{"product_id":"the-cult-of-we-wework-adam-neumann-and-the-great-startup-delusion-9780593237137","title":"The Cult of We: Wework, Adam Neumann, and the Great Startup Delusion","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWALL STREET JOURNAL \u003c\/i\u003eBESTSELLER - \u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eFINANCIAL TIMES, FORTUNE, \u003c\/i\u003e AND NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR -\u003c\/b\u003e \"The riveting, definitive account of WeWork, one of the wildest business stories of our time.\"--Matt Levine, Money Stuff columnist, Bloomberg Opinion \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe inside story of WeWork, its audacious founder, and what its epic unraveling says about a financial system drunk on the elixir of Silicon Valley innovation--from the \u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e correspondents (featured in the WeWork Hulu documentary) whose scoop-filled reporting hastened the company's downfall. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eLONGLISTED FOR THE \u003ci\u003eFINANCIAL TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e AND MCKINSEY BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWeWork would be worth $10 trillion, more than any other company in the world. It wasn't just an office space provider. It was a tech company--an AI startup, even. Its WeGrow schools and WeLive residences would revolutionize education and housing. One day, mused founder Adam Neumann, a Middle East peace accord would be signed in a WeWork. The company might help colonize Mars. And Neumann would become the world's first trillionaire. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis was the vision of Neumann and his primary cheerleader, SoftBank's Masayoshi Son. In hindsight, their ambition for the company, whose primary business was subletting desks in slickly designed offices, seems like madness. Why did so many intelligent people--from venture capitalists to Wall Street elite--fall for the hype? And how did WeWork go so wrong? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn little more than a decade, Neumann transformed himself from a struggling baby clothes salesman into the charismatic, hard-partying CEO of a company worth $47 billion--on paper. With his long hair and feel-good mantras, the six-foot-five Israeli transplant looked the part of a messianic truth teller. Investors swooned, and billions poured in. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eNeumann dined with the CEOs of JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, entertaining a parade of power brokers desperate to get a slice of what he was selling: the country's most valuable startup, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and a generation-defining moment. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSoon, however, WeWork was burning through cash faster than Neumann could bring it in. From his private jet, sometimes clouded with marijuana smoke, he scoured the globe for more capital. Then, as WeWork readied a Hail Mary IPO, it all fell apart. Nearly $40 billion of value vaporized in one of corporate America's most spectacular meltdowns. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePeppered with eye-popping, never-before-reported details, \u003ci\u003eThe Cult of We\u003c\/i\u003e is the gripping story of careless and often absurd people--and the financial system they have made.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Crown Publishing Group (NY)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/15\/2022\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780593237137\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 464","brand":"Eliot Brown, Maureen Farrell","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41574678495413,"sku":"9780593237137","price":15.3,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_87fd3e23-8883-4771-a184-edbaadd15128.jpg?v=1643697684","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-cult-of-we-wework-adam-neumann-and-the-great-startup-delusion-9780593237137","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}