The WeWork Story Part 7: In the End, There Was Adam

For more episodes: • Foundering: The WeWork...
Part 7: In the End, There Was Adam
After WeWork's failed IPO, thousands of employees were laid off and the company teetered on the brink of collapse. Meanwhile, ousted CEO Adam Neumann flew to Israel with a generous exit package in hand. In this final episode of Foundering, reporter Ellen Huet surveys the wreckage of WeWork. Adam's executives and employees were asking themselves: Did Adam ever really believe in the values he preached? And what lessons will the world draw from WeWork's crash?
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[@lasantiagoa]

Onw of the best podcasts I've had EVER the pleasure to enjoy. Very informative and a huge cautionary tale to anyone who, like me, is involved in the startup world.

[@kiwiopklompen]

Me too. Cautionary tale, so well presented.

[@gevdarg]

Agreed.

[@EduardoEscarez]

A series made for binge-listening! Love it!

[@business]

Hey Eduardo! So glad you enjoyed the series. Which was your favorite episode? We’ve got a bunch of other podcasts in this playlist if you’re looking for more: kzbin.info/aero/PLqq4LnWs3olX6HJdfyHm5a0-Kc_lWrWX4

[@LeMemePage]

Seriously, one of the best series I’ve ever heard. First time I’ve binged a podcast show.

[@kurt2rsenjazz]

Great work Bloomberg! Thank you for telling this story in a nuanced and in depth manner

[@Zerkbern]

Excellent series! I enjoyed this thoroughly. Such a wonderful examination of the founder phenomenon. I'm looking forward to your work in the future.

[@ricardoj85]

I love how some people confuse working hard with being chaotic... And how those people usually end up in cult-like situations... "Omg Adam only slept 3 hours a day he worked so hard..." No .. he was a unstable mess of a boss

[@Atomic361]

Imagine believing you're gonna change the world by working for a real-estate company lmao

[@tjslam26]

BuT iT's a TeCh cOmPaNy...

[@vladpaul01]

“President of the world” , “worlds first trillionaire”

[@helsinki]

Im going to change the world by selling pineapple juice. Get investing cash and employ a bunch of dumbasses by saying pineapple juice fuels the mind of other entreprenuers and other 'world changers'.

[@PungiFungi]

@@helsinki it is frightening, and maybe a bit telling that Theranos, Enron, and Wework wanted to change the world. Any company that uses that phrase, run in the opposite direction.

[@JasenHicksFGC]

Amazing work by the entire team on this series. I have loved every bit of it.

[@ichoudhury007]

Loved it!! Speaking of which, I want to see you all stitch together that mess Queen Elizabeth made with that Theranos deal 😂🤣

[@maurolorenzotongco5521]

Finally reached the end of this good series on WeWork :) Are you covering Theranos in the next Foundering episodes?

[@selinov]

I sympathize and empathize for all these people but... DUH! If someone told me that I was going to be rich because I showed up to work at an office rental company I’d laugh in their faces. Some cult celebrity tells you that you’re all going to be rich and then you’re shocked when the fairy tail doesn’t come true? The only thing that shocks me about this story is the astounding naïveté of the employees that are upset because they got left holding the bag. They are literally complaining that a large scale con didn’t leave them rich like their boss. 🤦‍♀️

[@RangeWilson]

Dude, it's come true for countless thousands in Silicon Valley, many working at companies that had no viable product at all. At least WeWork had a real business, and they came within a whisker of cashing out HUGE for everybody.

[@cristinarobayo642]

If the employees understood the business model they would know it was gonna fail. Naivete or not, one should have a fair understanding of the industry one works in to avoid going into or staying in a company that isn't going anywhere.

[@tg007ful]

@@RangeWilson A real business that consistently lost money?

[@johnjohnson3709]

The employees were probably given a ribbon for just showing up when they were children and they think everything they do when they’re older is just going to be fabulous.

