:37,763
- No!
- What are you on right now?
736
00:35:37,763 --> 00:35:39,681
- I'm not on anything, Robin.
737
00:35:39,681 --> 00:35:42,100
[pills rattling]
Fuck.
738
00:35:42,100 --> 00:35:44,645
LISA:
Rebekah was Adam's wife,
739
00:35:44,645 --> 00:35:49,566
and she had an office with us
because she was a filmmaker, an actress.
740
00:35:49,566 --> 00:35:51,777
[sobbing]
741
00:35:51,777 --> 00:35:56,907
ALEX: She is, uh,
a cousin of Gwyneth Paltrow.
742
00:35:56,907 --> 00:35:58,992
You can't go far hearing about Rebekah
743
00:35:58,992 --> 00:36:01,745
or talking to Rebekah
without that kind of coming up.
744
00:36:01,745 --> 00:36:05,123
LISA: I went to a screening
of a film that she created.
745
00:36:05,123 --> 00:36:06,792
We all went to the screening.
746
00:36:07,251 --> 00:36:09,211
- This is your entire life story?
747
00:36:09,211 --> 00:36:12,172
- That is my entire story.
- No, it isn't.
748
00:36:14,341 --> 00:36:16,176
- It was interesting.
749
00:36:16,176 --> 00:36:19,429
ALEX: She's around from
the beginning of WeWork,
750
00:36:19,429 --> 00:36:21,348
helping in unofficial ways.
751
00:36:21,348 --> 00:36:23,767
ADAM:
I meet my wife, I was 28.
752
00:36:23,767 --> 00:36:26,103
This was 10 years ago,
and she looks at me
753
00:36:26,103 --> 00:36:28,480
and she goes,
literally within five minutes,
754
00:36:28,480 --> 00:36:32,484
"You have a lot of potential,
but right now you're full of shit."
755
00:36:32,484 --> 00:36:33,819
[audience laughs]
756
00:36:33,819 --> 00:36:36,071
"You have potential,
but you're full of shit."
757
00:36:36,071 --> 00:36:38,490
"You, my friend, are full of shit."
758
00:36:38,490 --> 00:36:41,451
"You have a lot of potential,
but you're full of shit."
759
00:36:41,451 --> 00:36:42,995
[audience laughs]
760
00:36:42,995 --> 00:36:44,663
She said, "Find your passion.
761
00:36:44,663 --> 00:36:46,790
"Do something that
actually changes the world.
762
00:36:46,790 --> 00:36:48,834
"Bring those two together, I promise you,
763
00:36:48,834 --> 00:36:50,794
you'll have the best business
you ever imagined."
764
00:36:50,794 --> 00:36:53,755
I have to say I did all of that and,
Rebekah, I just want to say thank you.
765
00:36:53,755 --> 00:36:55,215
- Adam, my love.
- I'd be nothing without you.
766
00:36:55,215 --> 00:36:57,009
HOST: Well put.
- Thank you.
767
00:36:57,467 --> 00:36:59,511
ALEX:
I would go to interview Adam.
768
00:36:59,511 --> 00:37:02,890
Rebekah was there
for a lot of the interviews.
769
00:37:02,890 --> 00:37:04,641
REBEKAH:
Sweetie, can I just say something?
770
00:37:04,641 --> 00:37:07,186
How do I pause this? You don't need this.
771
00:37:07,186 --> 00:37:11,732
- She was, um, grilling me
about my intentions with the story.
772
00:37:11,732 --> 00:37:14,234
- Really by putting 400,000
square feet of room--
773
00:37:14,234 --> 00:37:17,154
REBEKAH: You're saying WeWork is
gonna make the neighborhood cool?
774
00:37:17,154 --> 00:37:19,281
- It's gonna make it work.
775
00:37:19,281 --> 00:37:21,366
It's gonna make the neighborhood, period.
776
00:37:21,366 --> 00:37:25,454
WeWork is gonna make the Lower East Side
the new Silicon Valley.
777
00:37:25,454 --> 00:37:28,540
ALEX:
Clearly she had a lot of authority,
778
00:37:28,540 --> 00:37:32,336
but she was not considered
at the time a co-founder.
779
00:37:32,336 --> 00:37:35,589
It's pretty clear that Rebekah's
trying to sort of shape Adam,
780
00:37:35,589 --> 00:37:39,468
or help him become this world leader type
781
00:37:39,468 --> 00:37:42,346
that, you know, he aspires
to be and that she likes.
782
00:37:45,098 --> 00:37:48,644
MEGAN: Working at WeWork,
we all felt like, "Oh, wow.
783
00:37:48,644 --> 00:37:52,147
"This is such a special place
to be at a special time,
784
00:37:52,147 --> 00:37:55,943
because as it grows, they're gonna need,
they're gonna need us."
785
00:38:00,322 --> 00:38:03,116
HOST:
You're a hard-driving CEO.
786
00:38:03,116 --> 00:38:08,205
We've seen with other hard-driving CEOs
and companies with a lot of hours
787
00:38:08,205 --> 00:38:10,749
that, that the culture can crumble.
788
00:38:10,749 --> 00:38:13,627
I was watching a video of yours where
789
00:38:13,627 --> 00:38:15,212
the typical Monday was described
790
00:38:15,212 --> 00:38:18,090
as arriving at 7 a. m.
and going home at 3 a. m.
791
00:38:18,090 --> 00:38:20,092
- This Monday,
I finished at 2 a. m., not at 3.
792
00:38:20,092 --> 00:38:23,345
[host laughs]
It was a good, it was a good Monday.
793
00:38:23,345 --> 00:38:26,932
- I thought I was going to work at WeWork
for the rest of my life.
794
00:38:26,932 --> 00:38:29,601
I really thought that this
was my lifetime career
795
00:38:29,601 --> 00:38:31,854
and I would just grow with the company.
796
00:38:31,854 --> 00:38:35,440
- If you build an amazing culture,
one that people can give you feedback,
797
00:38:35,440 --> 00:38:38,068
one that works hard
but also has a great time,
798
00:38:38,068 --> 00:38:40,320
then you will deal with
the tough times when they come.
799
00:38:40,320 --> 00:38:43,699
And that's, that's what's really
important, and if you do it right--
800
00:38:43,699 --> 00:38:46,243
By the way, working hard is fulfilling.
801
00:38:46,243 --> 00:38:48,495
LISA:
We would hustle so hard.
802
00:38:48,495 --> 00:38:50,747
And though we would hit the mark,
803
00:38:50,747 --> 00:38:55,210
there was always a way
that Adam grew the vision,
804
00:38:55,210 --> 00:38:59,423
so that everyone could see that we could
do more, hustle harder, hustle faster.
805
00:39:00,132 --> 00:39:02,759
MEGAN: When somebody tells you
they're changing the world
806
00:39:02,759 --> 00:39:06,180
and you are helping them do that,
it feels special.
807
00:39:06,180 --> 00:39:08,765
it feels really special.
808
00:39:08,765 --> 00:39:12,060
Everybody was just on it,
ready to be a part of this company,
809
00:39:12,060 --> 00:39:15,105
to be part of WeWork,
to be a part of the dream.
810
00:39:16,148 --> 00:39:18,692
At that time,
we were also being told like...
811
00:39:20,235 --> 00:39:21,820
Adam told me I was gonna be a millionaire.
812
00:39:23,530 --> 00:39:26,909
DON: Most people agreed
to salaries less than
813
00:39:26,909 --> 00:39:30,829
they would make at somewhere else
in a regular field or whatnot,
814
00:39:30,829 --> 00:39:35,334
because you were given a salary
and a certain value of stock options.
815
00:39:35,334 --> 00:39:39,838
- When your business has a mission,
and that mission is world changing,
816
00:39:39,838 --> 00:39:43,509
and people can buy into the mission,
then they're gonna come in.
817
00:39:43,509 --> 00:39:45,719
Then they need the culture
that they're going to enjoy.
818
00:39:45,719 --> 00:39:48,972
To create that culture,
you got to put employees first.
819
00:39:48,972 --> 00:39:51,099
We've given every one
of our employees equity,
820
00:39:51,099 --> 00:39:54,269
so everyone is a partner in this business,
from the porter that cleans
821
00:39:54,269 --> 00:39:55,604
to the community manager,
822
00:39:55,604 --> 00:39:58,482
to the CFO and COO of the company.
823
00:39:58,482 --> 00:39:59,900
Everyone is a partner.
824
00:39:59,900 --> 00:40:01,860
[chanting "WeWork!"]
825
00:40:01,860 --> 00:40:04,613
DON: So the idea was, people get
super rich off of stock options, right?
826
00:40:04,613 --> 00:40:06,698
You hear about the guy
who went to work at Amazon.
827
00:40:06,698 --> 00:40:08,367
He worked in the warehouse.
828
00:40:08,367 --> 00:40:11,453
He was like the 40th person in.
He became a multi-gazillionaire.
829
00:40:11,453 --> 00:40:13,455
So that's what was being sold.
830
00:40:13,455 --> 00:40:15,791
But the way the stock options worked
831
00:40:15,791 --> 00:40:18,585
was that's not really
like what would happen.
832
00:40:18,585 --> 00:40:21,547
MARGARITA KELRIKH:
"Equity" was kind of a buzzword.
833
00:40:21,547 --> 00:40:24,258
Adam would talk about it all the time.
834
00:40:24,258 --> 00:40:27,177
"You all have equity in the company."
835
00:40:27,177 --> 00:40:29,221
Which I don't think is quite true.
836
00:40:29,221 --> 00:40:32,558
If you have stock options, you don't
actually own equity in the company.
837
00:40:32,558 --> 00:40:36,770
You own a security that gives you
an option to buy equity in the company.
838
00:40:37,646 --> 00:40:39,398
I would see that people
didn't understand
839
00:40:39,398 --> 00:40:41,650
about that you're taking in
what you're getting.
840
00:40:41,650 --> 00:40:43,569
It's so exciting...
841
00:40:44,862 --> 00:40:47,823
to feel like you own
something that is so famous
842
00:40:47,823 --> 00:40:50,033
and so talked about.
843
00:40:50,033 --> 00:40:52,286
So that they can say like,
"Oh, I have equity."
844
00:40:52,286 --> 00:40:56,456
But if somebody actually did the math,
maybe their equity's worth like $2,000.
845
00:40:56,456 --> 00:41:01,003
You might think that the possibility
of getting a million-dollar payout
846
00:41:01,003 --> 00:41:05,007
is far higher than it
actually is in reality.
847
00:41:05,007 --> 00:41:07,843
[audience murmuring]
848
00:41:07,843 --> 00:41:09,469
ADAM:
There's a lot of room.
849
00:41:09,469 --> 00:41:12,723
You can sit next to the gong.
Don't be shy.
850
00:41:12,723 --> 00:41:14,600
JOANNA STRANGE:
WeWork onboarding meetings
851
00:41:14,600 --> 00:41:16,393
were on Monday mornings.
852
00:41:16,393 --> 00:41:19,730
And everybody would come in
and then a presentation would begin.
853
00:41:19,730 --> 00:41:22,900
And the presentation
was the mythology of WeWork.
854
00:41:22,900 --> 00:41:27,613
♪ peaceful symphonic music playing ♪
855
00:41:27,613 --> 00:41:30,908
Like Adam walking
through a kibbutz in Israel.
856
00:41:30,908 --> 00:41:33,619
Like his hands grazing over lavender,
857
00:41:33,619 --> 00:41:36,496
as he thinks to himself with a narration
858
00:41:36,496 --> 00:41:41,919
about community and support
and loving one another.
859
00:41:41,919 --> 00:41:45,672
Then we get Miguel like walking through
his compound in Oregon.
860
00:41:45,672 --> 00:41:48,300
They didn't do that; that's what
they should have done.
They should have hired me for that.
861
00:41:48,300 --> 00:41:50,594
But anyway, um, you know, kind of this...
862
00:41:50,594 --> 00:41:53,222
But it's definitely like
a couple of slides about WeWork
863
00:41:53,222 --> 00:41:57,559
and then lots of slides
about every single person at the C level.
864
00:41:57,559 --> 00:42:00,145
[cheering]
865
00:42:00,145 --> 00:42:02,648
DON: At some point, they changed
the organizational structure
866
00:42:02,648 --> 00:42:06,235
to have like mini CEOs
in different regions.
867
00:42:06,235 --> 00:42:09,029
And they call them C-We-Os.
868
00:42:09,029 --> 00:42:10,697
So... [laughing]
869
00:42:10,697 --> 00:42:12,574
I'm not kidding, you know,
and I was like, "Look
870
00:42:12,574 --> 00:42:15,077
"I'm not referring to anybody
as a C-We-O
871
00:42:15,077 --> 00:42:16,453
for my entire life."
872
00:42:20,791 --> 00:42:23,043
And they made some weird videos.
873
00:42:23,043 --> 00:42:25,254
JOANNA:
Everything about the videos
874
00:42:25,254 --> 00:42:27,256
was propaganda.
875
00:42:27,256 --> 00:42:29,132
Everything about it was propaganda.
876
00:42:29,132 --> 00:42:32,845
DON: The tone-deafness and lack
of awareness to show these videos,
877
00:42:32,845 --> 00:42:34,471
it was incredible.
878
00:42:34,471 --> 00:42:37,266
Basically, you had the CEO,
you had all the C-We-Os,
879
00:42:37,266 --> 00:42:41,144
and you really didn't see
any minorities up in the higher echelons.
880
00:42:41,144 --> 00:42:44,690
There wasn't proper diversity
at WeWork, period, hard stop.
881
00:42:44,690 --> 00:42:46,108
JOANNA:
The C-We-Os are people
882
00:42:46,108 --> 00:42:48,735
who just want to talk
about their awesomeness.
883
00:42:48,735 --> 00:42:51,780
They have that very much
in common with Adam.
884
00:42:51,780 --> 00:42:54,908
It was almost like you needed
to know who was at the top
885
00:42:54,908 --> 00:42:56,952
so when they came past,
you could bow down to them.
886
00:42:59,121 --> 00:43:01,248
The events themselves
really were meant
887
00:43:01,248 --> 00:43:05,502
to kind of like engender
a loyalty to WeWork.
