Re: [Coworking] Re: Inside The Phenomenal Rise Of WeWork
Funny enough, the article URL is more telling about what’s really going on here: /wework-now-a-5-billion-real-estate-sartup-1418690163 -- The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself. Join the list: http://coworkingweekly.com Listen to the podcast: http://listen.coworkingweekly.com On Tue, Dec 16, 2014 at 10:59 AM, Steve King sk...@emergentresearch.com wrote: Wall Street Journal reports http://www.wsj.com/articles/wework-now-a-5-billion-real-estate-sartup-1418690163WeWork just raised $355 million and is now valued at $5+ billion. -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
Re: [Coworking] Re: Inside The Phenomenal Rise Of WeWork
Alex, Do you consider WeWork to be coworking or something else - closer to Regus? - Aaron Aaron Cruikshank Principal, CRUIKSHANK phone: 778.908.4560 e-mail: aa...@cruikshank.me web: cruikshank.me http://www.cruikshank.me twitter: @cruikshank https://twitter.com/cruikshank book a meeting: doodle.com/cruikshank http://www.doodle.com/cruikshank linkedin: in/cruikshank http://www.linkedin.com/in/cruikshank On Tue, Dec 16, 2014 at 8:05 AM, Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com wrote: Funny enough, the article URL is more telling about what’s *really* going on here: /wework-now-a-5-billion-real-estate-sartup-1418690163 -- *The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.* Join the list: http://coworkingweekly.com Listen to the podcast: http://listen.coworkingweekly.com On Tue, Dec 16, 2014 at 10:59 AM, Steve King sk...@emergentresearch.com wrote: Wall Street Journal reports http://www.wsj.com/articles/wework-now-a-5-billion-real-estate-sartup-1418690163WeWork just raised $355 million and is now valued at $5+ billion. -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
Re: [Coworking] Re: Inside The Phenomenal Rise Of WeWork
Yeah, definitely. They’re a real estate company. They’ve gotten better at their version of “community” than Regus has, for sure, but if you get closer to what they do instead of reading the press and their marketing material, you’ll find that it’s a high volume, high turnover real estate business (which is a big part of what makes their financials appear different from their more conservative cousins). Among the many things that are interesting to me is that early on, they actively rejected the coworking language along with the broader coworking community…until coworking really started to mainstream and it became advantageous for them to use the word. Now they’re rejecting the idea of being a real estate company because they don’t like being compared to it. I don’t think their model is bad, by the way. And they’re definitely smart. Overvalued? Definitely, but that’s what happens when you align yourself with an already overvalued startup market (which is the vast majority of their audience). But also like the startup market, this kind of growth isn’t sustainable…which is a whole lot more evident when you look beyond what the press tells you is true :) -Alex -- The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself. Join the list: http://coworkingweekly.com Listen to the podcast: http://listen.coworkingweekly.com On Tue, Dec 16, 2014 at 11:57 AM, Aaron Cruikshank aa...@cruikshank.me wrote: Alex, Do you consider WeWork to be coworking or something else - closer to Regus? - Aaron Aaron Cruikshank Principal, CRUIKSHANK phone: 778.908.4560 e-mail: aa...@cruikshank.me web: cruikshank.me http://www.cruikshank.me twitter: @cruikshank https://twitter.com/cruikshank book a meeting: doodle.com/cruikshank http://www.doodle.com/cruikshank linkedin: in/cruikshank http://www.linkedin.com/in/cruikshank On Tue, Dec 16, 2014 at 8:05 AM, Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com wrote: Funny enough, the article URL is more telling about what’s *really* going on here: /wework-now-a-5-billion-real-estate-sartup-1418690163 -- *The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.* Join the list: http://coworkingweekly.com Listen to the podcast: http://listen.coworkingweekly.com On Tue, Dec 16, 2014 at 10:59 AM, Steve King sk...@emergentresearch.com wrote: Wall Street Journal reports http://www.wsj.com/articles/wework-now-a-5-billion-real-estate-sartup-1418690163WeWork just raised $355 million and is now valued at $5+ billion. -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
Re: [Coworking] Re: Inside The Phenomenal Rise Of WeWork
