What do the words “physical social network” mean to you? A pub? A tennis club? A book group? Wrong, wrong and wrong again. In fact, a “physical social network” is how the founder of Wework describes his world-changing creation. The purveyor of shared office space is less a company and more a “state of consciousness”, according to Adam Neumann. If there were an award for new-age hokum, the 40-year-old Israeli would scoop the Oscar every time. It says something of the mindset of the venture investors at the tail end of a near-decade-long bull run that Mr Neumann has been able to raise such prodigious sums for his loss-making company. There’s little doubt he’s a charismatic showman. One part Elon Musk, one part L Ron
WeWork ’s portfolio of 425 offices across 27 countries makes it highly vulnerable to a downturn in the economic cycle . Despite mitigating its risks and reducing the risk of contagion by creating new offices for each building it leases , SoftBank ’s reduced investment in the company has unnerved investors , who seem focused on : Adam Neumann 's personal portfolio of property investments belonging to the company that has raised governance issues , a interest rate of $ 1.2 m in the first nine months of last year and its bond price indicating the company ’s borrowing cost is now north of 10 % .