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WeWork Isn’t a Tech Company

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Re: WeWork Isn’t a Tech Company

#91

Post by kolbe »

WhompingWindows wrote: post #58
kolbe wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When the time is right, Adam will change the company voting structure and get WeWork put into the S&P 500. If all goes well, it will be at a $500b mkt cap, and everyone in VOO and SPY will be the ones paying that price.

Incorrect, You don't just "get put into" the SP500, you need to meet the qualifications first. I doubt WeWork will reach positive earnings and a market cap of 5.3 bln anytime soon. --It must be a U.S. company. --The market cap must be $5.3 billion or more. --The public float must consist of at least 50% of outstanding shares. --It must have positive reported earnings in the most recent quarter, as well as over the fo…

> I doubt WeWork will reach positive earnings and a market cap of 5.3 bln anytime soon.

No one said anything about "anytime soon"

(1) They are a US company.

(2) They raised at a $40bn valuation in their last funding round, so I don't know why you think a $5.3bn market cap is out of the range of possibility.

(3) The float will be whatever it is.

(4) WeWork is a real estate company. Real estate companies tend to make profit. The biggest issue most people have with WeWork is that their profits look small.

(5) Whatever that means. They will be in an active market, but reasonable is in the eye of the beholder.

Re: WeWork Isn’t a Tech Company

#92

Post by paxys »

mrtksn wrote: post #32

I really don't understand the negativity on HN towards WeWork. In principle, how it is different than AirBnB or Uber in regard of being a tech company? It's not like Uber or AirBnB's core compentancies are tech, I'm sure WeWork can also build a dev team making frameworks and research that some day might be used in their core business. The article argues that the difference is that Uber, AirBnB, Yelp, Twitter is a tec…

Uber, Lyft, AirBnb etc. offered technology as their major differentiator when they entered large, already established industries. They are all pure online marketplaces, and don't deal with physical assets, inventory, contracts or whatever else.

WeWork is different because its primary day-to-day operations consist of purchasing/renting/renovating/managing offices. Yes it could pivot to an Uber model in the future, but we are evaluating all of them as they stand today.

Re: WeWork Isn’t a Tech Company

#93

Post by mrtksn »

the_gastropod wrote: post #89
mrtksn wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But this doesn’t say if they are a tech company or not. If you think that it’s a bad investment simply don’t invest? Why is the “WeWork ain’t tech company” uproar?

It seems like you're just not listening. They're not a tech company because they, while they may use software for some things, it's not their differentiator. Tech companies are valued at higher multiples because software doesn't deal with scarcity. It costs Microsoft virtually nothing to sell an extra copy of Windows. So each extra sale is pure profit. WeWork sells OFFICE SPACE—something with real world scarcity, and…

i’m not convinced that this is true because they can embrace the Uber or AirBnB business models to do just that. If They can be Tech companies, WeWork can too.

I suspect that the value is in the brand, just like with the Uber or AirBnB. Making a booking software or mobile app is not such a big deal but they are called tech companies for some reason.

Re: WeWork Isn’t a Tech Company

#94

Post by freehunter »

jbay808 wrote: post #68
paxys wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So tech = innovation? I don't think that's a common definition.

A car company isn't a company that uses cars, it's a company that makes cars. Technology is "the application of science to commercial or industrial objectives" according to the dictionary. But a technology company is a company that makes technology. That inherently requires innovation.

Also the definition of technology is not "does something with or on computers", it's "the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry".

A car is a piece of technology. An engine is a piece of technology. A computer is a piece of technology. A technology company is a company that produces products that are the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes.

What we're really talking about is information technology, which is the study or use of systems (especially computers and telecommunications) for storing, retrieving, and sending information.

Re: WeWork Isn’t a Tech Company

#96

Post by tonyhb »

the_gastropod wrote: post #42
mrtksn wrote: post #32

I really don't understand the negativity on HN towards WeWork. In principle, how it is different than AirBnB or Uber in regard of being a tech company? It's not like Uber or AirBnB's core compentancies are tech, I'm sure WeWork can also build a dev team making frameworks and research that some day might be used in their core business. The article argues that the difference is that Uber, AirBnB, Yelp, Twitter is a tec…

> In principle, how it is different than AirBnB or Uber in regard of being a tech company? It's not like Uber or AirBnB's core compentancies are tech, I'm sure WeWork can also build a dev team making frameworks and research that some day might be used in their core business. Some day, maybe they could?! But their current business is selling short term office space leases. They have massive liabilities in their long-t…

Breather is the Uber of office space. You are exactly right comparing WeWork with uber _if and only if_ uber buys all of the cars and therefore the liabilities.

Re: WeWork Isn’t a Tech Company

#97

Post by mrtksn »

tonyhb wrote: post #96
the_gastropod wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In principle, how it is different than AirBnB or Uber in regard of being a tech company? It's not like Uber or AirBnB's core compentancies are tech, I'm sure WeWork can also build a dev team making frameworks and research that some day might be used in their core business. Some day, maybe they could?! But their current business is selling short term office space leases. They have massive liabilities in their long-t…

Breather is the Uber of office space. You are exactly right comparing WeWork with uber _if and only if_ uber buys all of the cars and therefore the liabilities.

Two things:

1) how this effects the position of WeWork as a tech company(or not)?

2) Is there a law or something preventing them from changing their business model? Maybe this is “phase 1” of their grand plan to build a brand, optimize the process of opening new locations etc and they will switch to “rent your empty property under WeWork brand like renting from AirBnB, just comply with the requirements just like Uber drivers’ cars have to comply” business model?

Re: WeWork Isn’t a Tech Company

#100

Post by tim333 »

I'm not sure the founder sees it as a tech or real estate company but something more:

>In 2017, Neumann declared that WeWork’s “valuation and size today are much more based on our energy and spirituality than it is on a multiple of revenue.” He has long maintained that categorizing WeWork as a real-estate concern is too limiting; it is a “community company” with huge ambitions. “We are here in order to change the world,” Neumann said that same year. “Nothing less than that interests me.”

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