> For instance, WeWork seems to be an AWS-for-office-space. Is that not a useful business? If I own a contract for space that can be slotted into anywhere in the world I might want to sit, is that not a useful thing to pay for? One might argue that, if I had the resources to truly care about a world-wide smorgasbord of office spaces to choose from at any given time, I'd have enough resources to lease my own building(s). But it still seems like something the market needs. Did it have to be a one-hundred-billionaire-minting business to rent space into that kind of market?
I think about it from the other direction. WeWork leases office space and parcels it out to temporary tenants. But, what's to stop the management companies that already own the office space to do the same thing? Why pay a middle man? WeWork would take the risk and prove the model effective in a particular area, then their own suppliers could undercut them.
Theranos was trying to sell technology that doesn't exist.
> WeWork leases office space and parcels it out to temporary tenants. But, what's to stop the management companies that already own the office space to do the same thing? Why pay a middle man?
WeWork's business model kind of reminds me of MoviePass in that they are very dependent on vendors who could also be their competitors. And there's the risk that the economy slows down and people cancel their memberships but they still have long term leases to pay...
Most management companies are local. One can kind of see how WeWork would work by being bigger than all management companies and having a global presence.
Assuming their kind of risk in a robust economy is lucrative. But I fail to see how WeWork could ever weather a recession, US or global.
Office brokerage is super-inefficient. If you are looking for up to a few thousand square feet, the current search process is terrible and slow. WeWork commoditizes this aspect, and has a reputation for being an expensive, if fair landlord.
I think about it from the other direction. WeWork leases office space and parcels it out to temporary tenants. But, what's to stop the management companies that already own the office space to do the same thing? Why pay a middle man? WeWork would take the risk and prove the model effective in a particular area, then their own suppliers could undercut them.
Theranos was trying to sell technology that doesn't exist.