[rogerkirkness]

VCs I've met feel Adam Neumann is one of the best at pitching of anyone they have ever met or are aware of, like the GOAT of fundraising. That has massive value, and in theory you could insulate them from operational things that need budgets.

[specialist]

I worked at a startup that had a GOAT level sales person. We understood we needed this person to succeed, enterprise sales to a nascent market segment required a lot of persuasion and tenacity.

Unfortunately, sales dominated orgs lead to terrible technical and operational challenges. (Whereas Neumann's efforts are dominated by fund raising.)

Like our sales GOAT, I imagine Neumann is similarly unfamiliar with objective reality. And otherwise unteachable.

I kinda get it. For Neumann's part, he's wildly successful, awash in cash. And has somehow avoided the consequences of his terrible decisions.

Another example of Failing Upwards.

[pclmulqdq]

In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, the people making the pitch have never been insulated from operations or technology. Either their egos get too big for a split to work or they actually start to believe their own bull. This is a fantasy that has never happened before, and while it would be nice, it is not real.

[xhevahir]

Yes. "Believing their own bull" is the whole secret of Neumann's or Holmes' salesmanship.