[matte_black]

WeWork’s customers are also maintaining their own curated narrative. Many of them don’t actually care about ideology, they just want a hip co-working space where they can drink beer and socialize with other startups and “crush it” everyday.

It’s only fitting that the owner would also be full of shit.

[iamben]

I won't vote you down, but I think this is a pretty gross generalisation, is it not?

For every person shouting about crushing it and hammering back booze there are another handful quietly getting on with their work, happy to have an office space with stable, fast internet, clean, stocked kitchens, 24 hour access and clean, comfortable spaces - where they don't have to worry about sorting bills and contracts, cleaners, etc etc etc.

[tokyodude]

I'm genuinely curious. WeWork seems seriously over priced. At one person it's maybe 25%-50% more then else where. At 4 people it's like 300% more and keeps getting worse.

A couple of examples. Friends in Pasadena have an office that could fit 6 comfortably, 8 less so. $1300 a month. Guy at WeWork 1 block way, $1100 a month for an office just big enough to fit one desk.

A "hot desk" in Tokyo is $490 a month where as at my co-working space my dedicated desk is $400 a month. That includes "fast internet", meeting rooms, printers, copiers, cheap snacks, receptionist, networking events, cleaners, open 24/7 etc... The rent 3 person private office for $1k where as WeWork a single person private office is $1100.

They claim "coffee". Hardly seems like coffee is work $1k a month. Besides, there's probably 11 craft coffee places withing a 3 minute walk of my office.

And it's not an exception, there's been an explosion of co-working / shared office spaces in Tokyo over the last 2-4 years.

[woah]

Speaking of coffee, so many people think that you need to go to some hip overpriced place to get caffeine. It's not true, and they are all just complete idiots hypnotized by marketing. I can literally buy a 6 lb tub of restaurant-quality instant coffee for the cost of about 15-20 of the overpriced "pour overs" you can get from your local hipster who went to barista school.

The great thing about instant coffee is that you don't even need hot water to make it. I've found that it mixes up great with cold water in one of those protein drink shakers with the little springy balls.

This is awesome because there's no heat or hot water in the storage unit I'm renting. That's a subject for another post, but I just need a parka and a pair of fingerless gloves to get the exact same experience as those co-working hipsters. Plus, I'm not subjected to the torture of an open plan office. My unit is in the basement, and it's dead quiet.

I'm sitting here, only five subway stops away from the fancy WeWork downtown, laughing my ass off at the startup bros high-fiving and "crushing it". I've got a way better experience, and all in I'm saving like $100-200 per month over those hipster bros.

[dbmikus]

Sounds fine if you don't care too much how your coffee tastes. Granted, buying coffee from a cafe always comes with a markup, but nice fresh-ground coffee beans (which you can also do at home and do pour over if you want) definitely beat instant coffee.

[geoelectric]

Aeropress + an electric kettle == pretty good coffee with roughly the hassle factor of instant.

Honestly, I think it's even decent with coffee that's ground ahead of time if it's stored well. Alternatively you can use it to make coffee concentrate that will keep for a few days in a fridge.

[2arrs2ells]

Grandparent is definitely being sarcastic...

[matte_black]

No he’s not? I didn’t find that post particularly sarcastic, caffeine is just a chemical. If all you care about is getting a quick fix all the extra taste and ceremony has no added value.

[travisjungroth]

There's a big difference in taste between cold instant coffee and a pour over. If you don't care about the coffee itself, I suggest caffeine pills. A half pill is equal to a cup of coffee and you can get the equivalent of 200 cups for $10.

[maneesh]

Wow, I literally cannot tell if this comment is trying to sarcastic or serious.

[meowface]

Same here. I read it 3 times and am still unsure. Leaning towards sarcastic, though. I think it's just really subtle satire.

[fwip]

What instant coffee brand do you recommend?

[logfromblammo]

I hypothesize that every university main campus has, nearby, a small-business incubator building with individual offices for lease. And I suspect that a good percentage of commuter campuses have them, too. If those are unavailable, class B office space is readily available in single-story strip-mall form, and sometimes old industrial buildings get converted to class C.

Your startup business probably does not require couches, stocked kitchens, and wi-fi. It needs a mailing address, a phone number, a website, and a way for people to pay you. Those folding tables from Costco will still be useful after you can afford real desks.

[heurist]

You can get 90% of that for a half or quarter the cost at a B grade office building, and not deal with noisy neighbors or occupied conference rooms. It usually takes committing to a contract, but if you're not ready to do that you probably don't need office space.

[iamben]

Just to counter your point - I worked from home as a freelancer for about 4 years. I decided I wanted separation between church and state, as it were. Definitely wasn't ready for a contract, but have been in a WeWork for 3+ years now (and am still happy to not have to commit to location/broadband/cleaner/whatever). I'm sure I could have paid for cheaper work space (although, London) - but the money I've made from meeting people here and chatting over lunch / coffee that I didn't have when I worked from home and attended meetups has more than covered everything I've spent. Not to mention my productivity increased noticeably.

[drugme]

Except there's no free beer anymore.

Which should tell you something's up with their finances.