'Masa is a Jedi' - Adam Neumann reportedly compared WeWork to Amazon on the advice of SoftBank's Son
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YouTube/Star Wars Clips Obi-Wan Kenobi performs a Jedi mind trick in "Star Wars Episode IV - A New Hope."
Adam Neumann reportedly compared WeWork to Amazon to make its astronomical valuation look cheap by comparison.
WeWork's cofounder and then-CEO presented the coworking startup to a handful of Wall Street analysts in July as a dry run before its IPO road show, according to Fast Company. Neumann compared WeWork to Amazon when it only sold books and music, and pledged to expand from desk rentals into education, exercise, networking, and other sectors just as the e-commerce titan widened its offering, the magazine reported.The pitch went well: several analysts requested selfies with Neumann afterward, a person familiar with the event told the magazine.
Masayoshi Son - CEO of SoftBank, WeWork's biggest investor - helped Neumann and his team to craft the Amazon narrative, Fast Company reported. Before filing to go public, WeWork rebranded as The We Company to reflect its broader ambitions."Masa is a Jedi," Neumann told Fast Company in January. "He has a lot of superpowers."
However, the Jedi mind trick was revealed after WeWork filed for an IPO. Investors railed against its ballooning losses, unproven business model, limited governance, and Neumann's overwhelming control and controversial behavior.The backlash meant WeWork faced the prospect of going public at a fraction of the $47 billion private valuation it secured in January, and falling short of raising the $3 billion needed to unlock $6 billion in bank financing. It decided to scrap its IPO, Neumann stepped down, and the startup accepted a $9.5 billion rescue deal from SoftBank last month.Copyright © 2021. Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved.For reprint rights. Times Syndication Service.
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