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WeWork’s Adam Neumann Steps Down as CEO

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Re: WeWork’s Adam Neumann Steps Down as CEO

#461

Post by IAmGraydon »

88840-8855 wrote: post #253
ngngngng wrote: post #17

I'm so glad I read hacker news. I almost took a job at WeWork just 2 months ago with a recruiter working very hard to convince me I'd be rich when they IPO. Now I'm at a much smaller startup called Weave which is a really phenomenal place to work. I didn't discover until recently that it's also a YCombinator company. edit: to clarify, hacker news has been extremely skeptical of WeWork for some time, due to this, I wa…

I must say, I am jealous. It seems a bit unfair to me how computer engineers are getting hired and paid so well, while my economics degree is useless and I have to fight like crazy to get a job that pays WAY less than engineers get. Honestly, I studied economics because I wanted a job that pays well - that was one of the key criteria - and now I am standing with little money and a job I hate. It sucks.

Unfair? There is no unfair in the real world. You made a bad investment and are now reaping the results of your poor judgement. It’s perfectly fair. You want to make money? Stop blaming the world for not giving you what you want and learn how to give the world what it wants. Computer engineers are paid well because they develop systems that can turn $1 into $2. You could learn a lot from that.

Re: WeWork’s Adam Neumann Steps Down as CEO

#462

Post by barce »

metalliqaz wrote: post #92
cgearhart wrote: post #56

I had concerns earlier this year when I interviewed at WeWork—which was the worst interview experience I’ve ever had. I applied for a data science role. The first two hours of the on-site were painful—they seemed to be asking questions tailored to be outside my experience. The third interviewer came into the room and said, “I, uh, just looked at your resume and I have to ask, why do you want to be a backend engineer?…

WeWork is basically a real estate company. Why would they need a data science engineer?

The same reason a real estate company needs data science. To find correlations that no human can find given their vast stores of data for co-workers.

Re: WeWork’s Adam Neumann Steps Down as CEO

#463

Post by austhrow743 »

gwbas1c wrote: post #217
ryanwaggoner wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Definitely just another failed tech bro pump 'n dump scheme headed to the dustbin of history. I seriously doubt that. I think they're overvalued too, but I predict WeWork is still going to be around in another decade. There's clearly a ton of demand for what they provide.

> but I predict WeWork is still going to be around in another decade. There's clearly a ton of demand for what they provide There's also a TON of rent-a-desk places. The big questions are: - What's the benefit to a large corporation doing this instead of lots of small companies? (The economies of scale need to outweigh the large corporate overhead.) - What's WeWork's secret sauce or first mover advantage?

Same reason I often eat at mcdonalds. Consistency. I know what I'm going to get.

Re: WeWork’s Adam Neumann Steps Down as CEO

#464

Post by marrone12 »

whoisjuan wrote: post #34

This is some dense shit. I can't imagine how working for WeWork feels like, right now. I have worked for companies where all the employees were eagerly waiting for the day the company will go public. It was seen as a pivotal moment both financially and professionally. In any rational world that's a landmark moment. A significant milestone for founders, investors and early employees. For WeWork it has been the complet…

I feel bad for everyone who had to exercise and pay taxes on a high strike price that will keep them underwater at the 15B valuation.

Re: WeWork’s Adam Neumann Steps Down as CEO

#465

Post by stevarino »

Wowfunhappy wrote: post #433
ageitgey wrote: post #304

Earlier quoted context omitted.

WeWork offers this if you sign up for an American Express Platinum Business card and take advantage of the free year of WeWork benefit. I can (and do!) book any WeWork in the world any day - all for $0. Yes, that's right, the free AMEX WeWork plan is significantly better than any WeWork plan you can buy. That's start-up logic for you. I stopped paying WeWork after 1-2 years as a paying customer because their free pla…

What will you do after your free year is up?

Same thing that he would have to do otherwise: shop the market for the best offer.

... Assuming any true competition is still in business in a year.

Re: WeWork’s Adam Neumann Steps Down as CEO

#466

Post by mikeyhew »

DebtDeflation wrote: post #199
paggle wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think they will shut down WeLive. The entire premise of WeWork, and WeLive, is that they can sell you more than real estate -- they can sell you a "tribe." There are so many reports in recent years about growing social isolation and loneliness, that if something can be successfully packaged into a simulacrum of a community, it will be a hot item indeed. That's the only way WeWork can justify its stratospheric…

I'm sorry, but while there is some logic to the co-working idea, I don't see any serious demand for co-living. Quite frankly, I find the idea of having on-premise yoga instruction, cafes, bars, shared hot tubs, shared kitchens, etc. so you never have to leave your apartment building (except, presumably, to go to WeWork) to be absurd.

It sounds like it would be pretty awesome in the winter

Re: WeWork’s Adam Neumann Steps Down as CEO

#467

Post by wpietri »

ryanwaggoner wrote: post #206
codesushi42 wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same here, and only by reading the headlines. A WeWork recruiter reached out to me. I laughed out loud and added it to the list of companies I would never work for. Not only do they do nothing interesting, but they are apparently unethical as well. No doubt another failed tech bro pump 'n dump scheme headed to the dustbin of history.

Definitely just another failed tech bro pump 'n dump scheme headed to the dustbin of history. I seriously doubt that. I think they're overvalued too, but I predict WeWork is still going to be around in another decade. There's clearly a ton of demand for what they provide.

I mean, Groupon's still around too, but at ~10% of their IPO valuation. Is it possible WeWork will struggle along? Sure, although I have questions about what will happen with the $6bn of debt they declare in their S1.

But supposing they do, I see little reason to think they'll be a major player. I don't see anything stopping other rental companies from matching any innovations they've made. The same goes for major property owners. Some will stick with big chunks of space. But if there's a 30% premium for being flexible, providing desks, etc, the some of them will happily cut out the middleman.

Re: WeWork’s Adam Neumann Steps Down as CEO

#468

Post by ipqk »

likpok wrote: post #198
metalliqaz wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

WeWork is basically a real estate company. Why would they need a data science engineer?

Real estate is a data play: figuring out which locations are going to be valuable. McDonalds famously does tons of research on locations, so much so that "be mcdonalds-adjacent" is an acceptable strategy. I'm not entirely sure what a data science engineer does, but somewhere between "making it easier for the DS team to find what they need to find" and "figuring out where we should buy/lease next".

There's been a meme for decades that McDonalds is really a real estate company that sells burgers on the side.

Re: WeWork’s Adam Neumann Steps Down as CEO

#469

Post by wpietri »

iosonofuturista wrote: post #326
seibelj wrote: post #322

Earlier quoted context omitted.

blockchain

If anything, HN is not skeptical enough about THAT.

Agreed! It has been coming around in recent years, surely helped by the fact that "blockchain for X" has never panned out. But it has taken a painfully long time.
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