[@ilinkthereforeiam]

Thoroughly engaging podcast, great story telling, great insights from a relevant selection of people and most of all an unassuming inquiry into we work, so well rounded, so many perspectives. Thank you

[@bravosierra2447]

The hubris of man. This has been a very entertaining & educating podcast. Thank you for posting it.

[@alexm566]

"working closely to each other" is bs. everyone uses headphones and get annoyed if you approach them to talk and ask for email instead. in private offices, people are much more welcome to engage in a conversation.

[@sameerchoubey9724]

Fantastic listen. Completed the whole 7 parts.

[@danielesemperboni9400]

classic example of "what is yours is mine, what is mine is...mine."

[@asherharris7630]

This podcast deserves a $16 billion investment

[@raunakagarwal8038]

All we want to know is when Sorkin is coming out with the movie?

[@helsinki]

The movie will just be Adam walking and talking all over the wework offices for 2 hrs.

[@laurainasia]

@@helsinki lolololol

[@ayushi9074]

Excellent series and production! I didn't think I could learn anything more about WeWork but this series blew my mind! Excited for future foundering episodes.

[@MyKombucha]

Remarkable, primary-sourced, rigorous, balanced work. Respect. Can you cover Twitter next?

[@alexg3348]

The dodgiest CEO ever since Theranos went belly up... great example for everyone to see Adam...schmuck. Great podcast. Thanks for the information. It is definitely backed up by other stories about Adam and his WeWork tripe. Great work. I look forward to the next one.

[@andrewwu5614]

the difference is that I don't see any fraudulent activity in the case of wework - just scummy behavior. This is contrasted with theranos and enron. Adam Neumann is alot of things - but he doesn't appear to be a fraudster like the other two. It's an important distinction. Last I checked, he's not been convicted of a crime (enron), much less subject to criminal investigation (theranos)

[@deetee609]

Theranos podcast...or I'll unsubscribe.

[@kiwiopklompen]

Agree! She’s another baffling, brilliant, con that got caught. And the Enron story would also be good.

[@noirto2]

well it's hard to pull off, it take months if not years to get all the connection talking about dirt on the ceo or the company.

[@deetee609]

@@noirto2 i hope they can though. It might also be tricky because her trial is pending

[@Dxeus]

Love this podcast

[@lunaskye621]

I usually never listen to podcasts but this was definitely amazing!

[@cezarioabrantes5476]

Fantastic! Thanks a lot for this series!!!

[@WarPigP13]

This was a great journey with these podcasts

[@sebastianm.l.3261]

I can’t wait for the next one. Well done! You should add it on Spotify

[@KingSlimjeezy]

I genuinely like these videos thanks Bloomberg

[@charlech]

This is a fail on investors and uninformed employees. At the end still a win for Adam.

[@guppy0112]

Investors were lied to constantly, and denied access to information! Hardly their fault! I mean, did you spot their elaborate fraud?

[@charlech]

@@guppy0112 In theranos case, yes. Doesn't seem like fraud in this case. Investors simply got too hyped about this company's future.

[@guppy0112]

@@charlech hi- investors were told that it was a silicon valley company with proprietary technology being used! This was meant to inflate the price of the company to silly silicon valley levels (instead of a regular office leasing company). Hence the fraud! 'Fake it,'til you make it!' ....

[@charlech]

@@guppy0112 ...and the investors should be sophisticated enough to believe it

[@uppity1]

Great series! Learned so much about the We Work myth and the reality.

[@exceedinc]

Great job Ellen!

[@me.1475]

I really enjoyed this but would never normally listen to a podcast on a visual platform such as KZbin. I got through it,. but would love some visuals. Especially photos and videos of things described in the video. I can guarantee you'll get a lot more views.

[@johndoe6737]

The absolute fucking legend

[@dvrsflrs]

bench-listened the whole series. Will recommend to others :-D Thanks!

