
Episode 200
WeWork, Adam Neumann, & the Great Startup Debacle | Maureen Farrell

Episode 200
Maureen Farrell
WeWork, Adam Neumann, & the Great Startup Debacle | Maureen Farrell
summary
In Episode 200 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Maureen Farrell, author of “The Cult of We: WeWork, Adam Neuman, and the Great Startup Delusion.”
Maureen, along with her colleague and co-author Eliot Brown, were some of the first reporters at the Wall Street Journal to cover what is arguably the biggest financial debacle in the history of early-stage investing. And yet, this description doesn’t even begin to capture the incredible story that is the rise and fall of WeWork: a story about a real estate company that was at one point the most valuable start-up in America, despite racking up over $10 billion dollars in losses over the course of just nine years and vaporizing nearly forty billion dollars in equity value practically overnight.
The reality of WeWork—of what it is and what it was—stands in stark contrast to what its founder, Adam Neuman said it was to his investors, employees, and the media. It was going to be worth ten trillion dollars, more than any other company in the world. It wasn’t just an office space provider. It was a tech play. Its spin-offs like “WeGrow” and “WeLive” were going to revolutionize education and change the world. Adam Neuman was going to solve Middle East peace and WeWork would help colonize Mars.
As crazy as all of this sounds, it is emblematic of a larger decay in the most basic principles of capitalism that prioritizes the raising of capital over the turning of profits. It rewards storytellers over businesspeople. Price over value.
This episode is broken into two parts, the first half of which is focused mainly on the particulars of WeWork, the characters involved, and the disastrous decisions made by its management along with the dereliction of its board. The second half focuses on the larger macro forces that are responsible for encouraging the type of behavior that we’ve seen in the case of WeWork and applying that template to other companies and their executives. We also explore the intersection of politics and finance, including a rise in demagoguery that parallels the institutional and moral decay we are witnessing across many parts of Western society.
You can access the second half of this conversation, as well as the transcript, and show notes to this week’s episode through the Hidden Forces Supercast Page. All subscribers gain access to our overtime feed, which can be easily added to your favorite podcast application.
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Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas
Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou
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Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas
Episode Recorded on 07/15/2021
bio
Maureen Farrell has been a reporter at The Wall Street Journal since 2013. She previously worked at Forbes, Debtwire, and Mergermarket. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two daughters. She graduated from Duke University with a degree in English literature and the Columbia School of Journalism.
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Quia nec honesto quic quam honestius nec turpi turpius. Nam illud vehementer repugnat, eundem beatum esse et multis malis oppressum. Duo Reges: constructio interrete. Negat enim summo bono afferre incrementum diem. Sed quot homines, tot sententiae;
Quid nunc honeste dicit? Maximas vero virtutes iacere omnis necesse est voluptate dominante. Tertium autem omnibus aut maximis rebus iis, quae secundum naturam sint, fruentem vivere. Quantum Aristoxeni ingenium consumptum videmus in musicis? Tanta vis admonitionis inest in locis; Nec tamen ullo modo summum pecudis bonum et hominis idem mihi videri potest.
Haec igitur Epicuri non probo, inquam. Haec et tu ita posuisti, et verba vestra sunt. Omnes enim iucundum motum, quo sensus hilaretur. Nam adhuc, meo fortasse vitio, quid ego quaeram non perspicis.
Nos paucis ad haec additis finem faciamus aliquando; Quis animo aequo videt eum, quem inpure ac flagitiose putet vivere? Illa argumenta propria videamus, cur omnia sint paria peccata. Propter nos enim illam, non propter eam nosmet ipsos diligimus.
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut pulsi recurrant? Summus dolor plures dies manere non potest? In his igitur partibus duabus nihil erat, quod Zeno commutare gestiret. Saepe ab Aristotele, a Theophrasto mirabiliter est laudata per se ipsa rerum scientia; Vide, quantum, inquam, fallare, Torquate. Duo Reges: constructio interrete. Si quidem, inquit, tollerem, sed relinquo. Vide, quantum, inquam, fallare, Torquate. Fortasse id optimum, sed ubi illud: Plus semper voluptatis?
Profectus in exilium Tubulus statim nec respondere ausus; Quasi vero, inquit, perpetua oratio rhetorum solum, non etiam philosophorum sit. Sed ad haec, nisi molestum est, habeo quae velim. Quod autem ratione actum est, id officium appellamus. Videsne, ut haec concinant? Cur igitur, cum de re conveniat, non malumus usitate loqui? Satis est ad hoc responsum.