888
00:43:05,502 --> 00:43:09,131
DON: There would be like
50 to 70 people starting every Monday,
889
00:43:09,131 --> 00:43:11,717
and you'd be sitting in your office,
and all of a sudden
890
00:43:11,717 --> 00:43:13,177
you hear chanting
throughout the entire building.
891
00:43:13,177 --> 00:43:15,179
[crowd chanting "WeWork!"]
892
00:43:15,179 --> 00:43:17,514
JOANNA:
While we're all trying to do our work.
893
00:43:17,514 --> 00:43:20,726
It's deafening.
The music and everybody screaming.
894
00:43:20,726 --> 00:43:22,686
[crowd screaming, clapping]
895
00:43:22,686 --> 00:43:26,398
They were willing to spend any amount
of money to make themselves feel good
896
00:43:26,398 --> 00:43:28,984
and look good to their employees.
897
00:43:28,984 --> 00:43:32,321
[crowd cheering]
898
00:43:35,324 --> 00:43:36,742
[cash register dings]
899
00:43:41,496 --> 00:43:46,376
DON: The offices were,
to put it mildly, they were cramped.
900
00:43:46,376 --> 00:43:49,588
The mantra we got from on top,
and I specifically remember
901
00:43:49,588 --> 00:43:52,466
an all-company meeting
where we were kind of told
902
00:43:52,466 --> 00:43:56,178
that we would be quadrupling up,
quintupling up, sixing up.
903
00:43:56,178 --> 00:43:58,263
"You don't need the corner office anymore.
904
00:43:58,263 --> 00:44:00,098
"You don't need
the house on the hill anymore.
905
00:44:00,098 --> 00:44:03,101
It's all about energy, togetherness,
working with your fellow humans."
906
00:44:03,101 --> 00:44:06,271
And then meanwhile, you know,
I slide by Adam's office
907
00:44:06,271 --> 00:44:08,524
and he's got a veritable palace in there.
908
00:44:11,568 --> 00:44:13,320
There's a little bit
of hypocrisy to all this.
909
00:44:13,320 --> 00:44:15,113
You know, I remember
at some old company speech,
910
00:44:15,113 --> 00:44:18,575
it was about, you know, taking
some small steps to make sure
911
00:44:18,575 --> 00:44:23,247
that we saved a million dollars
on the operating budget every year.
912
00:44:23,247 --> 00:44:27,209
And then Adam just bought
a $60 million private jet, right?
913
00:44:27,209 --> 00:44:30,087
So, you know, you hear these
and you're kind of wondering like,
914
00:44:30,087 --> 00:44:33,549
what is the message that's being told
and how are people really living?
915
00:44:37,803 --> 00:44:40,264
JOANNA:
There was definitely a lot of chaos
916
00:44:40,264 --> 00:44:43,892
and lack of organization at WeWork.
917
00:44:44,935 --> 00:44:48,438
Multiple times,
I end up doing other people's jobs.
918
00:44:48,438 --> 00:44:50,232
Because they're not working fast enough.
919
00:44:50,732 --> 00:44:52,818
So then eventually my supervisor
920
00:44:52,818 --> 00:44:55,612
writes his password on a Post-It
and he hands it to me.
921
00:44:55,612 --> 00:44:57,906
I used his log-in for everything.
922
00:44:57,906 --> 00:45:00,951
I was logging in and out so often
923
00:45:00,951 --> 00:45:04,454
that more than once,
I would click on his Gmail icon
924
00:45:04,454 --> 00:45:06,915
and end up opening his email,
only to realize it's his email
925
00:45:06,915 --> 00:45:11,086
and then have to log back out
of everything and have to log back in.
926
00:45:11,086 --> 00:45:13,797
And, you know, one day
927
00:45:13,797 --> 00:45:15,841
a title of an email caught my eye.
928
00:45:15,841 --> 00:45:19,469
And then sort of the rest, as they say,
is history.
929
00:45:19,928 --> 00:45:22,723
[clicks]
So I click on it, of course,
930
00:45:22,723 --> 00:45:25,392
and it's a list of people
that he's gonna fire.
931
00:45:25,392 --> 00:45:26,685
And I'm on the list.
932
00:45:26,685 --> 00:45:30,480
But when you read further down in it,
933
00:45:30,480 --> 00:45:34,568
you realize that it's a mandate
to cut 7% of their employees.
934
00:45:34,568 --> 00:45:38,572
Because WeWork was just
flushing cash down the toilet.
935
00:45:38,572 --> 00:45:43,368
Just hemorrhaging, hemorrhaging money,
so we had to cut jobs.
936
00:45:44,119 --> 00:45:45,662
He wrote something like,
937
00:45:45,662 --> 00:45:49,082
"Ha! Bitches, I cut more
than 7% of my team,"
938
00:45:49,082 --> 00:45:51,168
'cause everybody was supposed to cut 7%.
939
00:45:51,168 --> 00:45:52,794
And I was like, "What?"
940
00:45:54,880 --> 00:45:57,049
After I saw that email, I thought,
941
00:45:57,049 --> 00:46:00,010
well, he gave me his password,
and so I went digging
942
00:46:00,010 --> 00:46:01,512
because I thought, okay,
943
00:46:01,512 --> 00:46:03,180
I know we're running out of money.
944
00:46:03,180 --> 00:46:05,265
Now they're laying people off.
What's going wrong?
945
00:46:08,852 --> 00:46:13,440
When I go back in,
one of the documents that I find,
946
00:46:13,440 --> 00:46:15,734
it was obviously, the information
was not meant to be disseminated,
947
00:46:15,734 --> 00:46:17,569
but it showed that
948
00:46:17,569 --> 00:46:21,323
we had to adjust our revenue down
949
00:46:21,323 --> 00:46:24,368
by something like 80%.
950
00:46:25,035 --> 00:46:26,787
I didn't know if they were
not gonna tell investors.
951
00:46:26,787 --> 00:46:30,499
They certainly were lying to every time
they put out something in the media.
952
00:46:30,499 --> 00:46:32,042
- Are you actually turning a profit
in the business?
953
00:46:32,042 --> 00:46:33,669
ADAM:
We are definitely turning a profit.
954
00:46:33,669 --> 00:46:36,630
I'm bored of the businesses
that don't turn a profit.
I don't believe in them.
955
00:46:36,630 --> 00:46:38,590
I need a cash flow-positive business.
956
00:46:38,590 --> 00:46:41,468
JOANNA:
And so I thought, well, I'll just give it
957
00:46:41,468 --> 00:46:43,846
to somebody in the media
and then it will go to the right place
958
00:46:43,846 --> 00:46:46,265
and then they will be
taken to task for it.
959
00:46:49,184 --> 00:46:51,478
ALEX: When I went to try
to report on this leak,
960
00:46:51,478 --> 00:46:53,522
you know, we get
this statement from WeWork
961
00:46:53,522 --> 00:46:57,192
that the person has broken the law
and that they're going to pursue this,
962
00:46:57,192 --> 00:47:00,320
and they kind of were trying
to come off a bit as a victim
963
00:47:00,320 --> 00:47:02,197
in the leak.
964
00:47:02,197 --> 00:47:05,325
They kind of said, "Okay, well,
some buildings have been delayed,
965
00:47:05,325 --> 00:47:08,370
but we can sort of paint the overall
narrative that things will still be fine."
966
00:47:08,370 --> 00:47:10,372
And they had these really powerful backers
967
00:47:10,372 --> 00:47:12,958
who have pumped them with money,
and so I think at that time
968
00:47:12,958 --> 00:47:15,043
it was hard to say...
969
00:47:15,043 --> 00:47:18,088
are they faking it till they make it a bit
and things are gonna work out?
970
00:47:18,088 --> 00:47:20,841
Will they grow up and kind of
figure out these problems?
971
00:47:20,841 --> 00:47:22,759
Or is this a runaway train?
972
00:47:22,759 --> 00:47:26,346
And then all that gets
kind of tossed out the window
973
00:47:26,346 --> 00:47:29,808
when just a few months later,
SoftBank enters the picture.
974
00:47:29,808 --> 00:47:31,101
[reporters clamoring]
975
00:47:32,186 --> 00:47:34,021
MAN 1: How's that?
MAN 2: That's good.
976
00:47:34,021 --> 00:47:36,356
WOMAN: Much better.
MAN 1: Yeah.
977
00:47:36,356 --> 00:47:39,151
[camera shutter clicking]
WOMAN: Okay, you guys
have 60 seconds left
978
00:47:39,151 --> 00:47:41,320
'cause I hear the money counting.
979
00:47:44,740 --> 00:47:49,494
- Masayoshi Son is the founder
and CEO of SoftBank,
980
00:47:49,494 --> 00:47:52,789
a large holding company
based out of Japan.
981
00:47:52,789 --> 00:47:54,875
Known as Masa.
982
00:47:54,875 --> 00:47:58,712
He is one of the richest people in Japan.
983
00:47:58,712 --> 00:48:01,256
In 2017, Masa
984
00:48:01,256 --> 00:48:04,384
raised the largest
venture capital fund of all time.
985
00:48:04,384 --> 00:48:05,385
It's called the Vision Fund.
986
00:48:06,136 --> 00:48:09,723
MAUREEN FARRELL:
The size of the Vision Fund
was unlike anything
987
00:48:09,723 --> 00:48:11,934
anyone had ever seen before.
988
00:48:11,934 --> 00:48:13,977
It was $100 billion.
989
00:48:13,977 --> 00:48:16,855
That essentially equated
to several years' worth
990
00:48:16,855 --> 00:48:19,608
of every U. S. venture capital fund.
991
00:48:19,608 --> 00:48:22,361
You put them all together
and it's around that size.
992
00:48:22,361 --> 00:48:23,695
MAN:
So when you told people
993
00:48:23,695 --> 00:48:25,489
you were gonna raise
a hundred-billion-dollar fund,
994
00:48:25,489 --> 00:48:27,324
what was the vision
that you actually gave them?
995
00:48:27,324 --> 00:48:30,953
- So, one vision, which is singularity.
996
00:48:30,953 --> 00:48:33,664
Singularity is the concept
997
00:48:33,664 --> 00:48:37,960
that in 30 years,
computers, artificial intelligence,
998
00:48:37,960 --> 00:48:39,920
they will be smarter than us.
999
00:48:39,920 --> 00:48:41,213
That's my belief.
1000
00:48:41,213 --> 00:48:44,424
ALEX:
The singularity has a lot of implications
1001
00:48:44,424 --> 00:48:46,969
for how technology
will be used by society,
1002
00:48:46,969 --> 00:48:50,681
and I think it also represents
this massive existential threat
1003
00:48:50,681 --> 00:48:55,644
where someday our creations
will outstrip us and not need us,
1004
00:48:55,644 --> 00:49:00,315
and we will be living lives
dictated by machines.
1005
00:49:00,315 --> 00:49:02,985
- So we are investing
a hundred billion dollars
1006
00:49:02,985 --> 00:49:05,487
just on one thing, AI.
1007
00:49:05,487 --> 00:49:07,739
ALEX:
The Vision Fund could basically play king,
1008
00:49:07,739 --> 00:49:09,950
and Masa was going around
looking for markets
1009
00:49:09,950 --> 00:49:12,286
that he thought
could be really high growth
1010
00:49:12,286 --> 00:49:15,914
and companies with a potential
to morph into something
1011
00:49:15,914 --> 00:49:19,126
to fit his vision of the future
of the singularity.
1012
00:49:19,126 --> 00:49:23,589
And Adam wanted WeWork
to be part of this huge vision.
1013
00:49:26,842 --> 00:49:29,761
- Adam Neumann and Masa Son
had met many times.
1014
00:49:29,761 --> 00:49:34,016
However, Masa had always thought
that WeWork was overvalued
1015
00:49:34,016 --> 00:49:36,894
and it would be too easy to replicate.
1016
00:49:36,894 --> 00:49:38,979
- The sharing economy's the future.
1017
00:49:38,979 --> 00:49:42,024
If I treat you
the way that I wanna be treated,
1018
00:49:42,024 --> 00:49:45,068
then we can actually make
a difference and be successful.
1019
00:49:45,068 --> 00:49:47,905
STEVE:
But because of Adam Neumann's charisma,
1020
00:49:47,905 --> 00:49:50,741
Masa Son arranged to meet with Adam
1021
00:49:50,741 --> 00:49:53,702
for this big two-hour tour
of headquarters.
1022
00:49:56,622 --> 00:49:58,874
Adam has been preparing
for this for weeks.
1023
00:50:01,126 --> 00:50:04,421
And he's pacing around, pacing around,
watching his clock.
1024
00:50:04,421 --> 00:50:06,924
[second hand clicking]
1025
00:50:06,924 --> 00:50:09,384
Fifteen minutes goes by, no Masa.
1026
00:50:09,384 --> 00:50:11,011
[balls clinking]
1027
00:50:11,011 --> 00:50:13,430
Half an hour goes by, no Masa.
1028
00:50:13,430 --> 00:50:15,682
[pendulum clicking]
1029
00:50:15,682 --> 00:50:18,644
A full hour goes by
and he's still looking at his clock.
1030
00:50:21,230 --> 00:50:23,649
Finally, Masa shows up, and he says,
1031
00:50:23,649 --> 00:50:27,611
"Adam, I'm so sorry, I'm late,
but we only have 12 minutes."
1032
00:50:31,031 --> 00:50:34,868
And they're going through WeWork
and he's giving him the super-speed tour.
1033
00:50:36,787 --> 00:50:40,415
At exactly 12 minutes,
Masa Son looks at his watch
1034
00:50:40,415 --> 00:50:43,335
and he says, "Adam,
I'm so sorry, but I have to go.
1035
00:50:46,296 --> 00:50:51,468
But," Masa said, "if you'd like,
you can ride with me to my next meeting."
1036
00:50:54,012 --> 00:50:59,560
So Adam grabs his iPad
with the whole WeWork SoftBank pitch,
1037
00:50:59,560 --> 00:51:01,353
and they jump in the car.
1038
00:51:03,647 --> 00:51:06,066
Adam pulls up his WeWork pitch,
1039
00:51:06,066 --> 00:51:09,319
and Masa says, "I don't need
the pitch deck. Let's just talk."
