WeWork? WeOver.

From the news: WeWork? WeOver.

WeWork — the co-working company/wannabe tech company once valued at $47 billion before erratic founder Adam Neumann oversaw its downfall — sent out a distress signal last week about the viability of its future existence.

In a filing sent last Tuesday, the company announced it had “substantial doubt” it would stay in business. It was just the latest setback for WeWork, which has had a torrid time recently. The stock sits at $0.20, down a staggering 96% for the year. Its market cap is under $300 million, despite raising over $22 billion. Bankruptcy is a real possibility. The collapse of WeWork would not only spell bad news for everyone connected; a ripple effect could also hit the real estate industry. (WeWork has more than 18 million square feet of rentable office space in the United States and Canada alone).

The winner? Adam Neumann, of course, who, despite destroying billions of dollars, left enriched beyond imagination.

The loser? Well, everyone else; employees, shareholders, landlords, vendors, kombucha makers, ping-pong table suppliers and creatives looking for co-working spaces.

Nope, entrepreneurship isn’t meant to be like this

“You don’t have to be breaking the law to be doing something incredibly wrong as an entrepreneur.”

Startup consultant Rachel Greenberg isn’t talking about ethics and morals. She’s referring to the day-to-day indications that you’re running a creaky, leaky, unstable ship that just might be headed for impending disaster. If you’d like to steer yourself back to fairer waters, there are five signs to look out for and nip in the bud like… yesterday:

1. The need to sneak around — you shouldn’t live in fear of a fate you can’t control, sometimes exacted by a vendor, partner, or platform to which you pay oodles of money. If you do, the time to pivot or problem-solve to a new solution (vendor, platform, or partner) is now.

2. Relief at the losses — In this case, you’ve grown weary of, burnt out from, or unenamored with the venture. Remember, you aren’t a perpetual slave to your startup, and you’re allowed to hand over the reins, sell the whole thing, and explore your next new adventure.

3. Denying the bomb — When someone comes to eat your lunch or take lunch off the menu, you might hang on, clenching your eyes shut to avoid the writing on the wall. The answer is to innovate, reposition yourself, or target a new market (or industry.

4. The temptation to cheat — If you succumb to even a glimmer of the temptation to turn to “black hat”, shortcut, or not-100%-ethical choices because they feel like the faster, easier solution, you’ve already mentally checked out of where CEOs should sit. It’s time to assess why you’re seeking those shortcuts.

5. Awaiting the sign — The vision for what your next 1, 3, and 5 years should be isn’t necessarily printed on a cookie-cutter map; instead, it’s up to you to decide, and you won’t always know if you’ve made the right decision until you’ve played the chosen card.

👉️ Read more about how not to entrepreneur: 5 Signs You’re Doing Something Very Wrong In Your Business

Recommended reads:

4 Ingenious Uses of AI to Beat the Blank Page (And Save Your Sanity) — Pete Sena shares a handful of ways A.I. can help you beat the blank page and save significant amounts of time, money, and your most valuable resource — your sanity.

Do Pricing Pages Really Matter? Complexity vs Clarity — Dan Layfield, former head of the Growth team at Codecademy, discusses whether your pricing pages are the right place to drive impact.

Sweet Xeets

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