TOBY SHAPSHAK: Actually, WeWork doesn’t work so well at all
The WeWork unicorn went from a $47bn valuation to near bankruptcy in six weeks as its IPO prospectus was analysed
WeWork is not just a case study of how not to do an IPO, but of how not to run a business. Until last month the New York-based company that provides co-working spaces was on track to be this year’s biggest IPO in the US after Uber. It was the most valuable start-up in the US, and the latest unicorn poster child.
Then on August 14 it filed its S-1 prospectus and its dirty linen was aired. Within six weeks co-founder and CEO Adam Neumann had been ousted and its IPO had been withdrawn; thousands of its 12,000 employees are now likely to lose their jobs. In that time The We Co, as it is formally known, went from a valuation of $47bn to fears of bankruptcy...
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