1040
00:51:12,322 --> 00:51:16,201
Masa turns to Adam and he says,
"Adam, let me ask you a question.
1041
00:51:17,995 --> 00:51:21,039
In a fight, who wins,
the smart guy or the crazy guy?"
1042
00:51:23,083 --> 00:51:25,794
And Adam says, "The crazy guy."
1043
00:51:25,794 --> 00:51:29,548
And he goes, "You're right,
but you're not crazy enough.
1044
00:51:29,548 --> 00:51:32,092
"You gotta be the crazy one.
1045
00:51:32,092 --> 00:51:34,052
"You need to think bigger.
1046
00:51:34,052 --> 00:51:36,346
You need to think 10 times bigger."
1047
00:51:38,599 --> 00:51:42,853
And Masa begins, you know,
doodling his vision for WeWork,
1048
00:51:42,853 --> 00:51:45,856
this grand plan to take WeWork global.
1049
00:51:48,525 --> 00:51:51,778
So basically Masa Son gave Adam Neumann
1050
00:51:51,778 --> 00:51:55,782
a check for $4 billion
and said, "Go crazy."
1051
00:51:57,743 --> 00:51:59,244
And that changes everything.
1052
00:52:01,038 --> 00:52:02,915
MAN: The Wall Street Journal
is reporting that SoftBank,
1053
00:52:02,915 --> 00:52:05,918
the Japanese investment firm,
is considering putting
1054
00:52:05,918 --> 00:52:08,837
$4 billion in your company.
1055
00:52:08,837 --> 00:52:10,047
Is that accurate?
1056
00:52:10,047 --> 00:52:12,090
- There is nothing
I can say on that topic,
1057
00:52:12,090 --> 00:52:13,675
but that sounds like a big number.
1058
00:52:13,675 --> 00:52:16,386
[woman laughs]
- That would be nice, wouldn't it?
1059
00:52:16,386 --> 00:52:19,014
- Sounds big.
1060
00:52:19,014 --> 00:52:21,600
♪ suspenseful music playing ♪
[camera shutter clicking]
1061
00:52:25,896 --> 00:52:27,439
[cash register bell rings]
1062
00:52:29,691 --> 00:52:32,361
♪ music tempo increasing ♪
[train wheels clacking]
1063
00:52:33,737 --> 00:52:37,658
[chanting "WeWork"]
1064
00:52:57,594 --> 00:52:59,721
- I don't remember the exact moment
1065
00:52:59,721 --> 00:53:04,017
I first heard about
the SoftBank investment.
1066
00:53:04,017 --> 00:53:06,436
You would hear rumors.
1067
00:53:06,436 --> 00:53:08,313
And to me it just seemed normal, you know.
1068
00:53:08,313 --> 00:53:09,898
They were raising money every year.
1069
00:53:09,898 --> 00:53:12,568
Their growth expectations
were really high.
1070
00:53:12,568 --> 00:53:15,320
I didn't think it would be...
1071
00:53:15,320 --> 00:53:18,657
as transformative as it ended up being.
1072
00:53:20,492 --> 00:53:22,870
ALEX: With the SoftBank money,
WeWork is able
1073
00:53:22,870 --> 00:53:26,206
to massively accelerate
global expansion plans.
1074
00:53:26,206 --> 00:53:29,543
SoftBank unlocks Asia in a new way.
1075
00:53:29,543 --> 00:53:32,963
You know, this meets Adam's big ambitions.
1076
00:53:32,963 --> 00:53:35,382
DON:
I mean, the growth was insane.
1077
00:53:35,382 --> 00:53:39,011
In the two and a half years I was
at WeWork, I negotiated more deals
1078
00:53:39,011 --> 00:53:41,763
and spoke to more lawyers
than I probably will the rest of my life.
1079
00:53:41,763 --> 00:53:45,017
QUINTON: Typically on a project you
wanna make sure it's photography-ready.
1080
00:53:45,017 --> 00:53:48,937
You want it to look perfectly staged.
You wanna have a good first impression.
1081
00:53:48,937 --> 00:53:51,231
You go to a WeWork opening "day of,"
1082
00:53:51,231 --> 00:53:53,692
they'd still be painting,
there'd be ladders everywhere.
1083
00:53:53,692 --> 00:53:54,985
People would be installing lights.
1084
00:53:54,985 --> 00:53:56,820
The AC wouldn't be working.
1085
00:53:56,820 --> 00:53:59,114
Because of the speed of everything,
1086
00:53:59,114 --> 00:54:01,575
nothing was finished
when it should have been.
1087
00:54:01,575 --> 00:54:04,912
DON: And the major goal,
from what I could tell, was just,
1088
00:54:04,912 --> 00:54:08,123
how many offices could open and how much
you could say the offices were filled
1089
00:54:08,123 --> 00:54:09,333
and how many people were in them.
1090
00:54:09,333 --> 00:54:11,418
It's almost like at car dealerships
1091
00:54:11,418 --> 00:54:13,837
in craziness with getting the cars sold
at the end of the month.
1092
00:54:13,837 --> 00:54:16,715
You know, sales guy comes to me,
it's the last day of the month,
1093
00:54:16,715 --> 00:54:18,926
and, you know,
"I really have to do this deal.
1094
00:54:18,926 --> 00:54:22,429
It's 800 desks.
It's gonna help us to get to the goal."
1095
00:54:22,429 --> 00:54:24,515
And, you know,
I look at the deal and it's like,
1096
00:54:24,515 --> 00:54:26,058
you know, "First eight months free,
1097
00:54:26,058 --> 00:54:28,101
and WeWork's building custom space."
1098
00:54:28,101 --> 00:54:30,395
And the response was,
you know, "Get 'em in.
1099
00:54:30,395 --> 00:54:32,064
They love it, they'll grow."
1100
00:54:32,064 --> 00:54:34,566
And, you know, I come to find out
1101
00:54:34,566 --> 00:54:37,194
that the small company
that can't afford to pay
1102
00:54:37,194 --> 00:54:41,198
for the 800 seats
for eight months is Microsoft.
1103
00:54:41,198 --> 00:54:43,742
ALEX: They stopped being
those savvy deal makers
1104
00:54:43,742 --> 00:54:48,205
and the edge that they might have been
bringing to negotiations is gone.
1105
00:54:48,205 --> 00:54:50,749
Plus, of course, everyone talks, and so
1106
00:54:50,749 --> 00:54:54,753
if everyone knows that SoftBank
has given these guys a ton of money,
1107
00:54:54,753 --> 00:54:58,298
are you really gonna let them cry "poor"
or drive a really hard bargain?
1108
00:54:58,298 --> 00:54:59,842
You're gonna say, "No," you know.
1109
00:54:59,842 --> 00:55:02,553
"You guys have billions of dollars,
you know, let us in."
1110
00:55:02,553 --> 00:55:06,139
RANDALL:
The ship of state, all the employees,
1111
00:55:06,139 --> 00:55:09,309
all the tenants and the customers,
all the partners,
1112
00:55:09,309 --> 00:55:10,769
were leaning on Adam.
1113
00:55:10,769 --> 00:55:13,230
Again, even Miguel, who's co-founder,
1114
00:55:13,230 --> 00:55:16,859
slowly... was shunted aside.
1115
00:55:16,859 --> 00:55:18,527
Adam wanted the spotlight.
1116
00:55:18,527 --> 00:55:21,196
Then he wanted Rebekah
to share the spotlight.
1117
00:55:21,196 --> 00:55:25,492
ALEX: She became
a bigger executive at WeWork.
1118
00:55:25,492 --> 00:55:28,120
And it speaks to kind of
her power with Adam
1119
00:55:28,120 --> 00:55:31,415
and with the company that,
over time, it's kind of like,
1120
00:55:31,415 --> 00:55:33,292
"Oh, now there are three co-founders,
1121
00:55:33,292 --> 00:55:36,503
there's Adam, Miguel, and Rebekah."
1122
00:55:36,503 --> 00:55:40,299
JOANNA: Adam felt that she had pulled him
out of whatever spiral that he was in.
1123
00:55:40,299 --> 00:55:42,759
And he gave her
a lot of credence for that,
1124
00:55:42,759 --> 00:55:46,138
and he really felt like she was
the backbone of their family.
1125
00:55:46,138 --> 00:55:50,142
That doesn't mean she belongs
in a corporate environment.
1126
00:55:50,142 --> 00:55:53,020
- She had the sort of like New Age vibe
1127
00:55:53,020 --> 00:55:55,397
and she starts guiding a huge
amount of decisions at WeWork
1128
00:55:55,397 --> 00:55:57,357
about the way they spent their money.
1129
00:55:57,357 --> 00:55:59,568
Adam's and Rebekah's spiritual advisor
1130
00:55:59,568 --> 00:56:02,196
would speak to executives
on a weekly basis,
1131
00:56:02,196 --> 00:56:06,825
and this constant dose of spiritualism
was due to Rebekah.
1132
00:56:06,825 --> 00:56:09,077
[cheering]
ADAM: Hello, New York.
1133
00:56:09,077 --> 00:56:10,162
Hello, WeWork.
1134
00:56:10,162 --> 00:56:12,748
Hello, global citizens of this Earth.
1135
00:56:12,748 --> 00:56:15,876
You know what a global citizen
of this Earth is?
1136
00:56:15,876 --> 00:56:17,669
It's a member of the We generation,
1137
00:56:17,669 --> 00:56:20,255
and a member of the We generation
does not discriminate
1138
00:56:20,255 --> 00:56:23,884
with age, race, gender, or religion.
1139
00:56:23,884 --> 00:56:27,137
If you're a member of the We generation,
make some noise!
1140
00:56:27,137 --> 00:56:29,681
[cheering]
1141
00:56:29,681 --> 00:56:31,850
- WeWork is also expanding
1142
00:56:31,850 --> 00:56:35,771
its kind of diverse and
sometimes confusing portfolio.
1143
00:56:35,771 --> 00:56:38,815
It makes a bunch of acquisitions
of other startups.
1144
00:56:38,815 --> 00:56:40,776
ADAM:
We had this idea of,
1145
00:56:40,776 --> 00:56:43,111
why don't we just invest money
in companies that make impact?
1146
00:56:43,111 --> 00:56:45,531
All the employees
will wanna work for them,
1147
00:56:45,531 --> 00:56:49,117
everybody wanna be part of it, and it's
just gonna work out in an amazing way.
1148
00:56:49,117 --> 00:56:51,286
And I looked at our team
and everybody looked at each other.
1149
00:56:51,286 --> 00:56:52,913
They said, "Of course, Adam,
1150
00:56:52,913 --> 00:56:54,915
that makes a lot of sense,
but who's gonna pay for that?"
1151
00:56:54,915 --> 00:56:56,625
And we said, "Well...
1152
00:56:56,625 --> 00:56:58,126
Masa might..." No.
1153
00:56:58,126 --> 00:56:59,628
We said, "Well..."
1154
00:56:59,628 --> 00:57:01,088
That was a private joke.
1155
00:57:01,088 --> 00:57:03,757
- I went back to meet with Adam
1156
00:57:03,757 --> 00:57:06,510
at sort of the new-and-improved
headquarters.
1157
00:57:06,510 --> 00:57:09,012
I get sort of the quick
version of the tour
1158
00:57:09,012 --> 00:57:11,723
and now WeWork has its own barista.
1159
00:57:11,723 --> 00:57:15,018
So I say, "Okay, I want a cappuccino,"
1160
00:57:15,018 --> 00:57:17,271
and Adam orders a latte.
1161
00:57:17,271 --> 00:57:20,274
And I reach for my coffee,
1162
00:57:20,274 --> 00:57:22,943
and Adam's like,
"Oh, no, no, that's mine."
1163
00:57:22,943 --> 00:57:25,779
And I was like, "No... Hold on, you know.
1164
00:57:25,779 --> 00:57:28,824
I got the cappuccino.
Like that's a cappuccino."
1165
00:57:28,824 --> 00:57:32,619
And Adam just looks really
confused and upset.
1166
00:57:32,619 --> 00:57:36,456
And one of the staff is like,
"Oh, I'm sorry.
1167
00:57:36,456 --> 00:57:39,960
We actually call those lattes
and those cappuccinos here,"
1168
00:57:39,960 --> 00:57:41,879
pointing at the opposite one.
1169
00:57:41,879 --> 00:57:46,008
It stood out to me as just like
a strange, gratuitous
1170
00:57:46,008 --> 00:57:51,013
reality-distortion moment around Adam
because he was ordering lattes
1171
00:57:51,013 --> 00:57:53,015
but wants cappuccinos.
1172
00:57:53,015 --> 00:57:55,559
And rather than try to explain
to him that he's wrong,
1173
00:57:55,559 --> 00:57:57,603
they're just gonna change
the meaning of that word.
1174
00:57:59,521 --> 00:58:00,939
RANDALL:
The money got insane.
1175
00:58:00,939 --> 00:58:03,609
And they shifted from this little idea...
1176
00:58:03,609 --> 00:58:06,653
Then it was, "Okay, we're now
going to tell you how to live, WeLive.
1177
00:58:06,653 --> 00:58:08,697
And now we're gonna redefine
how you live."
1178
00:58:08,697 --> 00:58:10,908
And that wasn't good enough. "WeGrow.
1179
00:58:10,908 --> 00:58:12,367
We're gonna educate your kids better."
1180
00:58:12,367 --> 00:58:14,286
- When my eldest daughter
was in kindergarten,
1181
00:58:14,286 --> 00:58:16,205
as we started to look around for schools
1182
00:58:16,205 --> 00:58:18,749
in both New York and the west coast,
1183
00:58:18,749 --> 00:58:23,462
I wasn't finding a place that was
gonna nurture her spirit and her soul
1184
00:58:23,462 --> 00:58:25,422
as much as her mind.
1185
00:58:25,422 --> 00:58:27,132
DON:
You know, at some point
1186
00:58:27,132 --> 00:58:29,676
Rebekah was talking
to the company about WeGrow,
1187
00:58:29,676 --> 00:58:32,763
and she's talking in front of
a cross-section of 700 employees,
1188
00:58:32,763 --> 00:58:34,598
and is basically saying that,
1189
00:58:34,598 --> 00:58:37,559
New York City private schools
aren't good enough for our children.
