Tag Archives: wework

09/26/21

The Next WeWork

In looking at “things” I am always surprised that nobody seems to be able to find the “worst” companies out there. It seems like that should be an easy task.

I am not talking about companies that fail quickly in their infancy because the market spits the bit on their idea, but companies who fail because their monumental “success” is built on a foundation of feces. [In this instance, we are talking only $250,000,000 in funding, not quite WeWork $$$.]

Case in point? WeWork which was spotted from its genesis (by those who had a smidgen of real world, commercial real estate knowledge) as a horribly bastardized nightmare in an industry that has been around forever — FOREVER.

I wrote about the company, WeWork, some time ago.

We IPO — You Work, I Work, WeWork

I was critical at the time of its Messianic founder and his “real estate as a service” mantra. In retrospect, I could have been more critical and I was pretty damn critical. Continue reading →

09/29/19

We Work Obituary

I suppose it is obligatory to write an obituary for We Work given that we wrote about the company and its Initial Public Offering several times already.

On the final turn around the track to price and issue its Initial Public Offering stock to the public, the company “postponed” its IPO.

At the same time, they pulled the plug on their founder CEO, Adam Neumann for “high crimes and misdemeanors.” Wait, sorry. Got confused for a second.

Neumann “stepped down” and the lead investor, SoftBank through its Vision Fund, took action to right the sinking ship.

Continue reading →

03/27/19

Anchors Aweigh, Tech IPOs

First quarter of 2019 was a bust for tech Initial Public Offerings. Some blame it on the government shutdown and the inability to get the United States Securities and Exchange Commission to respond to preliminary S-1s (registration document). Fair play to that sentiment.

A company files an S-1, the US SEC reviews it, the SEC provides comments, and the issuer makes revisions in response to the SEC’s comments. Now, your preliminary S-1 has become a final S-1 and you are registered. In two weeks, you can begin banging your drum. If the government is shut down, this process doesn’t happen.

If you just take a Mulligan for Q1-2019 and focus on the rest of the year, you may see a deep lineup of tech companies, familiar names amongst them, getting ready to make the leap.

Here is my favorite recent public offering, demonstrating her flexible approach to the world. Can you reach down and grab your foot while in a seated position? Her name is Tempe and she is a Southern girl from Savannah. But, I digress.

Continue reading →