A Conversation With One Of This Year’s Most Innovative Companies: WeWork
Join Fast Company associate editor Sarah Kessler for a live Q&A with WeWork CEO Adam Neumann. The event will begin at 11:30 a.m. ET Thursday, March 12, but you can get your questions in now.
Adam Neumann, CEO of WeWork
Photo By: Lauren Kallen, courtesy of WeWork WeWork started as a single coworking space in 2010, and has since grown into a network of more than 20 locations in four countries.
Having raised its most recent round of funding at a staggering $5 billion valuation, the company plans to have about 60 locations by the end of the year.Adam Neumann, WeWork's CEO, says his company is not a real estate business, but a people business. Last year, the company built an internal app that connects members and began offering them discounts from partners on things as big as insurance and as small as lunch.
On Thursday, March 12 at 11:30 a.m. ET, join us for a live chat with Neumann and Fast Company's Sarah Kessler about how WeWork has managed to expand locations like a Starbucks while building community like a social network. You can get your questions in now by using the "make a comment" box below.
Be sure to check out Fast Company's post for WeWork on its Most Innovative Companies 2015 list.
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Hi, it's Sarah from Fast Company. I'm here with Adam Neumann, the CEO of WeWork. Thanks for joining us, Adam.
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Thank you, Sarah, for having me. I'm excited to chat with your readers -- hello, everyone.
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For those of you who don't know, WeWork is a network of coworking spaces that has been growing like crazy. It has 29 locations, and plans to expand to more than 50 by the end of the year.
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WeWork started at a time when coworking was becoming a buzzword. A lot of companies were starting around the idea. Why did WeWork become the one with the $5 billion valuation?
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Multiple reasons -- mainly because we're not a coworking space. We're building a community for creators that gives a holistic solution for all of your needs.
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Can you talk more about that distinction? What does WeWork have that a coworking space doesn't?
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We have 23,000 members who participate and communicate through our social network and physical live events on a daily and hourly basis. Not to mention access to healthcare, payment processing, and other services.
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When you're a member of a WeWork location, you're part of a bigger community. We're currently in 11 cities and four countries.
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Hi Sarah. Hi Adam. Nice to meet you. How can WeWork help me as a small business owner who doesn't live near one of your locations?
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Through WeWork Commons, which is a $45 monthly membership which gives you access to the community - as well as hourly and daily access to all physical locations and all of our services.
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Here is a link for people to check out:
Join WeWork Commons
WeWork CommonsJoin WeWork and get instant access to space, community and services to build and grow your business. -
Does that mean if I live in NY, I can pay $45 and work in the WeWork every day? Or is there some sort of limit to how often I can visit?
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If you want to use it more than 8 days a month you're better off buying the unlimited. If you want to use it more than 15 days a month and you want to use it at the same location, a dedicated desk or one person office is the better solution for you.
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Who are your members? Are they all people building apps?
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Our members are very diverse. Only 20% focus on pure technology plays, the rest are in every industry from nonprofits, to creatives, to professional services.
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We understand how difficult it is to start a business, or work for a startup. Our job is to help members do what they love it and try to make the rest as seamless as possible. It's a work in progress.
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You always say that you’re not a real estate company. But your business is also primarily collecting fees for using space. So maybe it's just a little bit of a real estate company?
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Would you argue WeWork is more of a technology company?
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Our business is about building community and an ecosystem for our members. One of their needs is physical space.
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I think every new company in the world today needs to also be a technology company.
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Technology allows us to grow beyond real estate and deliver a digital network to our members.
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Do you think that digital network can be as valuable as the space? Do you see an opportunity for a membership that doesn't include use of physical space?
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All forms of membership are valuable. Different members have different needs. We currently have over 1500 members who are starting their journey with us via WeWork Commons and don't access the physical locations at all.
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I just joined Commons... I think it's a good experience but curious what's next on the roadmap, specifically for the community. Also, is it likely that Google will open up its free work spaces in locations next to Wework? How will wework differentiate if they do? Finally, great work with WW so far, I think your app is pretty bad arse.