1190
00:58:37,559 --> 00:58:41,522
And then meanwhile,
you're gonna start a school that has
1191
00:58:41,522 --> 00:58:46,568
like a 35, 40 grand tuition fee
per elementary school kid.
1192
00:58:46,568 --> 00:58:49,071
That school is exclusionary
to a lot of people, right?
1193
00:58:49,071 --> 00:58:54,868
That's just a prototypical person
who's grown up in certain circles
1194
00:58:54,868 --> 00:58:57,538
and doesn't realize there's
other people in the world.
1195
00:58:57,538 --> 00:59:01,792
RANDALL:
The idea that you're gonna reinvent work
1196
00:59:01,792 --> 00:59:04,586
is incredibly audacious unto itself.
1197
00:59:04,586 --> 00:59:08,257
To say, "While we're doing that,
we're also gonna reinvent education..."
1198
00:59:08,257 --> 00:59:11,093
which people have been trying
to do for centuries,
1199
00:59:11,093 --> 00:59:15,013
that's the kind of decision tree
that you see in a company
1200
00:59:15,013 --> 00:59:18,392
where you start to believe your own BS.
1201
00:59:18,392 --> 00:59:21,061
HOST: All right, welcome, everyone,
to The School of Greatness podcast.
1202
00:59:21,061 --> 00:59:23,230
We've got Rebekah Neumann in the house.
1203
00:59:23,230 --> 00:59:25,566
- Thanks for having me.
- Yeah, this is fun.
1204
00:59:25,566 --> 00:59:28,861
What is the mission of WeGrow,
just so I understand clearly?
1205
00:59:28,861 --> 00:59:32,155
- The mission of WeGrow,
and quite honestly the collective "we"
1206
00:59:32,155 --> 00:59:33,365
that we're all living under,
1207
00:59:33,365 --> 00:59:35,284
is to elevate the world's consciousness.
1208
00:59:35,284 --> 00:59:38,537
HOST: Hmm.
- At WeGrow, specifically,
1209
00:59:38,537 --> 00:59:41,081
through unleashing
every human's superpowers
1210
00:59:41,081 --> 00:59:43,417
and expanding happiness.
1211
00:59:43,417 --> 00:59:45,002
- Okay, and it's...
1212
00:59:45,002 --> 00:59:47,045
And WeGrow is starting as a school?
- Yes.
1213
00:59:47,045 --> 00:59:50,090
- But it's going to be evolving into
much more, I'm assuming, right?
1214
00:59:50,090 --> 00:59:52,509
- It's kind of a practice
and a new approach to life.
1215
00:59:52,509 --> 00:59:55,345
We have started with children,
but we're...
1216
00:59:55,345 --> 00:59:58,307
as soon as next week starting
to pilot some of the curriculum
1217
00:59:58,307 --> 01:00:00,309
on our WeGrownups.
1218
01:00:00,309 --> 01:00:01,935
- Really?
- Uh-huh.
1219
01:00:01,935 --> 01:00:03,604
- Is that what you call us?
- Just for the moment.
1220
01:00:03,604 --> 01:00:05,105
- For fun, yeah.
- Yeah, why not?
1221
01:00:08,483 --> 01:00:10,235
AUGUST:
I was working in WeWork
1222
01:00:10,235 --> 01:00:13,197
and living in WeLive.
1223
01:00:13,197 --> 01:00:16,533
My entire life...
1224
01:00:16,533 --> 01:00:19,953
was being propped up by the We community.
1225
01:00:19,953 --> 01:00:24,041
Every time a friend outside
of the We community would come over,
1226
01:00:24,041 --> 01:00:26,627
they would only come over that one time.
1227
01:00:26,627 --> 01:00:30,756
Because they would walk out with
this strange impression of what it is.
1228
01:00:33,300 --> 01:00:37,221
And pretty quickly I had
1229
01:00:37,221 --> 01:00:40,682
alienated most of my friends
outside of the building.
1230
01:00:42,226 --> 01:00:44,353
- When Adam had an investor
coming through,
1231
01:00:44,353 --> 01:00:46,730
we would know ahead of time
or 10 minutes before,
1232
01:00:46,730 --> 01:00:48,941
and we were being told,
"Go into the space.
1233
01:00:48,941 --> 01:00:51,151
Just hang out, be casual.
Bring your laptop."
1234
01:00:51,151 --> 01:00:53,529
And we would go there
and activate the space.
1235
01:00:53,529 --> 01:00:55,906
AUGUST: They were like,
"Everybody should come,"
1236
01:00:55,906 --> 01:00:58,992
just so there's pockets of folks that are
1237
01:00:58,992 --> 01:01:03,080
living the WeLive life so Adam
can come and sort of show it off.
1238
01:01:03,080 --> 01:01:04,623
♪ "Juicy" by Notorious B. I. G. playing ♪
1239
01:01:04,623 --> 01:01:07,709
- ♪ I used to read Word Up! magazine... ♪
1240
01:01:07,709 --> 01:01:10,462
QUINTON: And they'd put on
"Juicy" by Biggie Smalls,
1241
01:01:10,462 --> 01:01:13,006
and they'd be playing a loop
over and over again,
1242
01:01:13,006 --> 01:01:15,759
waiting for that one moment
when the investor came
1243
01:01:15,759 --> 01:01:18,387
so that when they
walked the space, we were there
1244
01:01:18,387 --> 01:01:20,681
just to fill it up and make it look good.
1245
01:01:20,681 --> 01:01:22,975
AUGUST:
Adam showed up with this investor
1246
01:01:22,975 --> 01:01:27,020
and with every drink, he had another
vision of what WeWork could be,
1247
01:01:27,020 --> 01:01:31,275
like the We community could be,
what it was growing into.
1248
01:01:31,275 --> 01:01:32,985
And...
1249
01:01:32,985 --> 01:01:37,489
at a certain point, you're like,
"Dude, just shut the fuck up, man.
1250
01:01:37,489 --> 01:01:39,449
"Like, we are just having a good time.
1251
01:01:39,449 --> 01:01:41,827
"Can we just... can we just hang out
1252
01:01:41,827 --> 01:01:45,539
and have this drink
and just talk about anything else?"
1253
01:01:45,539 --> 01:01:48,500
It got really draining
and really exhausting,
1254
01:01:48,500 --> 01:01:51,587
to constantly...
1255
01:01:51,587 --> 01:01:54,506
be a part of... this...
1256
01:01:55,924 --> 01:01:57,092
thing.
1257
01:01:58,260 --> 01:02:00,929
DEREK:
The initial clients of WeWork
1258
01:02:00,929 --> 01:02:03,390
thought that they were members.
1259
01:02:03,390 --> 01:02:05,475
But they were actually a resource
1260
01:02:05,475 --> 01:02:09,563
from which WeWork
could extract a reputation
1261
01:02:09,563 --> 01:02:12,941
and then they could sort of
slingshot that reputation
1262
01:02:12,941 --> 01:02:15,485
to get big corporations to think,
1263
01:02:15,485 --> 01:02:18,739
"We need to ask WeWork
1264
01:02:18,739 --> 01:02:21,909
"how to attract the best and brightest
1265
01:02:21,909 --> 01:02:24,536
of this up-and-coming generation."
1266
01:02:25,996 --> 01:02:29,249
MEGAN: I eventually, I was
promoted to operations manager,
1267
01:02:29,249 --> 01:02:32,961
and so I was getting
a little more distant from Adam.
1268
01:02:32,961 --> 01:02:37,508
His excitement
isn't so close to me that I...
1269
01:02:37,508 --> 01:02:41,345
am breathing it in
and, like, intoxicated by it.
1270
01:02:41,345 --> 01:02:47,059
And I'm able to start seeing more clearly
that he was manipulative.
1271
01:02:47,059 --> 01:02:50,103
He had ways of using psychology
1272
01:02:50,103 --> 01:02:54,066
to maneuver through people's flaws
1273
01:02:54,066 --> 01:02:56,485
and to use that to his benefit.
1274
01:02:57,903 --> 01:02:59,988
Adam was giving me a review.
1275
01:02:59,988 --> 01:03:02,491
We were in one of
the glass conference rooms.
1276
01:03:02,491 --> 01:03:05,953
He was telling me I was doing a great job.
1277
01:03:05,953 --> 01:03:08,956
And then another employee walked by
1278
01:03:08,956 --> 01:03:13,126
who was very peppy and very pretty,
1279
01:03:13,126 --> 01:03:16,088
and he said, "But you're not her."
1280
01:03:16,088 --> 01:03:18,507
And he pointed out her and said,
"You could be,
1281
01:03:18,507 --> 01:03:21,009
but you don't have
the confidence that she has."
1282
01:03:22,761 --> 01:03:25,514
I went home and thought,
"What do I need to do
1283
01:03:25,514 --> 01:03:27,975
to become a better employee here
and become like her?"
1284
01:03:30,185 --> 01:03:35,440
You're constantly in this fear of,
"somebody else is gonna take my job.
1285
01:03:35,440 --> 01:03:37,401
I have to fight to stay here."
1286
01:03:37,401 --> 01:03:40,612
Like, I felt constantly like
I couldn't just breathe.
1287
01:03:42,322 --> 01:03:46,952
Adam would state, "I could fire all of you
and do this by myself."
1288
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.
1289
01:03:55,919 --> 01:03:57,254
- Good morning.
- Shalom.
1290
01:03:57,254 --> 01:03:58,922
- Shalom. Um...
1291
01:03:58,922 --> 01:04:00,424
I'm sure that there are lots
of people here
1292
01:04:00,424 --> 01:04:02,843
who know what WeWork is,
who maybe have worked
1293
01:04:02,843 --> 01:04:05,804
in one or several WeWorks...
1294
01:04:05,804 --> 01:04:10,184
DEREK: So I met Adam in Washington, D.C.
for an event.
1295
01:04:10,184 --> 01:04:12,519
My friends who worked
at WeWork told me about him.
1296
01:04:12,519 --> 01:04:16,440
And they just said this was
1297
01:04:16,440 --> 01:04:18,859
one of the most charismatic...
1298
01:04:18,859 --> 01:04:20,903
one of the most visionary
1299
01:04:20,903 --> 01:04:24,698
and ingenious leaders
1300
01:04:24,698 --> 01:04:27,618
of any tech company in the world.
1301
01:04:27,618 --> 01:04:30,829
He just sounded like a mythical figure.
1302
01:04:30,829 --> 01:04:33,415
And I was just really curious, like,
1303
01:04:33,415 --> 01:04:38,212
what does he understand about leasing
real estate and subdividing it?
1304
01:04:38,212 --> 01:04:39,588
Like, we're talking about
1305
01:04:39,588 --> 01:04:43,342
one of the most boring
business models in the world,
1306
01:04:43,342 --> 01:04:45,260
and I was really curious
to know what was behind it.
1307
01:04:45,260 --> 01:04:47,846
It's fascinating to me
about WeWork because
1308
01:04:47,846 --> 01:04:49,389
lots of people here who have been there,
1309
01:04:49,389 --> 01:04:52,226
they've seen how lovely
the interior decoration is.
1310
01:04:52,226 --> 01:04:56,063
But there are lots of companies
that make beautiful spaces.
1311
01:04:56,063 --> 01:04:59,358
Um, but they're not worth $20 billion,
1312
01:04:59,358 --> 01:05:01,902
which is WeWork's most recent valuation.
1313
01:05:01,902 --> 01:05:05,906
So I wonder what do you consider
to be your special sauce?
1314
01:05:05,906 --> 01:05:08,492
- So, first of all, excellent question.
1315
01:05:08,492 --> 01:05:12,287
From the first day that we started WeWork,
it was about bringing people together.
1316
01:05:12,287 --> 01:05:14,748
As our mission, and our mission always...
1317
01:05:14,748 --> 01:05:17,334
- And his answer was everything
that we've heard in the last few years,
1318
01:05:17,334 --> 01:05:19,336
it's that they were doing
something special with the culture,
1319
01:05:19,336 --> 01:05:22,965
that their special sauce
couldn't be found in earnings
1320
01:05:22,965 --> 01:05:24,883
or cash flow or revenue.
1321
01:05:24,883 --> 01:05:27,511
It was a... a spirit of We
1322
01:05:27,511 --> 01:05:29,596
that was the truly distinguishing part
of this company.
1323
01:05:29,596 --> 01:05:31,765
- And the one thing, you say,
"Are you a co-working space?"
1324
01:05:31,765 --> 01:05:34,935
We're as much a co-working space as Amazon
is a book-selling store.
1325
01:05:34,935 --> 01:05:37,563
Anybody who thought that Amazon
was there just to sell books
1326
01:05:37,563 --> 01:05:40,399
just didn't understand the vision,
and you just need to look now and see
1327
01:05:40,399 --> 01:05:42,025
how much greater the vision is.
1328
01:05:42,025 --> 01:05:44,987
DEREK: You know,
I wish I'd pressed him harder on it.
1329
01:05:44,987 --> 01:05:46,780
But I didn't because
1330
01:05:46,780 --> 01:05:50,617
I had no idea
what the company actually was.
1331
01:05:50,617 --> 01:05:52,786
And I think in the case of Adam Neumann,
1332
01:05:52,786 --> 01:05:57,541
there were a lot of people
who were impressed by his live charisma,
1333
01:05:57,541 --> 01:06:02,254
who privately harbored doubts
about exactly how all of this worked.
1334
01:06:02,254 --> 01:06:05,007
I was one of them, I suppose, you know?
1335
01:06:05,007 --> 01:06:06,925
I didn't say in that interview,
1336
01:06:06,925 --> 01:06:10,554
"I think that this company is just,
you know, a lot of smoke and mirrors."
1337
01:06:10,554 --> 01:06:12,181
I didn't, I didn't know for sure.
1338
01:06:12,181 --> 01:06:15,184
I just privately harbored
this doubt that said that
1339
01:06:15,184 --> 01:06:17,352
this was all kind of a magic show.
1340
01:06:17,352 --> 01:06:19,938
- So our first mission was,
create the world where people make a life.