Honesta oratio, Socratica, Platonis etiam. Nam ante Aristippus, et ille melius. Theophrastus mediocriterne delectat, cum tractat locos ab Aristotele ante tractatos? Quoniam, si dis placet, ab Epicuro loqui discimus. Ita prorsus, inquam;
Tum mihi Piso: Quid ergo? De ingenio eius in his disputationibus, non de moribus quaeritur. Et harum quidem rerum facilis est et expedita distinctio. Unum nescio, quo modo possit, si luxuriosus sit, finitas cupiditates habere. Hoc est dicere: Non reprehenderem asotos, si non essent asoti. Quae quidem sapientes sequuntur duce natura tamquam videntes; Ait enim se, si uratur, Quam hoc suave! dicturum.
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Id enim volumus, id contendimus, ut officii fructus sit ipsum officium. Sequitur disserendi ratio cognitioque naturae; Quis animo aequo videt eum, quem inpure ac flagitiose putet vivere? Quia nec honesto quic quam honestius nec turpi turpius. Duo Reges: constructio interrete. Hoc simile tandem est?
Vitiosum est enim in dividendo partem in genere numerare. Sic, et quidem diligentius saepiusque ista loquemur inter nos agemusque communiter. Consequatur summas voluptates non modo parvo, sed per me nihilo, si potest; Que Manilium, ab iisque M. Quae in controversiam veniunt, de iis, si placet, disseramus. Utinam quidem dicerent alium alio beatiorem! Iam ruinas videres. At ego quem huic anteponam non audeo dicere;
Mihi vero, inquit, placet agi subtilius et, ut ipse dixisti, pressius. Sed vobis voluptatum perceptarum recordatio vitam beatam facit, et quidem corpore perceptarum. Zenonis est, inquam, hoc Stoici. Non est ista, inquam, Piso, magna dissensio. Quae cum dixisset paulumque institisset, Quid est? Quid ergo? Sed finge non solum callidum eum, qui aliquid improbe faciat, verum etiam praepotentem, ut M. Eadem nunc mea adversum te oratio est. Non igitur potestis voluptate omnia dirigentes aut tueri aut retinere virtutem. Res enim se praeclare habebat, et quidem in utraque parte.
Expressa vero in iis aetatibus, quae iam confirmatae sunt. An vero, inquit, quisquam potest probare, quod perceptfum, quod. Quid, si reviviscant Platonis illi et deinceps qui eorum auditores fuerunt, et tecum ita loquantur? Atqui haec patefactio quasi rerum opertarum, cum quid quidque sit aperitur, definitio est. Non enim solum Torquatus dixit quid sentiret, sed etiam cur.
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Hoc est dicere: Non reprehenderem asotos, si non essent asoti. Hic Speusippus, hic Xenocrates, hic eius auditor Polemo, cuius illa ipsa sessio fuit, quam videmus. Qui igitur convenit ab alia voluptate dicere naturam proficisci, in alia summum bonum ponere? Duo Reges: constructio interrete. Igitur neque stultorum quisquam beatus neque sapientium non beatus. Sed mehercule pergrata mihi oratio tua. Quod si ita sit, cur opera philosophiae sit danda nescio. Quae diligentissime contra Aristonem dicuntur a Chryippo. Sed videbimus.
Quo minus animus a se ipse dissidens secumque discordans gustare partem ullam liquidae voluptatis et liberae potest. Hoc simile tandem est? Atque haec coniunctio confusioque virtutum tamen a philosophis ratione quadam distinguitur. Comprehensum, quod cognitum non habet? Haec dicuntur inconstantissime. Numquam hoc ita defendit Epicurus neque Metrodorus aut quisquam eorum, qui aut saperet aliquid aut ista didicisset. Nam si amitti vita beata potest, beata esse non potest.
Vitiosum est enim in dividendo partem in genere numerare. At ille pellit, qui permulcet sensum voluptate. At quicum ioca seria, ut dicitur, quicum arcana, quicum occulta omnia? Utilitatis causa amicitia est quaesita.
Qui autem de summo bono dissentit de tota philosophiae ratione dissentit. Pudebit te, inquam, illius tabulae, quam Cleanthes sane commode verbis depingere solebat. Si quae forte-possumus. Iam in altera philosophiae parte. Cui Tubuli nomen odio non est? Ergo adhuc, quantum equidem intellego, causa non videtur fuisse mutandi nominis. Mihi quidem Antiochum, quem audis, satis belle videris attendere. Quid me istud rogas? Non enim iam stirpis bonum quaeret, sed animalis.