It was the summer of 2019. You couldn't walk through a major city without seeing that minimalist, lowercase logo. "We." It was everywhere. Adam Neumann, the tall, charismatic co-founder with flowing hair and a penchant for walking barefoot in the office, wasn’t just selling office space. He was selling a "consciousness." He was selling a community. He was selling a revolution in how we exist.
Then, the floor fell out.
The We Company was the official name change that signaled the peak of the WeWork bubble. It was supposed to be the umbrella for everything: WeWork (offices), WeLive (apartments), and even WeGrow (an elementary school). Looking back, it feels like a fever dream of venture capital excess. SoftBank, led by Masayoshi Son, was pouring billions into a company that was essentially a glorified commercial real estate sub-lessor, but treating it like a high-margin software firm.
The Rebrand That Exposed Everything
When WeWork rebranded to The We Company in early 2019, it wasn't just a name change. It was a massive statement of intent. Neumann wanted to "elevate the world’s consciousness." People laughed, but the valuation didn't. At its height, the company was private-valued at $47 billion. Let that sink in for a second. That is more than the market cap of many legacy airlines or massive manufacturing giants. All for a company that rented floors in buildings, put in some glass walls and "fruit water," and then rented those desks back to freelancers at a premium.
The structure of The We Company was weird. Honestly, it was a red flag parade. Neumann had trademarked the word "We" himself and then had the company pay him $5.9 million for the rights to use it. They eventually walked that back after the public outcry, but it set the tone for the S-1 filing that would eventually sink the ship.
You see, the S-1 is the document a company has to file with the SEC when they want to go public. It's supposed to be a sober look at finances. Instead, The We Company’s filing was filled with photos of people surfing and playing guitar. It mentioned "community" more than it mentioned "profit." Investors finally woke up. They looked at the numbers and realized the company was losing $219,000 every single hour of every single day.
Why the "We" Concept Failed So Hard
The problem with The We Company wasn't the desks. People actually liked the offices. The problem was the math.
Commercial real estate is a brutal, low-margin business. You sign a 15-year lease for a building. That’s a "long-term liability." Then you rent it out to a startup on a month-to-month basis. That’s "short-term revenue." If the economy dips, the startup leaves. But you? You still owe the landlord rent for the next 14 years. It’s an inherently risky mismatch.
Neumann tried to hand-wave this away with something called "Community Adjusted EBITDA." It was a made-up financial metric that basically ignored all the actual costs of doing business to make the company look profitable. It didn't work. The IPO was pulled. Neumann was ousted with a massive golden parachute—which still irritates people to this day—and the company began a multi-year spiral toward bankruptcy.
The Weird Offshoots
- WeGrow: A school in Chelsea where kids were taught "entrepreneurialism" and farm-to-table gardening. It lasted a few years before being shut down as the company stripped back to its core business.
- WeLive: This was the "co-living" wing. Think dorms for adults. You get a tiny bedroom but share a massive kitchen and yoga studio. It struggled with local zoning laws and the simple fact that most people, eventually, want their own kitchen.
- Rise by We: A luxury gym concept. Because why not? If you work at We and live at We, you should sweat at We too.
The Aftermath and 2024 Reality
Fast forward to today. After a disastrous few years, WeWork (no longer using the grandiose "The We Company" branding in the same way) actually filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late 2023. They had to. They were drowning in lease obligations they couldn't afford.
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However, in mid-2024, the company emerged from bankruptcy. It's a much smaller, leaner version of its former self. They cancelled hundreds of expensive leases. They wiped out billions in debt. It’s no longer about "elevating consciousness." It’s about being a functional workplace provider.
Interestingly, Adam Neumann tried to buy the company back during the bankruptcy process. He reportedly offered over $500 million to get control again. The board said no. They chose to move forward with their creditors instead. It’s a rare case where the founder’s "reality distortion field" finally lost its power.
What You Can Learn From the "We" Era
If you're an entrepreneur or an investor, the saga of The We Company is a masterclass in what not to do.
First, never let a brand outpace the product. Branding is great, but if your unit economics don't work, no amount of "community" will save you. Second, beware of "founder-friendly" governance that removes all checks and balances. Neumann had 20 votes for every one vote of a normal shareholder. That’s how you end up with a company buying a $60 million private jet while losing billions.
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The rise and fall of the "We" brand marks the end of the "blitzscaling" era. That period where companies were told to grow at all costs, regardless of profit, is mostly over. Now, investors want to see a path to actual money. Not just vibes.
Actionable Takeaways for Business Owners
- Audit Your Unit Economics: If you lose money on every customer, you can't make it up in "volume." Use a standard EBITDA calculation, not a "community adjusted" one.
- Keep Your Brand Grounded: It’s okay to have a mission, but ensure your marketing matches the utility you provide. People pay for an office, not a spiritual awakening.
- Diversification Can Be Dangerous: The We Company failed partly because it tried to do schools, gyms, and apartments before it had even figured out how to make money on desks. Master your core before you branch out.
- Governance Matters: If you’re taking outside money, set up a real board. You need people who can tell you "no" when you want to buy a surf-pool company with corporate funds.
The legacy of The We Company lives on as a cautionary tale in every business school in the world. It’s a reminder that at the end of the day, a business is a business, not a cult, and the numbers always catch up eventually.