1341
01:06:19,938 --> 01:06:23,400
That was for WeWork. WeLive
is helping you live and not just exist.
1342
01:06:23,400 --> 01:06:25,235
And now we have a WeOS,
1343
01:06:25,235 --> 01:06:27,779
which is our operating system
for physical spaces.
1344
01:06:27,779 --> 01:06:30,699
And it's growing very fast
and it's everything from your entry system
1345
01:06:30,699 --> 01:06:33,202
when you enter the building,
but then how do you book a conference room
1346
01:06:33,202 --> 01:06:35,704
and how do you attend an event
and who's signed in the building...?
1347
01:06:35,704 --> 01:06:39,917
STEVE: Real estate usually is a very
dependable, predictable business.
1348
01:06:39,917 --> 01:06:41,960
It doesn't grow that much,
but it's steady.
1349
01:06:41,960 --> 01:06:43,754
You can kind of map out these returns.
1350
01:06:43,754 --> 01:06:48,217
But WeWork was growing
so fast that it was being valued
1351
01:06:48,217 --> 01:06:52,429
by investors as an ultrafast growth,
1352
01:06:52,429 --> 01:06:54,723
low-overhead technology company.
1353
01:06:54,723 --> 01:06:59,269
LISA: They created this sort of
Facebook-type platform for members
1354
01:06:59,269 --> 01:07:02,564
where you could get people
connected through technology.
1355
01:07:02,564 --> 01:07:05,734
DON: WeWork has what's like
its internal LinkedIn, I call it, right?
1356
01:07:05,734 --> 01:07:07,402
It's called the WeWork Member Network.
1357
01:07:07,402 --> 01:07:09,112
You know, you have your profile page.
1358
01:07:09,112 --> 01:07:11,031
- Adam was often saying,
1359
01:07:11,031 --> 01:07:13,575
"Oh, and people are posting
job opportunities
1360
01:07:13,575 --> 01:07:16,161
and connecting with each other
on the platform."
1361
01:07:16,161 --> 01:07:19,665
ALEX: They had acquired a bunch
of interesting technologies
1362
01:07:19,665 --> 01:07:22,292
and were stitching together
what might have been by far
1363
01:07:22,292 --> 01:07:25,963
the most comprehensive tool
for how people work.
1364
01:07:25,963 --> 01:07:29,258
ADAM: We use beacon technology
but a lot of other aspects.
1365
01:07:29,258 --> 01:07:32,135
We're using our video cameras to actually
see where interactions are happening.
1366
01:07:32,135 --> 01:07:36,181
And our entire process is built to make
our members more successful.
1367
01:07:36,181 --> 01:07:38,392
ALEX:
The cynical read, of course, is,
1368
01:07:38,392 --> 01:07:42,729
well, those intentions are all great,
but what you still do is office space
1369
01:07:42,729 --> 01:07:44,857
and you are a real estate company.
1370
01:07:44,857 --> 01:07:48,652
But I think that, you know,
when companies are private,
1371
01:07:48,652 --> 01:07:51,530
it's hard for us to know what's
happening behind the scenes.
1372
01:07:54,658 --> 01:07:57,744
- My business is called
Thinknum Alternative Data.
1373
01:07:57,744 --> 01:08:02,791
And we index and crawl
public information from the Web.
1374
01:08:02,791 --> 01:08:07,880
Our bots just happened to add WeWork
into our list of companies,
1375
01:08:07,880 --> 01:08:12,843
and then our bots found something
astonishing about WeWork.
1376
01:08:12,843 --> 01:08:17,848
WeWork painted themselves as this company
that was growing extremely fast,
1377
01:08:17,848 --> 01:08:22,144
and once people joined
they don't really leave.
1378
01:08:22,144 --> 01:08:25,480
But using data on the public Web,
1379
01:08:25,480 --> 01:08:27,858
we actually plotted the churn rate,
1380
01:08:27,858 --> 01:08:31,445
which is how many people join
and then leave.
1381
01:08:31,445 --> 01:08:34,823
And we did see that
the churn rate had increased
1382
01:08:34,823 --> 01:08:36,950
and this was accelerating.
1383
01:08:36,950 --> 01:08:39,494
The other trend we found was
1384
01:08:39,494 --> 01:08:42,414
no one ever used
their internal social network.
1385
01:08:43,498 --> 01:08:46,460
When you call yourselves
a technology company,
1386
01:08:46,460 --> 01:08:50,881
and when you actually build
a social network to help
further paint that picture,
1387
01:08:50,881 --> 01:08:54,551
if no one uses it, then you're
not a technology company.
1388
01:08:54,551 --> 01:08:56,053
[keying on keyboard]
1389
01:08:56,053 --> 01:08:58,680
Our next instinct was,
let's write a blog post
1390
01:08:58,680 --> 01:09:00,474
and, you know, just share our findings.
1391
01:09:00,474 --> 01:09:02,643
It really started taking off there.
1392
01:09:02,643 --> 01:09:07,314
Then, about three hours later,
WeWork sent us an email
1393
01:09:07,314 --> 01:09:11,193
asking if we could
take down the blog post.
1394
01:09:11,193 --> 01:09:14,404
Our first instinct was to just ignore it.
1395
01:09:14,404 --> 01:09:20,035
And then the community manager
stopped by to our office.
1396
01:09:20,035 --> 01:09:21,787
And she says,
1397
01:09:21,787 --> 01:09:25,874
"You've violated our membership
happiness clause,"
1398
01:09:25,874 --> 01:09:29,837
and the kicker was, she said,
"You have 30 minutes to leave." [laughs]
1399
01:09:29,837 --> 01:09:34,049
In the wake of our blog post
and publication,
1400
01:09:34,049 --> 01:09:36,260
WeWork kept raising more money.
1401
01:09:40,472 --> 01:09:44,518
SCOTT: I first read about WeWork
when they raised money on SoftBank,
1402
01:09:44,518 --> 01:09:47,396
at a $20 billion valuation.
1403
01:09:47,396 --> 01:09:50,607
And at that point they had
about 200 locations.
1404
01:09:50,607 --> 01:09:53,110
I went through and looked at the buildings
1405
01:09:53,110 --> 01:09:55,404
that they actually had
their facilities in.
1406
01:09:55,404 --> 01:09:58,282
And I determined at that valuation
1407
01:09:58,282 --> 01:10:01,827
that the 200 buildings
were each worth less
1408
01:10:01,827 --> 01:10:05,122
than that WeWork office
was being valued at.
1409
01:10:06,748 --> 01:10:10,836
And I said that WeWork was the most
overvalued private company in the world.
1410
01:10:12,921 --> 01:10:18,260
ALEX: Adam Neumann told us
repeatedly that WeWork was profitable.
1411
01:10:18,260 --> 01:10:20,429
We've since found out
1412
01:10:20,429 --> 01:10:24,433
that how Neumann and WeWork
were considering themselves profitable
1413
01:10:24,433 --> 01:10:26,685
was a stretch at best.
1414
01:10:27,436 --> 01:10:29,062
WOMAN:
Are you profitable?
1415
01:10:29,062 --> 01:10:31,064
ADAM:
So we are... as per choice.
1416
01:10:31,064 --> 01:10:33,984
Because when you have a 40% business,
when you have a margin,
1417
01:10:33,984 --> 01:10:36,695
you can actually choose
when to be profitable.
WOMAN: Right.
1418
01:10:36,695 --> 01:10:40,449
- We like to hover around
an EBITDA, a break even,
1419
01:10:40,449 --> 01:10:42,868
and then we can choose when we wanna move,
where we wanna move.
1420
01:10:42,868 --> 01:10:45,579
Right now we're in
a very high-growth stage of our business,
1421
01:10:45,579 --> 01:10:49,082
and we don't see that
stopping anytime soon.
1422
01:10:49,082 --> 01:10:50,417
- So EBITDA--
1423
01:10:50,417 --> 01:10:53,128
earnings before interest, tax,
depreciation and amortization--
1424
01:10:53,128 --> 01:10:57,925
is sort of this accepted metric
for how profitable a company might be.
1425
01:10:57,925 --> 01:11:01,512
But WeWork started inventing
their own financial metrics
1426
01:11:01,512 --> 01:11:04,348
to enter into this
consensual hallucination,
1427
01:11:04,348 --> 01:11:08,227
and they used this term
"community adjusted EBITDA."
1428
01:11:08,227 --> 01:11:09,937
Basically it was an attempt to say,
1429
01:11:09,937 --> 01:11:14,358
"we want to pretend to be
profitable by ignoring these expenses."
1430
01:11:14,358 --> 01:11:16,443
MAUREEN:
They adjusted for things
1431
01:11:16,443 --> 01:11:20,322
that were ridiculous to strip out
and say you're profitable.
1432
01:11:20,322 --> 01:11:23,742
So suddenly they went
from a loss-making company
1433
01:11:23,742 --> 01:11:25,953
to a profitable company,
1434
01:11:25,953 --> 01:11:30,082
just by financial engineering
and gimmickry.
1435
01:11:30,082 --> 01:11:34,878
Every year WeWork would project profits,
1436
01:11:34,878 --> 01:11:37,256
would fail to make any profits
1437
01:11:37,256 --> 01:11:40,676
and actually their losses
would get larger and larger.
1438
01:11:40,676 --> 01:11:46,265
Yet investors in the private markets
kept on bidding up the price of WeWork.
1439
01:11:46,265 --> 01:11:48,392
It kept on getting
higher and higher and higher.
1440
01:11:48,392 --> 01:11:51,562
It's sort of mind-boggling
that that happened.
1441
01:11:51,562 --> 01:11:55,732
And I mean that more than anything else
speaks to the gifts of Adam Neumann.
1442
01:11:55,732 --> 01:11:59,653
- It is my honor and pleasure
to introduce to you right now
1443
01:11:59,653 --> 01:12:02,239
our co-founders, Miguel McKelvey
and Adam Neumann.
1444
01:12:02,239 --> 01:12:04,157
Help me welcome them to the stage!
1445
01:12:07,494 --> 01:12:08,912
- Shalom!
1446
01:12:10,914 --> 01:12:13,542
LIRON: I was proud to see
the events continue to grow.
1447
01:12:15,294 --> 01:12:17,629
But I saw the change in Adam.
1448
01:12:17,629 --> 01:12:20,007
I think it was money blindness.
1449
01:12:20,841 --> 01:12:24,761
There's so much money behind us
that nothing can happen, right?
1450
01:12:24,761 --> 01:12:27,181
We'd become untouchable, in a sense.
1451
01:12:27,181 --> 01:12:28,765
[audience applauding]
1452
01:12:28,765 --> 01:12:31,268
It started to feel like it was
more just about the business
1453
01:12:31,268 --> 01:12:36,523
and not about this community
that I grew to love over those many years.
1454
01:12:37,316 --> 01:12:41,320
I think that's where I started to lose
my creative juices for the company.
1455
01:12:42,321 --> 01:12:45,032
QUINTON:
After my first summer camp,
1456
01:12:45,032 --> 01:12:46,992
I tried to get out
of entering the second year.
1457
01:12:46,992 --> 01:12:51,371
I sat down with one of the executives
and explained to her that,
1458
01:12:51,371 --> 01:12:53,624
"Last year I went, I didn't enjoy myself.
1459
01:12:53,624 --> 01:12:57,586
It's not for everybody,
and please don't make me go again."
1460
01:12:57,586 --> 01:13:01,048
And she kindly said, "I see your point,
1461
01:13:01,048 --> 01:13:05,594
but it's a mandatory event,
as most company outings are."
1462
01:13:05,594 --> 01:13:09,765
- The "We" is, I think,
the really big thing in
1463
01:13:09,765 --> 01:13:11,934
the mission of what we're doing.
1464
01:13:11,934 --> 01:13:15,896
So let's just close our eyes
for one second.
1465
01:13:15,896 --> 01:13:18,982
Close eyes, hold hands.
1466
01:13:18,982 --> 01:13:22,277
DON: The way these events worked
was that you would go
1467
01:13:22,277 --> 01:13:24,947
hear presentations for like
almost eight hours a day
1468
01:13:24,947 --> 01:13:26,823
for maybe two or three days.
1469
01:13:27,741 --> 01:13:32,204
And to make sure that people
were actually attending...
1470
01:13:32,204 --> 01:13:34,122
we had tracking bracelets on.
1471
01:13:34,122 --> 01:13:37,376
REBEKAH:
Just think about a reality in which
1472
01:13:37,376 --> 01:13:41,547
the energy that we're feeling
right now with one another
1473
01:13:41,547 --> 01:13:45,968
is an energy of unity,
an energy where I am you and you are me
1474
01:13:45,968 --> 01:13:48,178
and we all are we.
1475
01:13:48,178 --> 01:13:50,305
QUINTON:
They would address the crowd,
1476
01:13:50,305 --> 01:13:54,393
uh, talking about whatever
word of the day that was...
1477
01:13:54,393 --> 01:13:56,144
like "authenticity."
1478
01:13:56,144 --> 01:13:58,188
And as we're sitting in the mud,
I'm thinking,
1479
01:13:58,188 --> 01:14:01,483
"Well, you forced me to come
to this summer camp and sit in the mud.
1480
01:14:01,483 --> 01:14:03,986
Nothing about this to me seems authentic."
1481
01:14:03,986 --> 01:14:06,363
ADAM:
If we do the work right and we find a way
1482
01:14:06,363 --> 01:14:09,533
to become a real family
in this community and company,
1483
01:14:09,533 --> 01:14:11,410
we could wake up one day and say,
1484
01:14:11,410 --> 01:14:14,496
"We want to solve the problem of children
without parents in this world."
1485
01:14:14,496 --> 01:14:17,332
We can win-- and do it.
REBEKAH: And children who are
in abusive situations.
1486
01:14:17,332 --> 01:14:19,168
ADAM: And then children
in abusive situations.
1487
01:14:19,168 --> 01:14:21,587
And from that we can go to world hunger,
1488
01:14:21,587 --> 01:14:24,423
and there's so many topics
that we could take one by one,
1489
01:14:24,423 --> 01:14:28,635
and we will be able to tackle
anything that we set our minds to.
1490
01:14:30,512 --> 01:14:32,764
MAUREEN: He would talk about being
president of the world.
