"He's obviously built an interesting company, but the question is, are investors comfortable that he's the right guy to deliver. If I was a large shareholder, if I was Softbank, I would be suggesting to him: you're a great visionary, I'd love you to be the chairman. But we really need somebody else who can be the face of the company going forward.'" Does he think Neumann's talk of changing the world will cut much mustard with Wall Street? "There are lots of companies that have platitudes," he quips. Ultimately, all of these factors suggest a rocky path ahead for WeWork. If its cannot live up to its valuation, it will need to be written down before its public float, which could come as early as September. Failing that, it could suffer a humiliating fall in share price, perhaps worse than that suffered by Uber. "It's really hard to give them the benefit of the doubt," says Snyder. "Markets don't like companies that aren't already profitable, and they really don't like companies that have to keep coming back to the well for more capital. I would imagine they will be very unwilling to ascribe that valuation." Still, he says, WeWork could still be a very successful company if it aims lower and sets itself more modest goals. If it does, Neumann's own gigantic ambition, his vision to bring co-working to the stars, may prove its undoing.
Online office space marketplace ##s claims that demand for space in WeWork offices is three times greater than that of its nearest rival , and six times more than demand for desks in Regus offices , despite the IWG brand having a bigger footprint according to Truss founder Tom Smith . The WeWork name has become ubiquitous with co - working , giving the company a massive following , he said . However , he said it is hard to see how being better known , having better designed offices , free beer and more chic décor than the competition leads to a market ten times greater than IWG . WeWork claims its builders are a “ global physical platform ” providing valuable sources of data that is used to power a range of other services and value - added products , which are expected to provide higher margin incremental cash flow .