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WeWork isn’t a tech company; it’s a soap opera

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101–110 of 199 posts

Re: WeWork isn’t a tech company; it’s a soap opera

#101
@patio11 is a huge fans of their business model:

"I think this and remote work are the best bull case for WeWork.

In 2025, every Fortune 500 company will have 10k+ remote workers, and every purchasing department will approve a reimbursement for WeWork with no questions asked."

https://twitter.com/patio11/status/1161796809741627392

Re: WeWork isn’t a tech company; it’s a soap opera

#102

This paragraph at the end stood out to me: > ...The We Company, used to be called WeWork, but it changed its name. The new name was owned, Bloomberg’s Ellen Huet reports, by We Holdings LLC — so WeWork paid $5.9 million to acquire “we” and changed its name last month. We Holdings — you guessed it! — manages stocks and assets owned by… WeWork’s founders. That's a huge conflict of interest. How would something like tha…

Approved by whom? Someone might look at it after the fact, but nothing stops a company from buying or selling with its shareholders. (In fact it's quite common for private companies to pay owners for things like office space.) But yes, it should be at fair market value; you're not supposed to buy something for one price just to flip it to your company for a higher price (effectively taking compensation as a capital gain).

Re: WeWork isn’t a tech company; it’s a soap opera

#103
post #88

I mean... it's neither? It is a real estate company. Why is everything a "tech company" or a scam?

Did you read the article? It's not saying that it's a soap opera because it's not a tech company, it's saying it because of the crazy family that runs it and the questionable financials around it.

Re: WeWork isn’t a tech company; it’s a soap opera

#105
post #23

I don't disagree with the notion that WeWork is a shady "tech" company but this article is terribly written and hard to follow. I couldn't even make it halfway through. > The thing _begins_ with an epigram: “We dedicate this to the energy of we — greater than any one of us, but inside all of us.” Yeah, every S-1 I have read starts with marketing materials. How is this at all relevant? > I am just going to drop The We…

The org chart was absolutely relevant. It was evidence that the company was structured in an incredible way that's just waiting for disasters to enfold.

Just because the author "doesn't understand what the fuck is going on here" does not make it a bad investment, a terrible company, and so on.

Re: WeWork isn’t a tech company; it’s a soap opera

#106

This paragraph at the end stood out to me: > ...The We Company, used to be called WeWork, but it changed its name. The new name was owned, Bloomberg’s Ellen Huet reports, by We Holdings LLC — so WeWork paid $5.9 million to acquire “we” and changed its name last month. We Holdings — you guessed it! — manages stocks and assets owned by… WeWork’s founders. That's a huge conflict of interest. How would something like tha…

Approved by whom? Someone might look at it after the fact, but nothing stops a company from buying or selling with its shareholders. (In fact it's quite common for private companies to pay owners for things like office space.) But yes, it should be at fair market value; you're not supposed to buy something for one price just to flip it to your company for a higher price (effectively taking compensation as a capital g…

In theory, the board.

The board represents investors. And usually the big investors will have a seat on the board.

The board should have intervened here.

Re: WeWork isn’t a tech company; it’s a soap opera

#107

This is the place where literally every one has the wifi password "P@ssw0rd" (or something similar, I forget) and instead of just connecting an HDMI cable to your laptop in the conference rooms you have to download some spyware that only works on Windows and Mac (despite the fact that their primary client is tech companies, many of whom use Linux or other OS's). Also never try printing, that just doesn't work, and th…

I'm working at client office, at one of the WeWork spaces in Jakarta, Indonesia.

My work notebook runs Windows 10, never have any issue with printing. And regarding connecting to printers/TVs in conference rooms which requires the installation of another apps, I think it has something to do with charcing your office's quota.

Re: WeWork isn’t a tech company; it’s a soap opera

#108

This paragraph at the end stood out to me: > ...The We Company, used to be called WeWork, but it changed its name. The new name was owned, Bloomberg’s Ellen Huet reports, by We Holdings LLC — so WeWork paid $5.9 million to acquire “we” and changed its name last month. We Holdings — you guessed it! — manages stocks and assets owned by… WeWork’s founders. That's a huge conflict of interest. How would something like tha…

Approved by whom? Someone might look at it after the fact, but nothing stops a company from buying or selling with its shareholders. (In fact it's quite common for private companies to pay owners for things like office space.) But yes, it should be at fair market value; you're not supposed to buy something for one price just to flip it to your company for a higher price (effectively taking compensation as a capital g…

Putting aside the fact that it's absolutely asinine that "we" can be trademarked at all, $5.9 million seems like a pretty hefty price tag for a relatively unknown trademark.

Edit: I pulled the trademark[1] on USPTO. I don't know much about IP law but it looks like the mark was only registered in December 2018. And WeWork "rebranded" as the "We Company" in January 2019.[2] Am I reading the trademark info wrong or is that suspicious timing? Could Dec. 17, 2018 be the date WeHoldings LLC assigned it to We Work Corp.?

[1] http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=88232116&caseSearchType=US...

[2] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-08/wework-s-...

Re: WeWork isn’t a tech company; it’s a soap opera

#109
post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought I knew this stuff, but now I'm not so sure anymore. If I take care to only visit https sites, what's the risk in being on an open network or a network with a stupid password? They can see what domains I connect to and when, but that's it, correct? No MITM, no further snooping, right?

If the network is open, your machine may be open to being sent traffic - or attacked - from other devices on the network.

How is this not true on an encrypted wifi or even an old-school wired office LAN?

Re: WeWork isn’t a tech company; it’s a soap opera

#110
I'm tired of my WeWork. I'm tired of the relentless positivity ("Thank God for Mondays!") and faux corporate cheerfulness.

I freelanced because I wanted out of that corporatism where I'm reminded that I don't just have to work; I have to be happy while doing it.

WeWork's championing of "makers" and "creativity" and all that gobbledock might work for some people, but I just want a space to work out of that has good WiFi and quiet people. I don't need to be told that I have to be happy doing my work, or that my work is important or world-changing.

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