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Our focus on the roadmap is creating more opportunities for connections and allowing you to fulfill your business needs - whatever they may be. We just added a group feature that is very useful to many of our members.
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Regarding google, we're big fans. But building diverse communities is our core competency and is substantially more than free space. From my experience free spaces never create the same energy as the ones you subscribe to as a member.
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From my experience most people don't appreciate things that come for free. When you have to pay for something, you both expect higher standards of service and try to extract the most value, which in our case includes a higher level of participation in the community.
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Here's a silly question, if WW isn't about space and is about professional communities and connections instead, is LinkedIn the real competitor?
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It is about space and also the community which is why I don't think Linkedin is a direct competitor. That said, there is a lot of value that a person looking for a job or looking to hire someone can receive by participating in the WeWork community.
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by the way, ScribbleLive is the product we're using right now for this live chat, and they're a WeWork member. Shout out to ScribbleLive, you guys are awesome!
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Small world! Or I guess, in your case, it's a 23,000-person world.
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As we talked about earlier, you're planning a pretty aggressive expansion. How important is scale to WeWork's business?
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Scaling is extremely important, not just for our business, but for the members. More members, more connections, more business, and a stronger community. It's a virtuous cycle.
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Several people have told me you’re very good at negotiating deals. Which makes sense, given the business you’ve built. Do you have any advice on that?
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One of the first steps in a strong negotiation is being able to put yourself in the other person's shoes and truly understand what he or she is looking for.
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Once you know that you need to make sure that you can actually deliver on it. Because if you get more than the other person can give the deal will end up collapsing over time and everybody loses.
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It took me many failed negotiations to learn this one.
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Can you tell us about a terrible negotiation that you had and what went wrong?
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We put a coffee shop in a location as an additional service to our members and the deal we struck with the local operator was too favorable for us. The shop ended up failing, we ended up compensating $250k for his lost time and worst of all the relationship was damaged.
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So the rumor is that you're planning an IPO in the next two to three years...
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The problem with the chase of an IPO, is that I meet entrepreneurs who think that's the end goal - the truth is it's just a starting point. Once you go public, you take on more responsibility, transparency and regulatory responsibilities that sometimes can push an organization into making decisions that aren't in line with long-term goals.
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Everyone's focus should be on building long-term meaningful companies that can positively affect the world and create a great experience for your employees, and everyone else who touches it. Money will follow intention and action.
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Four. Two were a complete failure, one was mediocre. And the fourth was a launch platform for WeWork and also where I met my cofounder, Miguel McKelvey.
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I ask because @arielutin on Twitter is wondering what you learned from each of them.
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You have to do what you love and come from the right place and everything will follow. My wife Rebekah taught me that.
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Also, if you don't try you will not learn. Saying that, it's extremely important to be respectful of your investor's money for those ventures that don't succeed.
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Looks like we're running out time, but thank you so much for joining us, Adam.
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Thank you so much for all the great questions. For those of you in Boston we're celebrating our one year anniversary tonight, come party with us
WeWork Boston One Year Anniversary Party - Splash
To celebrate our amazing community here in Boston we've planned one of the largest parties WeWork has ever seen! Great food, amazing drinks, live entertainment and a special talk from our Co-Founders. WeWork Co-Founders Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey will share honest observations and candid insights into their experiences creating and building WeWork into one of the world's fastest growing companies. Starting from the beginning (just 5 years ago), they'll discuss the challenges they faced, the mistakes they made, the lessons they've learned, and the ways they've grown as both leaders and human beings. Their conversation will be followed by Q&A, so please bring your most challenging questions. Adam & Miguel are excited about the opportunity to meet and connect with WeWork members in Boston and to learn more about the growing community. Bring your friends, make new ones, and enjoy a really fun night celebrating with Boston’s creators. This event is 21 and over. -
Thanks, everyone for coming! And feel free to tweet @WeWork with any questions we couldn't get to. And be sure to check out Sarah's post on WeWork for Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies 2015 list.
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