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Comment by CharlesDodgson | Hacker News Reader

Am I extremely out of the loop by just thinking that it's a hot desk company that rolls up all the expenses of the office adds 10%-25%, throws in some booze and lunches and says it's changing the world?

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Actually yes - this perspective would discount the immense value of brand, design, narrative and belief. And before you think that that stuff is "not real", consider that the reason you do anything is because of some dominant narrative you may or may not have reflected on.

Narratives are what get people build rockets and go to the moon, or build them and go to war instead.

Whilst that's true, narratives at some point do have to meet reality. If rental prices drop by 10%, it doesn't matter what you believe, WeWork will be underwater.

Wework is underwater. Have you seen their bond offerings? They will default.

These things are definitely real. But while building a brand that elicits cult-like behavior from its followers is undoubtedly a huge marketing success, of which all other marketers should be justifiably envious, is it "changing the world"? The would has seen such efforts - both successful and not - since the first state and the first religion has been founded.

> Narratives are what get people build rockets

But is WeWork building rockets to go to the moon? Last noticeable thing I remember them doing is banning their workers from eating meat. Beyond that - yep, they rent out offices. So?

The moon thing was a cold war narrative.

It also forgets the other services it handles for you, for example someone staffs a mailroom, others clean the bathrooms and yet others keep water and coffee ready. They also provide security systems (cameras, keyfobs, etc). All of these are things a new business would have to build out and maintain in their own office.

Those are all things a standard hot desking company provides though, not unique to WeWork.

Negative. When you rent a suite in an office building, the building management provides janitorial services, security guards, access cards and a mailbox (a small business has no use for a staffed mailroom). You do have to brew your own coffee, though.

Not always. Our startup's rented suite in DTLA did not have janitorial services provided for (only common building areas) and no security guard. Access cards? It was a metal key.

It really depends. If you're talking about a WeWork competitor like Regus then you're right. However I've worked at startups that have rented many different kinds of offices (from Regus and WeWork, to industrial lofts, to retail storefronts). Many of these places were not "batteries included."

Nope. You're totally in the loop. The employees may be drinking the kool-aid there are definitely some customers drinking it up as well, but I think most people over the age of 23 realize WeWork isn't doing anything groundbreaking.

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