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WeWork raised $5.6 billion in 3 months - here's how the co-working giant became the most valuable startup in New York Cityhttps://www.businessinsider.in/wework-raised-5-6-billion-in-3-months-heres-how-the-co-working-giant-became-the-most-valuable-startup-in-new-york-city/and-wework-has-room-to-grow-/slidelist/60468381.cms2017-09-11T23:09:17+05:30

WeWork raised $5.6 billion in 3 months - here's how the co-working giant became the most valuable startup in New York City

Sep 11, 2017, 23:09 IST

And WeWork has room to grow.

WeWork has a projected annual revenue of $1 billion for 2017, up 88% from last year.

To protect against a collapse in the startup world, WeWork started building offices for big companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and IBM this year, in cities where they have fewer employees.

WeWork Wellness is planning a line of fitness centers. There haven't been any openings yet.

In an effort to diversity its revenue streams, WeWork got into residential real estate in 2016. WeLive provides fully furnished micro-apartments. People can join these communities and instantly tap into amenities like free internet, maid service, and new friends.

WeWork has been criticized since the company doesn't own any actual real-estate assets and relies on the health of the startups who occupy those properties.

WeWork Sony Center in Berlin's Potsdamer Platz does away with the quirky wallpapers often found in WeWork locations and opts for glass walls with sweeping city views.

Most WeWork locations have a similar layout, but no two look exactly alike. WeWork Old Street in London features bare concrete and graffiti art that give it a fun, industrial feel.

As even more venture funding flowed in, the number of WeWork locations exploded. Today, the company has more than 120,000 members in 164 offices spread across 17 countries.

WeWork opened four more locations in the next two years. It caught the attention of Benchmark, a top venture capital firm that made early bets onBay, Twitter and Uber.

They used their flagship in Soho (which turned a profit one month after launch) to host developers and investors and grow the WeWork brand.

Source: Forbes

Early on, Neumann and McKelvey imagined office rentals as part of an ecosystem, complete with apartments, gyms, and even barber shops, that served the concept of a communal life.

The first WeWork location was just 3,000 square feet in a tenement-style building in SoHo. It had creaky floorboards and exposed brick, which the founders power-washed clean.

Something clicked for Neumann and McKelvey. They saw that it was the focus on community, not sustainability, that drove people to Green Desk. In 2010, they sold their stake and began WeWork.

At a time when the economy buckled under the weight of a failing real-estate market, Green Desk thrived. Neumann hypothesized that people liked being part of a community. Some who were laid off during the financial crisis started new businesses out of Green Desk.

In 2008, Green Desk became an early incarnation of WeWork. The company offered sustainable co-working spaces featuring recycled furniture, free-trade coffee, and green office supplies.

Neumann also had an interest in real-estate. While working in the gentrifying neighborhood of Dumbo, he fell in love with a vacant warehouse on Water Street.

WeWork founders Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey met — where else? — at the office.

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