1491
01:14:32,764 --> 01:14:35,142
He would say things like that
and people would say,
1492
01:14:35,142 --> 01:14:36,768
"Eh, is he serious?"
1493
01:14:36,768 --> 01:14:39,104
It seemed really wild and crazy,
1494
01:14:39,104 --> 01:14:43,775
but it was hard to make sense
of what made sense in unicorn land.
1495
01:14:45,861 --> 01:14:49,823
ADAM: I wanted to talk a little bit about
the past and where we came from.
1496
01:14:49,823 --> 01:14:52,034
We're not here by mistake.
1497
01:14:52,034 --> 01:14:55,078
This was thought about
and planned 10 years ago.
1498
01:14:55,078 --> 01:14:57,789
And the funniest thing about it,
from the day we moved to Brooklyn,
1499
01:14:57,789 --> 01:15:00,876
Miguel and I were meeting regularly,
just like that picture,
1500
01:15:00,876 --> 01:15:02,836
planning for the future.
1501
01:15:02,836 --> 01:15:05,172
We knew that...
1502
01:15:06,048 --> 01:15:08,550
whatever it is we're looking for
1503
01:15:08,550 --> 01:15:10,636
must be greater than ourselves.
1504
01:15:10,636 --> 01:15:15,307
Moving forward the "We" company.
1505
01:15:17,601 --> 01:15:20,479
ALEX: SoftBank had bet
on Adam as an entrepreneur.
1506
01:15:20,479 --> 01:15:23,690
They knew that the valuation was high.
1507
01:15:23,690 --> 01:15:26,568
But they thought that, you know,
a winner-take-all in this market,
1508
01:15:26,568 --> 01:15:28,529
like they had seen in other markets,
1509
01:15:28,529 --> 01:15:31,490
would be so big that they could,
you know, tolerate
1510
01:15:31,490 --> 01:15:33,075
that, that valuation.
1511
01:15:33,075 --> 01:15:36,954
But when there's sort of
a critical mass of doubt
1512
01:15:36,954 --> 01:15:39,289
coming back to SoftBank,
1513
01:15:39,289 --> 01:15:41,625
what are the sovereign wealth funds,
1514
01:15:41,625 --> 01:15:44,461
who are the biggest investors
in SoftBank's Vision Fund,
1515
01:15:44,461 --> 01:15:45,671
what are they saying?
1516
01:15:47,589 --> 01:15:49,800
RANDALL:
When you're raising $100 billion,
1517
01:15:49,800 --> 01:15:51,885
you're going to the biggest
deep-pocket sources,
1518
01:15:51,885 --> 01:15:54,179
so, of course, where does Masa go
1519
01:15:54,179 --> 01:15:57,099
but he goes to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia
1520
01:15:57,099 --> 01:15:59,685
and they became his biggest backers.
1521
01:15:59,685 --> 01:16:04,648
- The Saudis put dumb money
into Masa Son's Vision Fund,
1522
01:16:04,648 --> 01:16:07,484
because he says,
"I'll get you in on the ground floor
1523
01:16:07,484 --> 01:16:10,028
"of the next generation
of great tech companies
1524
01:16:10,028 --> 01:16:11,738
"that are gonna rule the world.
1525
01:16:11,738 --> 01:16:16,243
Give me $45 billion, and I'll
make you a trillion dollars."
1526
01:16:16,243 --> 01:16:18,579
RANDALL:
They wanna get out of the oil business
1527
01:16:18,579 --> 01:16:21,206
and get into as many other
businesses as possible.
1528
01:16:21,206 --> 01:16:23,750
Because they're sitting
on a dwindling asset.
1529
01:16:23,750 --> 01:16:27,880
And so what better business
to diversify than technology
1530
01:16:27,880 --> 01:16:31,592
and what better way than with the most
renowned tech investor in the world
1531
01:16:31,592 --> 01:16:34,928
who wants to play on the scale
that you can play on?
1532
01:16:34,928 --> 01:16:39,266
- The problem, however, is that you
can't really get in on the ground floor
1533
01:16:39,266 --> 01:16:42,019
at Facebook or Google
or Amazon or Netflix.
1534
01:16:42,019 --> 01:16:43,604
It's way too late.
1535
01:16:43,604 --> 01:16:46,815
So you have Masa Son
investing all this money in companies
1536
01:16:46,815 --> 01:16:51,486
he's telling the world are tech companies
but aren't real tech companies.
1537
01:16:51,486 --> 01:16:54,615
RANDALL: And that's a lot of
pressure to put on a team,
1538
01:16:54,615 --> 01:16:58,410
to say, "Pretty soon this company
better be worth $100 billion,"
1539
01:16:58,410 --> 01:17:01,830
and at some point you have to have
the numbers to back up that valuation.
1540
01:17:01,830 --> 01:17:03,248
- You and me...
1541
01:17:03,248 --> 01:17:06,960
RANDALL: And that meant
that they had to show growth
1542
01:17:06,960 --> 01:17:08,212
at any cost.
1543
01:17:08,212 --> 01:17:10,005
And that's a problem.
1544
01:17:10,005 --> 01:17:13,425
- Show them your heart,
show them your truth.
1545
01:17:13,425 --> 01:17:15,010
Never give up!
1546
01:17:15,010 --> 01:17:16,386
[crowd cheering, whistling]
1547
01:17:16,386 --> 01:17:18,639
Work until you drop!
1548
01:17:18,639 --> 01:17:20,474
[waves crashing]
1549
01:17:26,146 --> 01:17:28,649
♪ Hawaiian band playing "Jingle Bells" ♪
1550
01:17:35,864 --> 01:17:38,784
MAUREEN:
It's Christmas Eve 2018,
1551
01:17:38,784 --> 01:17:42,371
Adam is with his family in Hawaii.
1552
01:17:42,371 --> 01:17:45,457
Surfing, you know, relaxing.
It's vacation time.
1553
01:17:49,670 --> 01:17:52,339
Masa and Adam were working on a plan
1554
01:17:52,339 --> 01:17:55,551
that they were calling
internally Project Fortitude.
1555
01:17:55,551 --> 01:17:59,680
And it was essentially a plan for SoftBank
1556
01:17:59,680 --> 01:18:01,723
to spend about $20 billion
1557
01:18:01,723 --> 01:18:05,519
and become a majority owner of WeWork.
1558
01:18:07,604 --> 01:18:09,606
Because of SoftBank's money
1559
01:18:09,606 --> 01:18:13,443
and a lot of what Masa pushed Adam to do,
1560
01:18:13,443 --> 01:18:16,697
they were spending as if they
were gonna have this deal done
1561
01:18:16,697 --> 01:18:20,033
and bring so much capital to keep growing.
1562
01:18:20,033 --> 01:18:22,661
There was this hole,
this future hole coming,
1563
01:18:22,661 --> 01:18:25,455
that they were gonna need
a lot more capital to fill it.
1564
01:18:27,749 --> 01:18:29,585
SCOTT:
This was a company that was burning,
1565
01:18:29,585 --> 01:18:31,461
at one point,
$100 million a week.
1566
01:18:31,461 --> 01:18:34,423
Think about this, you could buy
two Bombardier Global Expresses
1567
01:18:34,423 --> 01:18:38,218
at $50 million each,
crash both into a mountain,
1568
01:18:38,218 --> 01:18:40,888
and that was the burn
every week of this company.
1569
01:18:42,514 --> 01:18:45,601
MAUREEN: And so kind of everything was
working towards this goal
1570
01:18:45,601 --> 01:18:47,811
of this SoftBank partnership.
1571
01:18:49,229 --> 01:18:51,440
- There's something called
the Nantucket Sleigh Ride,
1572
01:18:51,440 --> 01:18:53,859
which is, when you harpoon a whale,
1573
01:18:53,859 --> 01:18:57,487
you're supposed to bring him to the ship,
but occasionally a Nantucket Sleigh Ride
1574
01:18:57,487 --> 01:19:00,115
is when the whale takes you out to sea
and you're stuck.
1575
01:19:00,115 --> 01:19:03,827
You gotta ride that whale out
even if that whale takes you to Greenland.
1576
01:19:03,827 --> 01:19:07,122
Adam clearly thought he was taking Masa
on a Nantucket Sleigh Ride,
1577
01:19:07,122 --> 01:19:09,875
and that SoftBank had already
committed so much money,
1578
01:19:09,875 --> 01:19:12,878
they were already in,
that they were kind of stuck.
1579
01:19:12,878 --> 01:19:14,796
And so the way Adam
was running the company,
1580
01:19:14,796 --> 01:19:16,757
it was the assumption that
1581
01:19:16,757 --> 01:19:20,844
he had an infinite supply
of billions to keep growing.
1582
01:19:20,844 --> 01:19:23,764
- Adam had been convinced
earlier in the month
1583
01:19:23,764 --> 01:19:25,432
that this was gonna happen
1584
01:19:25,432 --> 01:19:28,435
and the people doing the deal
were essentially done.
1585
01:19:28,435 --> 01:19:32,022
It was pencils down on sort of
December 24 at WeWork.
1586
01:19:32,022 --> 01:19:33,607
Everyone expected it was gonna happen.
1587
01:19:34,399 --> 01:19:37,528
[phone buzzing]
1588
01:19:38,737 --> 01:19:40,656
MAUREEN:
And then Adam
1589
01:19:40,656 --> 01:19:43,325
gets a call from Masa on Christmas Eve,
1590
01:19:43,325 --> 01:19:47,329
basically telling him,
"Sorry, I can't go through with it.
1591
01:19:47,329 --> 01:19:50,374
"The market's working against me.
Investors don't like it.
1592
01:19:50,374 --> 01:19:52,000
We just can't make it work right now."
1593
01:19:53,836 --> 01:19:56,213
RANDALL: When Masa decides
he's not gonna put that money in,
1594
01:19:56,213 --> 01:20:00,467
Adam Neumann had a problem,
because he had nowhere else to go.
1595
01:20:00,467 --> 01:20:02,803
Nobody else is gonna
write him a check because
1596
01:20:02,803 --> 01:20:04,638
everyone knows SoftBank has the money.
1597
01:20:04,638 --> 01:20:07,766
So if SoftBank's not putting in more
money, there must be a problem.
1598
01:20:10,644 --> 01:20:12,729
MAUREEN:
Like it or not,
1599
01:20:12,729 --> 01:20:16,191
they're going to need more money somehow.
1600
01:20:16,191 --> 01:20:18,277
♪ suspenseful music playing ♪
1601
01:20:18,277 --> 01:20:21,655
[surf and wind roaring]
1602
01:20:21,655 --> 01:20:23,115
- It's really funny, I've been looking,
1603
01:20:23,115 --> 01:20:25,450
I've been watching the press
around this last fundraise
1604
01:20:25,450 --> 01:20:27,077
and I actually think it's hilarious
1605
01:20:27,077 --> 01:20:29,788
because for some reason
there was an expectation
1606
01:20:29,788 --> 01:20:33,667
that there was gonna be
like a $20 billion or $16 billion raise.
1607
01:20:33,667 --> 01:20:36,044
It's a $6 billion raise.
1608
01:20:36,044 --> 01:20:40,048
It's the second largest
venture capital investment of all time.
1609
01:20:40,048 --> 01:20:43,302
I'm an investor in Uber
so I know what the first largest one was.
1610
01:20:43,302 --> 01:20:45,095
It's the second largest of all time.
1611
01:20:45,095 --> 01:20:47,055
It's SoftBank coming into this company.
1612
01:20:47,055 --> 01:20:49,516
Now they have $10 billion
invested in this company.
1613
01:20:49,516 --> 01:20:51,643
So the notion that anybody is projecting
1614
01:20:51,643 --> 01:20:53,937
that they don't have confidence
in the company I think is crazy.
1615
01:20:53,937 --> 01:20:55,397
I have confidence in the company.
1616
01:20:55,397 --> 01:20:58,400
- First of all, thank you,
Ashton, it's amazing.
1617
01:20:58,400 --> 01:21:00,152
ELIOT BROWN:
After the collapse of the deal,
1618
01:21:00,152 --> 01:21:03,822
they're out there trying
to put this really good face on.
1619
01:21:03,822 --> 01:21:06,575
He brings along Ashton Kutcher
as this pump-up guy.
1620
01:21:06,575 --> 01:21:09,953
And it was really disingenuous.
1621
01:21:09,953 --> 01:21:13,332
- It's above and beyond what we need
to fund the company for the next...
1622
01:21:13,332 --> 01:21:14,833
HOST: Okay.
- ...four to five years.
1623
01:21:14,833 --> 01:21:18,587
ELIOT: Adam was saying things
that were completely false.
1624
01:21:18,587 --> 01:21:21,590
WeWork was currently a bonfire of cash
1625
01:21:21,590 --> 01:21:24,676
and was gonna run out of money
by the end of the year.
1626
01:21:24,676 --> 01:21:26,762
- The interesting thing
about the investment,
1627
01:21:26,762 --> 01:21:28,847
there's a lot of rumors
and there's what happened.
1628
01:21:28,847 --> 01:21:31,475
The most important thing is,
when Masa called me and said,
1629
01:21:31,475 --> 01:21:33,143
"You know, this has happened
and that happened
1630
01:21:33,143 --> 01:21:34,520
and the world is changing,"
1631
01:21:34,520 --> 01:21:37,648
the first thing he said is, "I'm calling
you to share this as a partner.
1632
01:21:37,648 --> 01:21:39,775
And I just wanted to come up
with a solution together."
1633
01:21:39,775 --> 01:21:41,985
- Because that deal didn't happen,
does that change your thoughts
1634
01:21:41,985 --> 01:21:43,737
on an IPO timeline?
1635
01:21:43,737 --> 01:21:46,031
- Just so we-- we keep saying
"did not happen," just so we're clear.
1636
01:21:46,031 --> 01:21:47,241
We never signed the deal.
1637
01:21:47,241 --> 01:21:49,034
It's not that we signed
the deal and something happened.
1638
01:21:49,034 --> 01:21:51,828
We were trying to figure out
the best way to do it.
1639
01:21:51,828 --> 01:21:54,998
But, no, regarding an IPO,
it's always been an option.
