| This narrative seems to be common these days about WeWork: - it has a high valuation
- nobody there really works
- everyone there is a stupid startup that won't pan out
- WeWork is a scam In the past, I've worked at fortune 50 companies in private office, at startups in open office, rented space personally at various coworking spaces, and currently rent a hot desk in a WeWork in Brooklyn. Where I work, on any given weekday the shared workspace of about 45 desks is 60% full with people working silently or talking very quietly. It is a great environment for technical work. The music doesn't play in the shared work space but it does in the common eating area / kitchen where people frequently do work and talk to one another. I think this "trash the new unicorn" mentality is fun to write about but in my experience, WeWork really is better. One example of something they do extraordinarily well is that their phone booths actually work and give real privacy. The internet is always perfect. Things like that matter when you want to be productive. There is paper shredding service. The mugs are always clean. The snack bar is cheap and always stocked. There are also network effects. I frequently have meetings in Manhattan spread throughout the day. No matter what part of town I'm in, I almost always can rent a desk at a location nearby for free (or for $25 if I've done it a lot that month). This is just my experience but IMO WeWork is definitely worth it. I pay $350/mo. Maybe it's not for everyone but I am happy giving them my money for what I get in return. |
It's not about "trashing the unicorn" (eg, Dropbox has managed to keep negative press to a minimum). It's that there's yet to be anything substantive that examines what people are doing that isn't "a stupid start up that won't pan out" that justify paying $350/mo for a desk, when a coffee shop will do.
The prejudice is not that that your "stupid start up that won't pan out" won't, err, pan out, but that eventually the entire industry will collapse and we'll all have to go back to doing serious work at serious jobs. No more getting paid to make a dating app for people with dogs with a floppy left ear.
Despite evidence to the contrary, WeWorks isn't selling office space, they're selling convenience and a lifestyle (two things people are willing to pay a premium for). If you've got an niche business with revenue that lets you afford $350/mo, and you're getting value out of WeWorks, good for you! Keep that niche your secret though.