Latest / Stephanomics / Introducing Foundering

Transcript

Introducing Foundering · Stephanomics

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Everyone was too bright eyed and too eager, and they
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: we chanted, we work, we chanted, we work, we work,
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: and then we hit a gong. Not that long ago,
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: Adam Newman was one of the most successful startup founders
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: in the world. He was a visionary leader who said
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: he was going to overturn a trillion dollar industry and
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: we Work. We really strive to help you as much
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: as we can. Focus on doing what you love, create
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: your life's work, and let us figure of the rest.
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: Venture capitalists were falling all over themselves to invest in
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: his company. We Work has revolutionized the leasing of office space.
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: Ten billion dollars invest in this company. It's the second
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: largest venture capital investment of all time. He ran the
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: most valuable startup in America, and he pitched that he
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: was going to revolutionize your work life. It sells fun.
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: I mean, it's cells excitement. You don't even have to
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: go out to a bar club. We will bring that
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: all to your office space where you sit and do work.
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: The bar is now at your desk. So when you
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: first walked in, you're like, dude, this place is awesome,
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: Like what is going on? But as Adam raised more
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: and more money, things started to get strange. You know,
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: if Adam was coming down the hall, it's like every
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: executive's butthole titans, Like everybody just got really like, oh
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: my god. He started saying things like he wanted to
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: live forever be the president of the world. We work
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: with nothing without Adam Newman. Right, No one wasn't investing
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: in we Work. They're investing in Adam Newman. But I
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: think we fall in love with these personalities. And the
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: Emperor wears no clothes, and in the span of just
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: a few weeks everything changed. Office space startup we Work
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: has officially postponed a plan to go public if we
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: Work as having trouble finding investor demand at one third
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: of the forty seven billion dollar price tag. That the
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: real concern is Adam Newman, the CEO. Everything is on him.
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: His performance will determine this What went wrong? Will take
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: you inside the company with interviews from people who helped
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: build we Work and exclusive tapes of internal meetings where
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: Adam talks to his employees in ways he'd never speak
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: in public. None of us want to look back and
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: say I could have done more, This could have been bigger,
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: This couldn't been better. That's not acceptable. You do not
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: get a chance like this again, None of us do.
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: This is a new podcast from Bloomberg Technology called Foundering.
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: This season will tell you the story of We Work,
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: a company that captured the startup boom of and also
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: may be remembered as a spectacular bust that marked the
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: end of an era. We'll take you into headquarters and
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: inside the mind of the man at the center of
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: it all, Adam Newman. Why he built We Worked, the
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: way he did, what happened to the company, and what
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: might happen next. Think about the long term consequences of
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: what this coronavirus has done. Curious what this means for
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: we Work now. We Work is known for crowding people
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: together in one shared workspace. Check us out Foundering, a
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: new show from Bloomberg Technology. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcasts.