The WeWork IPO – Stratechery by Ben Thompson

WeWork filed it’s S-1 to go public and it is drawing a lot of attention. There was a lot written about it, but I could only get time to read one of them so I picked Ben Thompson's. Two other articles worth a look are WeWork isn’t a tech company; it’s a soap opera - The Verge which is a bit more salicious, and a detailed article What is We!? Understanding the WeWork IPO - Byrne Hobart - Medium by a former banker.

I like Thompson's two-sided Bull and Bear look at WeWork. Comparing it to AWS is good, but I think the demand and adoption curve is so different that the comparison is strained. The references to WeWork Corporate Governance issues are worth noting. After Uber's horrible culture, one has to wonder about a company that seems to have so much self-dealing. Add to that the vast amount of money involved and I wonder if this isn't a future Enron-like story.