WeWork’s fall was as spectacular as its rise, but a hell of a lot faster. In January, the co-working company was worth almost $50 billion, making it one of the world’s most valuable startups. Today, following an aborted IPO, a severe cash shortage and an eventual investor bailout that pushed out its founder-CEO, it’s valued at just $8 billion.
The debacle shows what can go wrong when investors give a charismatic leader like Adam Neumann – who before his ouster was CEO as well as owner of a controlling stake – billions of dollars to run a startup as he sees fit, writes finance expert Greg Putman, who spent two decades managing investments.
Also today:
Top story
|
WeWork wanted to be a lot more than a shared workspace.
rblfmr/Shutterstock.com
Greg Putnam, University of North Carolina Wilmington
Adam Neumann both controlled and managed the co-working company he founded in 2011. A finance scholar explains why that can be a serious problem in venture capital-backed startups.
|
Politics + Society
|
-
Matthew Pauly, Michigan State University
Multiple American presidents have viewed US support of Ukraine's security and democracy as critical to the national interest. President Trump's dealings with Ukraine are a major divergence.
-
Richard Briffault, Columbia University
A law professor explains political disclosure laws, how donors get around them – and what to do about it.
|
|
Ethics + Religion
|
-
Jamie Levine Daniel, IUPUI; Jodi Benenson, University of Nebraska Omaha; Rachel Fyall, University of Washington
On top of the rising number of violent acts and vandalism incidents, American Jews are dealing with microagressions and prejudice that take a toll on their lives.
|
|
|
|
|
|
From our international editions
|
-
Aled Jones, Anglia Ruskin University; Davide Natalini, Anglia Ruskin University; Imelda Phadtare, Anglia Ruskin University
Climate change is already worsening the chaos attendant on resource shortage – and, therefore, death rates.
-
Elvira Sojli, UNSW
The stage is set for central banks seeking to pull the rug from under Libra by issuing their own digital currencies.
-
Ajay Parasram, Dalhousie University
The urgent issues facing Canada during the election are not less urgent now that the election is over. The prime minister is going to have to reinvent himself and commit to some important compromises.
|
|
Today’s chart |
-
|
Megan Konar
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
|
| |
|
|
Ask them to sign up at https://theconversation.com/us/newsletter |
|
|
|