There are two big-box hardware stores near me - Lowes and Home Depot - but I still go to the local hardware store because they frequently have, order, or can make, some obscure thing that the big boxes don't, and the people working there are very knowledgeable about all things hardware and home-maintenance related. I think that smaller, independent coworking communities can offer a more personalized experience than big coworking can. Independent communities are better able to adapt their communities to the character of the particular community than spaces that are part of a larger organization. On Wed, Nov 19, 2014 at 4:44 AM, Jeannine flexkantoorkame...@gmail.com wrote: I think that once you put 6 zeros after anything, everybody goes crazy. I am glad for the attention, high tide raises all ships and, as Alex points out, Regus has been more co-opted than it has been dominant in relation to coworking. Before you know it, WeWork will also be applying to get on the Wiki and so on, just like Regus. :-). Though not yet, they are still in the own sandbox model and who knows, they may stay there. A number of sectors are shifting in the face of the ideas around the sharing economy and office space is one of them. And as with the others there are policy issues to be worked out and so on. The dark sides of the sharing economy include of course exploitation and the black market. This is also not different with coworking. As Big Coworking develops I expect to see these kinds of problems addressed faster than they would have without it, so that is helpful. One of the things I would like to see is a real cradle to grave approach for coworking; at this moment most people think of it as a nice place to start until you get to be a real business when you get your own space. And I expect that Big Coworking will change that. On Monday, November 17, 2014 9:16:07 PM UTC+1, Steve King wrote: Fascinating - and eye popping - numbers on WeWork in the Forbes article Inside the Phenomenal Rise of WeWork http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2014/11/05/the-rise-of-wework/ -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- twb member, Workantile http://workantile.com/ @twbrandt -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
Re: [Coworking] Re: Inside The Phenomenal Rise Of WeWork
WeWork moving to Seattle has been a good thing. They spend more money/energy throwing the word coworking around then we ever have and provide services we don't care to offer. They work better for bigger teams (4+) or individuals requiring private offices. Also, they fully participate in the Seattle Collaborative Space Alliance. I think they are good people. If anything Regus should be worried, not us. Thank you for the back story. It's great to see how everyone gets started. Jacob On Wed, Nov 19, 2014 at 5:23 AM, Tom Brandt twbra...@gmail.com wrote: There are two big-box hardware stores near me - Lowes and Home Depot - but I still go to the local hardware store because they frequently have, order, or can make, some obscure thing that the big boxes don't, and the people working there are very knowledgeable about all things hardware and home-maintenance related. I think that smaller, independent coworking communities can offer a more personalized experience than big coworking can. Independent communities are better able to adapt their communities to the character of the particular community than spaces that are part of a larger organization. On Wed, Nov 19, 2014 at 4:44 AM, Jeannine flexkantoorkame...@gmail.com wrote: I think that once you put 6 zeros after anything, everybody goes crazy. I am glad for the attention, high tide raises all ships and, as Alex points out, Regus has been more co-opted than it has been dominant in relation to coworking. Before you know it, WeWork will also be applying to get on the Wiki and so on, just like Regus. :-). Though not yet, they are still in the own sandbox model and who knows, they may stay there. A number of sectors are shifting in the face of the ideas around the sharing economy and office space is one of them. And as with the others there are policy issues to be worked out and so on. The dark sides of the sharing economy include of course exploitation and the black market. This is also not different with coworking. As Big Coworking develops I expect to see these kinds of problems addressed faster than they would have without it, so that is helpful. One of the things I would like to see is a real cradle to grave approach for coworking; at this moment most people think of it as a nice place to start until you get to be a real business when you get your own space. And I expect that Big Coworking will change that. On Monday, November 17, 2014 9:16:07 PM UTC+1, Steve King wrote: Fascinating - and eye popping - numbers on WeWork in the Forbes article Inside the Phenomenal Rise of WeWork http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2014/11/05/the-rise-of-wework/ -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- twb member, Workantile http://workantile.com/ @twbrandt -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
Re: [Coworking] Re: Inside The Phenomenal Rise Of WeWork
