Adam Neumann is what happens when you put all your SPECIAL stats into charisma
Investing in Flow
11–20 of 133 posts
Re: Investing in Flow
#12Let me see if I got this right. Instead of a16z using its resources to actively push for YIMBY changes in society and politics that would actually have positive outcomes on the problems stated, it's investing in the next idea from the WeWork dream seller / scammer, and we don't even know what the venture is? Is this what the venture capital world has become in 2022?
Re: Investing in Flow
#13I used to have a high opinion of venture capital, seeing them as tech visionaries and folks with access to deep pockets that fund the best technology that is truly changing the world. Maybe something has changed, but now all I see are just financial hustlers, working markets, trying to capture or corner spaces with "unicorns", looking for M&A activity that might have already been pre-negotiated looking for something to fill that spot, and weird market plays that never seemed to make sense financially (Web3? WeWork?). My perception now of VC is much like any other private equity play. They're in it for the financial hustle, and I don't feel that their "ideas" really hold much water. Why we look up to VCs as thought-leaders and visionaires when they are financial creatures beats me.
While the top VC players may have earned the respect by themselves being visionary entrepreneurs (once, decades ago in many cases), the rest of the VC market is filled with also-ran investors who have never been practicing entrepreneurs, following markets like lemmings and looking for a relatively quick buck while not even understanding the markets they invest in. When I hear someone is an investor, especially if they're not one of the handful few of well-known investors, I just think to myself "banker". I don't know if it's always been like this, but it certainly feels like it's gotten worse.
Re: Investing in Flow
#14Maybe the solution to the housing crisis is to build more affordable housing and to eliminate the practice of using housing as an investment / safe place to park money. Also, outlaw or heavily regulate Airbnb.
I don't think another VC-funded app with cool branding is going to save us.
Re: Investing in Flow
#15Next week on HN: Adam Neumann sells Flow trademark to Flow for 2 million.
Re: Investing in Flow
#16> Adam is a visionary leader who revolutionized the second largest asset class in the world I was of the opinion that Adam made a serious and flawed business decision of taking long term leases with borrowed money, but selling short term fluid leases for revenue leading to books that are incredibly risky. At the time of collapse, the sky high valuation was basically a branding exercise, rather than actual business va…
Adam should write a book “how to fail upwards in silicon valley”
What is infuriating is that there is so much great work done by great people on building strong resilient and affordable towns which are a pleasure to live and work in, but the easy VC money flows to the wierdo charlatans instead.
Re: Investing in Flow
#17Finally! A potential solution to the housing crisis. Newly VC-infused and rehabilitated Adam Neumann. Yes yes yes. The world needs more of this.
This is also a good hedge against the crypto pyramid starting to slow down. Leveraging peoples' willingness to try to get rich quick to create a pyramid was profitable, but once people lost their money and crypto lost its luster, they wandered off and were no longer easy victims^Wcustomers... but imagine if VCs could also control your housing. Wandering off is so much harder! Built-in market protection.
Brilliant.
Re: Investing in Flow
#18I think A16Z needs to invest more in character references
or an HBO Max account.
Re: Investing in Flow
#19Fool me once, shame on you. fool me twice, you’re a visionary Adam.
Re: Investing in Flow
#20> revolutionized the second largest asset class in the world — commercial real estate — by bringing community and brand to an industry in which neither existed before
This sounds very disingenuous. Starbucks was arguably the first 'community brand' where people would associate one with an informal meeting place rather than to drink a coffee. Even in Silicon Valley, there are cafe chains renowned for this meeting vibe.
And then there are country clubs, which are newer and more bourgeois.
Even the neighborhood newspaper kiosk in historical European cities did a better job of bringing community and brand to real estate than WeWork.