1640
01:21:54,998 --> 01:21:57,417
We are ready for an IPO.
1641
01:21:57,417 --> 01:22:01,421
- You are ready?
- WeWork is always ready for an IPO.
1642
01:22:01,421 --> 01:22:03,173
We will choose the right time to do it
1643
01:22:03,173 --> 01:22:04,967
when it's correct
for the mission of the company.
1644
01:22:04,967 --> 01:22:06,969
- What are you looking for?
1645
01:22:06,969 --> 01:22:09,221
- I want to elevate
the world's consciousness.
1646
01:22:09,221 --> 01:22:11,473
- Okay, so when you do that,
then you can go public?
1647
01:22:11,473 --> 01:22:12,724
- It's not one or the other.
1648
01:22:12,724 --> 01:22:14,852
When I feel that to achieve that mission,
1649
01:22:14,852 --> 01:22:17,938
going public will help it,
that will be the day.
1650
01:22:21,775 --> 01:22:23,819
INTERVIEWER:
Were you anticipating
1651
01:22:23,819 --> 01:22:26,071
WeWork's S1 when it came out?
1652
01:22:26,071 --> 01:22:29,074
- No. I remember I was
on vacation, it was in August,
1653
01:22:29,074 --> 01:22:30,909
and I remember telling my family
1654
01:22:30,909 --> 01:22:33,078
when someone sent me a link to it,
1655
01:22:33,078 --> 01:22:35,080
and I started reading the first few pages,
1656
01:22:35,080 --> 01:22:37,875
I said, "I apologize.
I'm out for the weekend,"
1657
01:22:37,875 --> 01:22:41,044
because this was just too good
and I needed to read through this.
1658
01:22:41,044 --> 01:22:43,380
It felt more like a, uh...
1659
01:22:43,380 --> 01:22:45,924
a novel written by someone
who was shrooming
1660
01:22:45,924 --> 01:22:47,467
than an S1.
1661
01:22:48,594 --> 01:22:50,679
RANDALL:
An S1 is a form you have to fill out
1662
01:22:50,679 --> 01:22:52,556
that's a precursor to going public.
1663
01:22:53,599 --> 01:22:56,935
It's a first introduction
to your company, to the world,
1664
01:22:56,935 --> 01:22:59,855
where you're representing
that these are the facts.
1665
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,
1666
01:23:04,067 --> 01:23:07,362
and in WeWork's case,
the devil was in the details.
1667
01:23:08,697 --> 01:23:10,908
- So the first red flag was on page one.
1668
01:23:10,908 --> 01:23:13,118
It says, "We dedicate this
to the energy of We --
1669
01:23:13,118 --> 01:23:16,163
greater than any one of us
but inside each of us."
1670
01:23:16,163 --> 01:23:18,832
I mean, for God sakes,
they're renting fucking desks.
1671
01:23:18,832 --> 01:23:21,877
ELIOT: I was actually on vacation
in the middle of Austria,
1672
01:23:21,877 --> 01:23:23,754
hiking with some friends,
1673
01:23:23,754 --> 01:23:26,673
and then I get to a place
where there's a little service.
1674
01:23:26,673 --> 01:23:28,175
[bird chirps, phone chimes]
1675
01:23:28,175 --> 01:23:30,677
I just start getting
these texts and emails,
1676
01:23:30,677 --> 01:23:32,387
and it's like "WTF."
1677
01:23:32,387 --> 01:23:34,598
And like, "Oh, my God!"
1678
01:23:34,598 --> 01:23:36,517
And I was like,
"I think I know what happened."
1679
01:23:38,268 --> 01:23:40,062
MAUREEN:
Almost everyone you talked to
1680
01:23:40,062 --> 01:23:44,858
had a different item
that horrified them. [laughs]
1681
01:23:44,858 --> 01:23:46,610
So like one by one, they would say,
1682
01:23:46,610 --> 01:23:49,696
"I cannot believe his wife
is choosing his successor,"
1683
01:23:49,696 --> 01:23:53,867
or, "So egregious that he would
have these 20-1 voting shares."
1684
01:23:53,867 --> 01:23:57,829
Or, "I can't believe the company
is paying him $6 million
1685
01:23:57,829 --> 01:24:02,543
for the trademark to the word 'we'
in the company name."
1686
01:24:02,543 --> 01:24:04,670
DEREK:
He was buying buildings,
1687
01:24:04,670 --> 01:24:07,548
and then asking WeWork
1688
01:24:07,548 --> 01:24:09,633
to lease those buildings from him.
1689
01:24:09,633 --> 01:24:13,053
And then he took $700 million
out of this company
1690
01:24:13,053 --> 01:24:17,266
at the very time he was asking the public
to put money in the company.
1691
01:24:17,266 --> 01:24:19,393
- With many of these unicorn IPOs,
1692
01:24:19,393 --> 01:24:22,646
the CO is mentioned anywhere
between 12 and 40 times.
1693
01:24:22,646 --> 01:24:26,441
In the case of Adam Neumann,
it was 170 times.
1694
01:24:26,441 --> 01:24:27,776
[computer key clicking]
1695
01:24:27,776 --> 01:24:29,987
If you tell a 30-something male
1696
01:24:29,987 --> 01:24:34,116
that he's Jesus Christ,
he's inclined to believe you.
1697
01:24:34,116 --> 01:24:36,410
ELIOT:
Rebekah is very involved
1698
01:24:36,410 --> 01:24:39,288
in the part of the document
that people laughed at,
1699
01:24:39,288 --> 01:24:41,999
and they were spending
a lot of time in the Hamptons.
1700
01:24:41,999 --> 01:24:45,669
And they had this sort of constant string
of WeWork employees
1701
01:24:45,669 --> 01:24:49,089
who would get a seaplane or helicopter
to go out to the Hamptons
1702
01:24:49,089 --> 01:24:51,800
just to meet with them on some IPO stuff.
1703
01:24:51,800 --> 01:24:53,927
You just keep reading it and be like,
1704
01:24:53,927 --> 01:24:56,972
"Oh, my God, did anyone pr--
like, look at this
1705
01:24:56,972 --> 01:24:59,308
and tell them what
it was gonna look like?"
1706
01:24:59,308 --> 01:25:01,685
The reality is that, like, people
had been telling Adam that for a while
1707
01:25:01,685 --> 01:25:03,770
but he didn't care; he thought
that people would look past it
1708
01:25:03,770 --> 01:25:05,689
or he wanted to enrich himself
1709
01:25:05,689 --> 01:25:08,066
and thought that
it wouldn't be a big deal.
1710
01:25:11,153 --> 01:25:14,281
Meanwhile, he was around WeWork less.
1711
01:25:14,281 --> 01:25:16,992
He went on a month-long
birthday celebration
1712
01:25:16,992 --> 01:25:20,621
where he went to the Maldives to surf.
1713
01:25:20,621 --> 01:25:23,081
You know, I think generally he was seen
1714
01:25:23,081 --> 01:25:26,376
as more erratic and nervous and...
1715
01:25:26,376 --> 01:25:28,128
in hindsight,
he probably had a view
1716
01:25:28,128 --> 01:25:30,255
that maybe this has gone too far.
1717
01:25:33,217 --> 01:25:36,845
Him going surfing was a way
of avoiding reality...
1718
01:25:38,764 --> 01:25:41,767
and keeping the high life
going as much as he could.
1719
01:25:44,770 --> 01:25:48,398
COMMENTATOR 1: This company has
just been savaged after its S1 came out.
1720
01:25:48,398 --> 01:25:51,276
COMMENTATOR 2: The price has
come down and down and down.
1721
01:25:51,276 --> 01:25:54,863
COMMENTATOR 3:
$47 billion dropped down to 10 to 15.
1722
01:25:54,863 --> 01:25:56,573
COMMENTATOR 4:
Every day now they're trying to come up
1723
01:25:56,573 --> 01:25:59,076
with something to salvage this IPO,
and I don't know if they're gonna do it.
1724
01:26:00,369 --> 01:26:01,828
- We'll clean it up. I think we're great,
1725
01:26:01,828 --> 01:26:03,956
and I think we're preparing
for the roadshow right now.
1726
01:26:03,956 --> 01:26:05,415
Just hope my hair is good.
1727
01:26:05,415 --> 01:26:07,918
WOMAN: Your hair looks great.
- Okay.
1728
01:26:07,918 --> 01:26:09,753
This is harder than 20-foot waves.
1729
01:26:09,753 --> 01:26:11,588
MAN: [laughing] I get it.
- You know why?
1730
01:26:11,588 --> 01:26:13,799
'Cause I control the 20-foot waves.
1731
01:26:13,799 --> 01:26:16,760
[laughter, woman responding indistinctly]
1732
01:26:16,760 --> 01:26:19,263
I'll take a 20-foot wave...
1733
01:26:19,263 --> 01:26:21,515
every day for the next 10 days.
1734
01:26:22,933 --> 01:26:25,310
MAN: I'm scared of drowning
just thinking about it.
1735
01:26:25,310 --> 01:26:26,603
- All right.
1736
01:26:28,522 --> 01:26:32,067
Real estate is going
through a fundamental shift.
1737
01:26:32,067 --> 01:26:34,611
From a "fixed cost per seat" commodity...
1738
01:26:34,611 --> 01:26:36,154
MAUREEN:
The world was kind of up in arms
1739
01:26:36,154 --> 01:26:40,659
about how egregious this company was.
1740
01:26:40,659 --> 01:26:43,287
But Adam had to go public anyway.
1741
01:26:43,287 --> 01:26:45,873
- ...have a 12-year headstart.
1742
01:26:45,873 --> 01:26:48,000
- There's a two-week period you start
1743
01:26:48,000 --> 01:26:50,502
marketing your shares
officially to investors.
1744
01:26:50,502 --> 01:26:52,880
It's called a roadshow.
1745
01:26:52,880 --> 01:26:55,883
Kind of like a central part
of the roadshow
1746
01:26:55,883 --> 01:26:58,010
is a video that goes along with it.
1747
01:26:58,010 --> 01:27:02,514
So, they had filmed
portions of it already.
1748
01:27:02,514 --> 01:27:05,809
So theoretically he was just
gonna do his part of it,
1749
01:27:05,809 --> 01:27:07,644
they can edit it in.
1750
01:27:07,644 --> 01:27:10,189
- Fixed cost commodity,
fixed cost commodity.
1751
01:27:10,189 --> 01:27:11,440
Fixed cost commodity...
1752
01:27:11,440 --> 01:27:13,650
ELIOT:
Adam kept delaying,
1753
01:27:13,650 --> 01:27:17,779
and even literally would leave
rooms full of people
1754
01:27:17,779 --> 01:27:20,282
waiting, set up for him to come.
1755
01:27:20,282 --> 01:27:24,703
They spent hundreds of thousand dollars
on shoots that Adam didn't go to.
1756
01:27:27,956 --> 01:27:29,541
WOMAN:
That one sounded great.
1757
01:27:29,541 --> 01:27:30,959
- Thank you.
1758
01:27:30,959 --> 01:27:33,295
MAUREEN: It seems kind of,
like, it's procrastination,
1759
01:27:33,295 --> 01:27:35,339
but, you know, was there something deeper,
1760
01:27:35,339 --> 01:27:38,634
I don't know, of why you don't
show up to film this thing?
1761
01:27:40,177 --> 01:27:45,098
Finally they start filming him,
but that day he was just off.
1762
01:27:45,098 --> 01:27:46,517
- Just a second.
1763
01:27:46,517 --> 01:27:48,936
Zack, you need the sentences
to be full for me.
1764
01:27:48,936 --> 01:27:50,854
So whenever you have
a dead space like this,
1765
01:27:50,854 --> 01:27:52,523
put that up there.
1766
01:27:52,523 --> 01:27:55,150
- In general, he's an incredible speaker
if you see him,
1767
01:27:55,150 --> 01:27:56,652
but he can't really
read off a teleprompter.
1768
01:27:56,652 --> 01:27:58,237
He struggles with that.
1769
01:27:58,237 --> 01:28:00,697
- Yeah, the reason
it's a little hard for me is,
1770
01:28:00,697 --> 01:28:03,075
I'm not a guy who reads
from a script, that's the thing.
1771
01:28:03,075 --> 01:28:05,494
To do it totally free, though,
I need to, I can't...
1772
01:28:05,494 --> 01:28:08,747
I'm doing word-for-word so I'm gonna
need to loosen it up a little bit.
1773
01:28:08,747 --> 01:28:10,624
MAUREEN:
And I think as the day wore on,
1774
01:28:10,624 --> 01:28:13,377
it just went on and on and on and on.
1775
01:28:13,377 --> 01:28:15,212
And he seemed more frazzled
1776
01:28:15,212 --> 01:28:17,714
and wasn't getting through it
and wasn't making sense.
1777
01:28:17,714 --> 01:28:19,299
- Based on our savor...
1778
01:28:19,299 --> 01:28:22,302
Agh! Ugh! Let's go.
1779
01:28:22,302 --> 01:28:25,430
MAUREEN:
It became somewhat like a party.
1780
01:28:25,430 --> 01:28:27,599
It just almost like
devolved the whole night.
1781
01:28:27,599 --> 01:28:31,270
- The employees of all companies
all need the same thing.
1782
01:28:31,270 --> 01:28:33,730
Wellness, food.
1783
01:28:33,730 --> 01:28:37,276
MAUREEN: He just didn't do
a good job by everyone there.
1784
01:28:37,276 --> 01:28:40,404
And I think a lot of people who
were there were quite stressed.
1785
01:28:40,404 --> 01:28:42,865
They're like, "This has to get done.
We're supposed to do this tomorrow."
1786
01:28:43,949 --> 01:28:47,828
It's almost like,
this is your worst nightmare.
1787
01:28:47,828 --> 01:28:50,622
- This is who I am. This is what I do.
1788
01:28:50,622 --> 01:28:53,917
I tackle something until it's right.
1789
01:28:53,917 --> 01:28:55,669
I will not stop.
1790
01:28:58,422 --> 01:29:00,632
This is what no one's
understanding right now,
1791
01:29:00,632 --> 01:29:03,343
but it's okay because
we'll make sure they learn.