I wrote this in 2011, but my thoughts haven’t changed much: http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2011/11/sex-coworking-and-rock-n-roll/ WeWork is tiny compared to Regus (who employs nearly 1/4 of the headcount that WeWork is aiming for as membership in 2015). And yet we laugh at considering Regus a coworking competitor. Further, viewing communities as “competitive only makes sense in a vacuum. In reality, people choose what suits them. Using the analogy in that post, music artists don’t “compete” directly with each other. And to use the restaurant analogy from previous posts, a chinese food restaurant doesn’t “compete directly with a steakhouse, even though they technically serve some of the same ingredients. Point being: catch yourselves when huge numbers and eye-popping statistics become a distraction from what YOU need to do best, which is support and lead YOUR communities. -Alex -- The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself. Join the list: http://coworkingweekly.com Listen to the podcast: http://listen.coworkingweekly.com On Tuesday, Nov 18, 2014 at 2:11 PM, Steve King sk...@emergentresearch.com, wrote: Tim: I did a blog post on this today. Our view is overall this is very good news for the entire coworking industry. WeWork is showing coworking is rapidly becoming a mainstream workplace alternative for startups, independent workers and firms of all sizes. The more broadly this is recognized and reported on in the press, the better it is for the overall industry. We also think there's plenty of room for other players. Even with their aggressive growth plans, WeWork is only aiming for 46,000 members in 2015. This is a tiny share of the potential coworking market. There are many millions of potential coworking space members and most are looking for spaces offering something different than WeWork is. But - and this is a big but - just as big box retail fundamentally changed that sector, we think Big Coworking (spaces with many hundreds of members) will also have a major impact on coworking and broader office-as-a-service industry. Smaller spaces and firms will have to learn to adjust to Big Coworking competition. What do you think? -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
Re: [Coworking] Re: Inside The Phenomenal Rise Of WeWork
This is awesome. And Alex, I love the restaurant analogy. Reminds me of how I and many friends wrung our hands when Whole Foods moved into Minneapolis about 15 years ago, just a couple miles from our beloved Wedge http://www.wedge.coop/ food coop. As it turned out, rather than taking business away from the food coops, Whole Foods mostly served as a gateway drug for suburbanites to try organics, bringing lots of newbies into a rapidly growing market. Today, the Wedge is one of the largest food coops in the country by both membership and sales. On Tue, Nov 18, 2014 at 11:28 AM, Alex Hillman dangerouslyawes...@gmail.com wrote: I wrote this in 2011, but my thoughts haven’t changed much: http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2011/11/sex-coworking-and-rock-n-roll/ WeWork is *tiny* compared to Regus (who *employs* nearly 1/4 of the headcount that WeWork is aiming for as membership in 2015). And yet we laugh at considering Regus a coworking competitor. Further, viewing communities as “competitive only makes sense in a vacuum. In reality, people choose what suits them. Using the analogy in that post, music artists don’t “compete” directly with each other. And to use the restaurant analogy from previous posts, a chinese food restaurant doesn’t “compete directly with a steakhouse, even though they technically serve some of the same ingredients. Point being: catch yourselves when huge numbers and eye-popping statistics become a distraction from what YOU need to do best, which is support and lead YOUR communities. -Alex -- *The #1 mistake in community building is doing it by yourself.* Join the list: http://coworkingweekly.com Listen to the podcast: http://listen.coworkingweekly.com On Tuesday, Nov 18, 2014 at 2:11 PM, Steve King sk...@emergentresearch.com, wrote: Tim: I did a blog post on this today. Our view is overall this is very good news for the entire coworking industry. WeWork is showing coworking is rapidly becoming a mainstream workplace alternative for startups, independent workers and firms of all sizes. The more broadly this is recognized and reported on in the press, the better it is for the overall industry. We also think there's plenty of room for other players. Even with their aggressive growth plans, WeWork is only aiming for 46,000 members in 2015. This is a tiny share of the potential coworking market. There are many millions of potential coworking space members and most are looking for spaces offering something different than WeWork is. But - and this is a big but - just as big box retail fundamentally changed that sector, we think Big Coworking (spaces with many hundreds of members) will also have a major impact on coworking and broader office-as-a-service industry. Smaller spaces and firms will have to learn to adjust to Big Coworking competition. What do you think? -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- -- Leif Utne VP of Business Development Warecorp http://warecorp.com / DrupalSquad http://drupalsquad.com +1.612.327.0123 linkedin: linkedin.com/in/leifutne/ http://www.linkedin.com/in/leifutne/ twitter: @leifutne http://twitter.com/leifutne blog: leifutne.com skype: leifutne -- -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Coworking group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
