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Comment by miguelmota | Hacker News Reader

WeWork is a real estate company and not a software company. They don't have any worthy propriety tech and their business model is collecting rent. How they were once valued at 47 billion just straight up doesn't make any sense.

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I don't think big investors are that stupid. They don't think an office rental business is a tech business, that's just a really convenient story to tell. Because if it's NOT a tech company, you have to look at why it's worth so much and come to the conclusion that all the fundamentals point to. It's worth a huge premium because it's getting a monopoly. My suspicion is that WeWork thinks that they can use their scale to drive their landlords prices down the way Uber does to their drivers, and jack up the rent.

"We're going to really fuck anyone willing to do business with us" is not a compelling story for a company trying to grow, but it's great for investors. Also, I'm not just talking about the landlords and customers, you better believe the plan is for the lenders to get pennies back on the dollar too.

> It's worth a huge premium because it's getting a monopoly.

A monopoly on real estate?

Yeah no.

The commercial real estate market in just the US is valued at $16 TRILLION. It's absurd to even be discussing a monopoly.

I think the reason is softbank and other large late pre-IPO investors trying to push WeWork as a tech IPO. Once they dump their shares on the public market I guess they don't care that much again.

Doesn't change the fact WeWork is an overvalued real estate company that believes it is a tech company.

In my country WeWork offices are more expensive than competitors?

And the tech they do have is crappy, error prone, and inconsistent.

If they could figure out how to do printing without PCClient, now that would be a business worth 47B all on it's own...

Raspberry Pi + CUPS.

Can I have some billions now?

You need to dress it up a bit, like this:

Rpicup.com, the global leader in non augmented reality solutions, leveraging modern technologies to anticipate trends in the digital/reality interface. Rpicup brings printing, or as we like to say rpinting(tm) in to the 21st century.

Rpicups: Print your way to world peace.

Edit: I am of course available for consulting work, and to ensure my neutrality in such matters will only take my very modest fee as cash, no options.

I don't see blockchain or AI/ML in there??

Isn't that for after the pivot and or a Series B to C?

Has Softbank rung you up yet?

I would hope Softbank use instagram or something, telephones are so last century.

If you're good enough at sales, probably.

So true!!!

"They don't have any worthy propriety tech and their business model is collecting rent"

To be fair, you could say that about many 'tech' companies. Weworks 'innovation' may well be getting to over the hill tech company in record time!

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