[@AdityaSingh-oe7bz]

I can see Elizabeth Holmes coming next

[@user-bf3pc2qd9s]

Useful learning for everyone....if you meet someone with uncanny charisma and a great line in chat about *themself", run run run and don't stop running. I've met a couple of these (non billionaire) characters and dodged a couple of bullets, thankfully. If there's something off about someone to you... it's them, not you.

[@george6977]

Adam reminds me of the Wolf of Wall Street.

[@sebastiansosa3072]

It would be awesome to compare the two ends of the spectrum, so Amazon would be sick. If we are just talking about charisma, then Apple would be interesting, how Jobs succeeded with almost charisma alone while Newman failed. If we want to see how intelligence fares off with charisma, Microsoft would be nice. (Bonus: I'm sure Gates would be down to comment on things if he has not already.) SpaceX is hot, that would be nice to listen to.

[@nicholasn.2883]

Awesome podcast

[@Pookytroll]

he couldnt care less about the hate... he has enough money to buy the happiness he wants/needs

[@rosabellavitaalvarez-calde5836]

Imagine when one of your closest friends admits that you lack empathy, and that explains so many of your decisions. I believe there are some interesting terms to describe such people, and you will see that many times they also can be highly manipulative and superficially charismatic. Also..the story of how Adam lost so much because his reputation was trashed was played with the world's smallest violin playing in the background.

[@infiltr80r]

Definitely a narcissist. Most likely a psychopath or a sociopath.

[@newyardleysinclair9960]

For $1.5B yall can mock me all you want. Your feelings about me cease to matter once that cash hits my account.

[@huamichaelchen]

Well, I think the last bit is a disservice to the entrepreneurs that are actually doing the work rather than just throwing flashy parties... I don't think this narrative of +/- of 3 standard deviation somehow represents the +/- of 1 standard deviation is causing a lot of problems in the world right now.

[@picklep9812]

These youngsters were part of a cult

[@betty3669]

He is a traditional cult leader.

[@johnjohnson3709]

He looks like a cult leader.

[@xelefonte]

Bloomberg is killing WeWork slowly lol.

[@infiltr80r]

He doesn't care if people mock him. In Israel he's a hero with all the other international criminals. Israel is a great hideout as the country protects criminals.

[@lliamjurdom9505]

The weird smell was not formaldehyde … it was the stench of Adam Neumann …

[@newyardleysinclair9960]

Wework is a scam but the employees who spent money they didn't have because they were expecting to become rich receive no sympathy from me. Never count your chickens before they hatch. Buying cars, homes, taking out loans on some possibility you may cash out one day is so irresponsible.

[@guppy0112]

38:04 'instead of working for a hedge fund'.... Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get a position with a hedge fund? Getting an entry level position with Wework, doing jobs that you don't even need a college degree for, was easy!

[@FBAagent]

Are those days of flying high for founders gone?

[@BeeRich33]

Lemming party.

[@FBAagent]

I defini

[@c.w.8200]

I think all these people close to him are the least qualified to say anything relevant about him, they should have consulted a psychiatrist. I'm pretty sure there's a malignant narcissist at work, Trump, but pretty.

[@johnjohnson3709]

Neumann has some Karma to fix. He will pay dearly for his actions.

[@nasteho6614]

2:27 may be that os where he got his ~sUpEr PoWeRs~ from

[@jasoncrittenden4746]

Dont count your chickens before they hatch

[@mondoenterprises6710]

Never even heard of this "business" place. Now it is no more, lol. Glad I live in the sticks. Sounds like a glorified coffee shop to me.

[@zeroh7671]

Lol, only in Israel can you still get praise for that kind of behavior .

[@neatodd]

Why background music? It doesn't add anything, it's just distracting and annoying.

[@JaFreeTey]

It’s not. Don’t be a baby

[@WallhacksYT]

The WeWork Story Part 345 .. I think we've had enough WeWork videos out of you guys to last a lifetime already