Is The Works – Gilbert
the same as WeWork Gilbert?
The short answer is no. In fact, there is no WeWork in Gilbert, AZ.
Over the past decade, WeWork has become synonymous with coworking. Although they didn’t invent the concept of coworking, they did help usher in the option of working somewhere other than your home or company’s office. The first coworking space was created by 17 computer engineers in Berlin, the Capital of Germany, in 1995.
The first official U.S.-based coworking space was opened by Brad Neuberg in 2005 in San Francisco’s Mission District. That’s really not that long ago. This industry is still quite new.
As for WeWork, New York and San Francisco were the first WeWork locations. Below is a snapshot of the WeWork homepage from February 2011, courtesy of The Wayback Machine (aka archive.org).
We don’t know if Gilbert, AZ is in WeWork’s future expansion plans. At the moment, WeWork has approximately 330 locations in the United States and Canada (including a location in Phoenix and Tempe).
And therein lies the issue, commute time from the East Valley to Phoenix. Many of our members at The Works, have escaped that drive into Phoenix. Some describe it as being set free, no longer incarcerated in their car for 2 hours per day, 10 hours per week, 520 hours per year. Free to be with family, free to commute for 5 or 10 minutes instead of sitting in that traffic, free to get stuff done without the mind-numbing commute into Phoenix.
WeWork: or The Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn
We highly recommend the Hulu Documentary, WeWork: or The Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn. After watching this documentary we knew straight out that The Works and WeWork didn’t have much in common at all.
Apple TV’s WeCrashed
Fascinating, and apparently historically accurate, depiction of WeWork’s start, and near collapse. Starring Jared Leto, Anne Hathaway, Kyle Marvin
Inspired by actual events and the love story at the center of it all. WeWork grew from a single coworking space into a global brand worth $47 billion in less than a decade. Then its valuation dropped $40 billion. How did this happened?
A coworking space is a coworking space, how could The Works and WeWork possibly be THAT different?
Sure, we’re both coworking spaces, unless you agree with this article in Management Study Guide, “WeWork has positioned itself as a technology company. This is because venture capitalists are keener on giving money to tech companies since such companies tend to have a rapidly scalable business. However, the reality is that the core business model of WeWork is not based on technology.”
WeWork had a stalled attempt to go public in 2019, right around the time they nearly ran out of cash. Apparently, with their new leadership, they’ll offer an IPO soon though. When companies like WeWork go public, they’ll see an influx of cash for expansion, research & development, and hiring talent.
Currently, over 50% of WeWork’s members have commitments longer than 12 months. The Works’ membership commitments are month to month (very much like your gym membership). We want you to thrive at The Works, but we know that someday you may leave us. We don’t require a commitment from you longer than 30 days.
The Works isn’t going public any time soon. That’s not to say we aren’t eyeing expansion into Queen Creek, Chandler, Mesa, or even a second Gilbert location. We’re also open to partnering to make this happen. So if you’d like to talk, contact John Magyar.
Almost all of Gilbert’s coworking spaces are mom & pop shops. The Works and the other coworking spaces in Gilbert are likely to know you by name, know what business you’re in, and genuinely want you to succeed. We know that the roadmap to the American Dream is written with the blood, sweat, and tears of small businesses.
That dream doesn’t live in a cubicle in some high-rise or office park in Tempe or Phoenix. It’s lives here in a private office, dedicated desk, or one of our other membership plans in Gilbert, AZ at 1525 S. Higley Rd, Suite 104, Gilbert, AZ 85296.
Is a “Wework Gilbert” ever going to be part of Gilbert, AZ’s future?
We don’t know. A few things that point to “No” would be:
- The Population of Gilbert, AZ sits at approximately 283,029 residents. Most of WeWork’s current locations are in much larger cities.
- Location – Where would a WeWork Gilbert be located? Downtown, East, West, North, and South are all covered by existing coworking spaces. And membership pricing – with the overhead that WeWork locations sustain, memberships are at a premium price when a likely more-affordable location might be a few blocks or miles away.
- As interesting as the WeWork documentary and Apple TV Series “WeCrashed” is, it may leave a bad taste in the mouths of Gilbert Residents who fight every day to ensure their small businesses succeed. Fiscally responsible people might not be amused with a spend, spend, spend and hope for the best.
- Then to witness the squandering of billions by an eccentric leader who walked away after essentially failing, with a $2B golden parachute. Time Magazine described this departure as “Neumann may have lost his company, but he didn’t leave empty-handed. He walked away with what many called a “golden parachute,” a package that was valued at nearly $2 billion. “Adam Neumann will essentially get a king’s ransom for grossly mismanaging the company on his way out,” Amy Borrus, deputy director of the Council of Institutional Investors, told the Washington Post. The New York Times called Neumann’s deal one of the greatest examples of someone failing upwards.” WeWork has its work cut out for them to shed the image of a free-spending opulent company.
Update: Tuesday, November 7, 2023 (WeWork files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection)
WeWork, once a promising force in office-sharing, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, marking a dramatic downfall. The commercial real estate market has been severely disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in high vacancies in major cities like New York and San Francisco. Aggressive expansion in its early years is largely to blame for WeWork’s current woes.
After a failed attempt at going public in 2019, the company finally went public in October 2021, only to face further turmoil. Founder and CEO Adam Neumann’s controversial behavior and extravagant spending ultimately led to his ouster and contributed to the company’s troubles.
Update: Tuesday, February 6, 2024
Adam Neumann, the co-founder of WeWork, is seeking to buy back the real estate company out of bankruptcy, claiming support from “well-known capital sources,” including Third Point, led by Dan Loeb. However, Third Point clarified that they had only engaged in preliminary discussions with Neumann and had not committed to any financing. Neumann’s counsel sent a letter expressing his and his startup Flow’s consistent interest in acquiring WeWork or providing financing since December 2023.
WeWork responded by stating that they regularly receive expressions of interest from external parties and that they review these approaches with the company’s best interests in mind. This development comes after Neumann’s ousting from WeWork nine years after its founding.
Want to learn more about The Works – Gilbert? Stop in to say hello, email us, chat with us (lower left part of your screen), or give us a ring at 480-788-2296. We have onsite staff Monday thru Friday from 830am to 430pm (excluding U.S. Holidays). Or if you need conference room space or a place to work for the day, conference rooms and day passes can be booked directly from our homepage. Our Address is 1525 S. Higley Rd, Suite 104, Gilbert, AZ 85296.