1792
01:29:06,180 --> 01:29:08,223
ELIOT:
And then the next morning,
1793
01:29:08,223 --> 01:29:11,268
they decide...
"No, it's just not gonna happen.
1794
01:29:11,268 --> 01:29:13,020
We need to call it off."
1795
01:29:17,441 --> 01:29:19,776
MAUREEN:
Adam came in to WeWork's office.
1796
01:29:19,776 --> 01:29:22,613
He comes in, he's more
dressed up than usual.
1797
01:29:22,613 --> 01:29:25,282
And gives an all-hands talk.
1798
01:29:25,282 --> 01:29:29,119
And there he basically told all the staff,
1799
01:29:29,119 --> 01:29:30,579
"This doesn't mean the IPO's off.
1800
01:29:30,579 --> 01:29:33,457
"Like, we're gonna come back
and this is gonna be amazing
1801
01:29:33,457 --> 01:29:37,002
and, um, we will do
an IPO later this year."
1802
01:29:37,002 --> 01:29:40,380
But like everything behind the scenes
was beginning to happen
1803
01:29:40,380 --> 01:29:42,424
to start to oust him.
1804
01:29:45,385 --> 01:29:47,721
ELIOT:
At the time, it was less known
1805
01:29:47,721 --> 01:29:51,350
that Adam was this totally erratic CEO
1806
01:29:51,350 --> 01:29:53,268
that had sort of messianic statements
1807
01:29:53,268 --> 01:29:56,605
and was doing things in a way
that a lot of people would call crazy.
1808
01:29:56,605 --> 01:30:01,276
Uh, and so we basically
laid that out in a story.
1809
01:30:02,611 --> 01:30:05,489
The signature anecdote to the thing
that probably got the most attention
1810
01:30:05,489 --> 01:30:10,244
was about how he took
a plane trip with friends to Israel,
1811
01:30:10,244 --> 01:30:11,995
and they were smoking pot on the plane,
1812
01:30:11,995 --> 01:30:15,374
and then in Israel
they didn't finish all the pot
1813
01:30:15,374 --> 01:30:17,209
and so they stuffed some in a cereal box.
1814
01:30:18,293 --> 01:30:21,255
The crew on the plane finds it
and is sort of incensed.
1815
01:30:22,923 --> 01:30:24,550
And so they recall the plane.
1816
01:30:24,550 --> 01:30:27,427
Uh, and so then Adam has to find
his own way back from Israel.
1817
01:30:30,222 --> 01:30:32,015
SCOTT:
When you can land
1818
01:30:32,015 --> 01:30:34,893
two rockets concurrently
on barges and you smoke pot,
1819
01:30:34,893 --> 01:30:38,105
you're seen as quirky and likable.
1820
01:30:38,105 --> 01:30:41,108
When you don't go public
and your investors lose money,
1821
01:30:41,108 --> 01:30:45,279
all of a sudden they decide that
smoking pot is a criminal activity.
1822
01:30:45,279 --> 01:30:48,073
MAUREEN:
Once Eliot's article came out,
1823
01:30:48,073 --> 01:30:50,117
he became pretty much
untouchable on Wall Street.
1824
01:30:51,577 --> 01:30:53,871
And so, he made
the decision to step down
1825
01:30:53,871 --> 01:30:56,790
at, like, the urging
of a lot of different people.
1826
01:30:59,042 --> 01:31:02,004
- Adam Neumann is expected
to step down as...
1827
01:31:02,004 --> 01:31:04,506
NEWS ANCHOR: The company went
from a $47 billion valuation
1828
01:31:04,506 --> 01:31:06,341
to near bankruptcy in just six weeks.
1829
01:31:06,341 --> 01:31:08,302
- The future of the company
very uncertain at this point.
1830
01:31:08,302 --> 01:31:14,016
AUGUST: When I first heard about
WeWork's financial collapse,
1831
01:31:14,016 --> 01:31:18,562
I honestly did feel really, really sad
1832
01:31:18,562 --> 01:31:20,147
for Adam.
1833
01:31:21,773 --> 01:31:26,153
Because it felt like he believed
in what he was doing
1834
01:31:26,153 --> 01:31:29,615
with every fiber of his being.
1835
01:31:29,615 --> 01:31:31,950
NEWS ANCHOR:
WeWork now is suddenly in decline,
1836
01:31:31,950 --> 01:31:35,120
the office-sharing company's
new financial lifeline
1837
01:31:35,120 --> 01:31:37,789
giving its controversial
co-founder Adam Neumann
1838
01:31:37,789 --> 01:31:40,792
a $1.7 billion payout to step down
1839
01:31:40,792 --> 01:31:44,588
while the troubled company's
reportedly planning massive layoffs.
1840
01:31:46,340 --> 01:31:50,093
AUGUST: When I started to learn
a little bit more about it,
1841
01:31:50,093 --> 01:31:52,137
um...
1842
01:31:52,137 --> 01:31:54,723
that sadness
1843
01:31:54,723 --> 01:31:57,476
turned to anger pretty quickly.
1844
01:31:57,476 --> 01:31:59,728
Because...
1845
01:31:59,728 --> 01:32:04,441
now all of a sudden,
it felt like this person
1846
01:32:04,441 --> 01:32:07,319
lied to me, lied to a bunch of people,
1847
01:32:07,319 --> 01:32:10,531
about this beautiful way of working
1848
01:32:10,531 --> 01:32:12,574
and this beautiful way of living.
1849
01:32:12,574 --> 01:32:15,953
I felt angry at him
1850
01:32:15,953 --> 01:32:18,914
for doing that, but also felt angry at me
1851
01:32:18,914 --> 01:32:20,832
for, like, buying the bullshit.
1852
01:32:22,835 --> 01:32:28,549
And when they started laying people off,
the anger switched to rage.
1853
01:32:29,633 --> 01:32:32,427
DON: It seemed like WeThis,
WeGrow, WeLive, WeWork.
1854
01:32:32,427 --> 01:32:33,971
We-we-we-we-we.
1855
01:32:33,971 --> 01:32:35,973
You know, it's gotta be we, not me.
1856
01:32:35,973 --> 01:32:39,852
It was we for everybody, except for Adam.
1857
01:32:39,852 --> 01:32:44,898
MAUREEN: He got a golden
parachute worth $1.7 billion.
1858
01:32:44,898 --> 01:32:48,819
The idea that there would be
all this money given to Adam
1859
01:32:48,819 --> 01:32:51,154
was demoralizing.
1860
01:32:51,154 --> 01:32:53,448
DON: Y ou know, that kind of
sticks in your craw a little bit,
1861
01:32:53,448 --> 01:32:56,451
particularly when you've been
preached at about, "It's all about we."
1862
01:32:56,451 --> 01:32:59,371
If that's your deal
and you're sitting on all this money
1863
01:32:59,371 --> 01:33:01,915
and you really believe
in what you were saying the whole time,
1864
01:33:01,915 --> 01:33:05,127
you should give some of the money back
to help the employees who got screwed.
1865
01:33:07,838 --> 01:33:10,507
MARGARITA: I think what's
frustrating about all of that
1866
01:33:10,507 --> 01:33:14,678
is that, when you focus the story on Adam,
1867
01:33:14,678 --> 01:33:18,348
you miss how many people
worked really, really hard
1868
01:33:18,348 --> 01:33:21,393
to bring this impossible vision to life,
1869
01:33:21,393 --> 01:33:23,812
who got nothing.
1870
01:33:23,812 --> 01:33:25,772
They cared about WeWork a lot.
1871
01:33:25,772 --> 01:33:27,524
They were invested in its success.
1872
01:33:27,524 --> 01:33:30,527
They were invested in the community.
1873
01:33:30,527 --> 01:33:33,947
And they were hurt financially.
1874
01:33:33,947 --> 01:33:35,782
Reputationally.
1875
01:33:35,782 --> 01:33:40,204
Suddenly this company
that they spent years on
1876
01:33:40,204 --> 01:33:42,206
is a laughingstock.
1877
01:33:45,042 --> 01:33:48,170
- My mind was warped
in such a way at WeWork
1878
01:33:48,170 --> 01:33:52,466
that I felt, when I left,
I had to unwarp it.
1879
01:33:54,218 --> 01:33:55,844
They don't care about you.
1880
01:33:55,844 --> 01:33:59,056
You know, like that really,
really messed with me,
1881
01:33:59,056 --> 01:34:01,850
because I thought,
"Who is telling me the truth?"
1882
01:34:03,936 --> 01:34:08,482
I have done a lot of therapy
to like navigate through
1883
01:34:08,482 --> 01:34:09,900
what happened there.
1884
01:34:09,900 --> 01:34:12,736
Why was I so devastated when it ended?
1885
01:34:13,570 --> 01:34:18,033
Why did it feel like,
not that I lost a job,
1886
01:34:18,033 --> 01:34:19,785
but like I lost my purpose?
1887
01:34:21,537 --> 01:34:24,998
Some mind trick has been
played on a lot of us.
1888
01:34:28,293 --> 01:34:32,214
You know, it just...
[crying] ...I think of myself as this...
1889
01:34:33,841 --> 01:34:38,011
younger girl,
and I wanna say to her,
1890
01:34:38,011 --> 01:34:40,180
"You didn't do anything wrong."
1891
01:34:40,180 --> 01:34:42,182
Like, "You're valuable
1892
01:34:42,182 --> 01:34:45,102
and that company is not your worth."
1893
01:34:45,102 --> 01:34:49,398
But because I felt like,
how am I gonna change the world now?
1894
01:34:49,398 --> 01:34:51,441
Like, I needed that.
1895
01:34:55,654 --> 01:34:59,241
AUGUST:
When I look back on my time spent
1896
01:34:59,241 --> 01:35:02,327
in the We community...
1897
01:35:02,327 --> 01:35:05,581
I see all the friends that I made.
1898
01:35:05,581 --> 01:35:08,292
Um, all the relationships
that I still have.
1899
01:35:10,586 --> 01:35:14,089
All the people that I deeply care about.
1900
01:35:14,089 --> 01:35:18,719
The people that I wouldn't have met
outside of the We community.
1901
01:35:18,719 --> 01:35:22,598
Those are the people
that I choose to remember.
1902
01:35:22,598 --> 01:35:24,850
Not...
1903
01:35:24,850 --> 01:35:26,518
the asshole that wrecked it.
1904
01:35:33,817 --> 01:35:36,278
ALEX: You know, people
will see in Adam Neumann
1905
01:35:36,278 --> 01:35:37,905
what they wanna see.
1906
01:35:37,905 --> 01:35:41,533
That may not be the most fulfilling answer
for a lot of people,
1907
01:35:41,533 --> 01:35:45,662
but I do think that he
can represent a lot more
1908
01:35:45,662 --> 01:35:47,289
than what he really is.
1909
01:35:47,289 --> 01:35:49,416
And I think that, you know,
1910
01:35:49,416 --> 01:35:52,711
the reason that maybe
he resonates with people
1911
01:35:52,711 --> 01:35:56,215
is because it felt like he was close.
1912
01:35:59,009 --> 01:36:02,930
Clearly there was something about WeWork
and something about Adam
1913
01:36:02,930 --> 01:36:07,267
where maybe he could have pulled it off.
1914
01:36:09,394 --> 01:36:11,897
It could have come together
into something beautiful.
1915
01:36:14,525 --> 01:36:18,028
But , unfortunately he set an example
1916
01:36:18,028 --> 01:36:21,365
which maybe is harmful for
other entrepreneurs to follow,
1917
01:36:21,365 --> 01:36:25,494
or he's embodied the American dream
in a way that worries us
1918
01:36:25,494 --> 01:36:28,956
because it was so attractive
and it was so intoxicating
1919
01:36:28,956 --> 01:36:31,416
and yet had this disastrous result,
1920
01:36:31,416 --> 01:36:34,002
that that bothers us more
than if he had just been
1921
01:36:34,002 --> 01:36:36,338
a failure with WeWork.
1922
01:36:46,640 --> 01:36:49,184
MEGAN: There's a lot of really
special elements about WeWork
1923
01:36:49,184 --> 01:36:50,352
that...
1924
01:36:52,062 --> 01:36:54,523
I hope continue to last.
1925
01:36:54,523 --> 01:36:57,359
Like especially as we sit
in this time of COVID
1926
01:36:57,359 --> 01:37:00,237
and we're, you know,
people are working from home,
1927
01:37:00,237 --> 01:37:04,157
and, you know,
I, myself, have been inside,
1928
01:37:04,157 --> 01:37:07,661
mostly inside for,
you know, months and months.
1929
01:37:07,661 --> 01:37:11,206
And it is on the days that I get
to interact with other people
1930
01:37:11,206 --> 01:37:14,793
that I come home and I'm like,
"Wow, that was a fulfilling day."
1931
01:37:20,465 --> 01:37:23,886
Community, I think, has been...
1932
01:37:23,886 --> 01:37:26,263
taken piece by piece from our world
1933
01:37:26,263 --> 01:37:28,682
for quite a while, like very slowly,
1934
01:37:28,682 --> 01:37:34,271
and then now here we are sitting
literally in... in a pandemic
1935
01:37:34,271 --> 01:37:40,194
of lack of interaction
and I would give anything to like...
1936
01:37:42,029 --> 01:37:46,116
be consumed with people again.
1937
01:37:52,539 --> 01:37:56,084
The vision of us working together,
1938
01:37:56,084 --> 01:37:59,755
to be better together, is lacking today.
1939
01:38:09,681 --> 01:38:11,433
I think we need that.
1940
01:38:11,433 --> 01:38:16,104
We go back in time
to the Greek town squares.
1941
01:38:16,104 --> 01:38:17,648
It has existed forever.
1942
01:38:17,648 --> 01:38:20,125
Community has existed forever.
1943
01:38:20,125 --> 01:38:24,880
Because it's crucial to
our survival as human beings.
1944
01:38:31,303 --> 01:38:34,736
What are we if we don't have each other?
1945
01:38:34,736 --> 01:38:37,268
♪
1946
01:39:00,291 --> 01:39:02,293
[crowd noises in distance]
1947
01:39:16,974 --> 01:39:19,268
♪ string orchestra playing
contemplative classical music ♪