🔥 This morning it seems that industry news, group chats, and my inbox were ablaze following the announcement of the WeWork + Upflex strategic partnership. So let's dissect what it may all mean. 👇 Given the number of (great) questions the partnership brings up, I dissected the partnership and what it could mean for 5 of the flex space market segments it may impact. I tried to give both optimistic and pessimistic views on how the partnership may impact: 🙋♀️ Indie operators listed on Upflex. 📲 Corporations & brokerages using Upflex. 💼 Corps, govs and individuals using WeWork. 📊 Other flex workspace aggregators. 📈 WeWork as a public company. 👉 Read my dissection of the strategic partnership here: https://lnkd.in/dFe-tTpe Would love to get insights and other viewpoints (or straight out corrections) from others in the industry. Both from heavily-involved non-operators like Cat, Caleb, Mark, Dave, Dror, Antony, Liz, Phil (to name a few) and from indie/other/alliance operators like Bill, Amy, Ashley, Katharine, and other friends. As an aside, congrats to Sandeep and Christophe/Ginger and both teams on this fascinating partnership. Also Jamie gets a mention in the post, following a recent chat we had about coworking, infinite games and Simon Sinek. #coworking #partnership #thoughts #marketmoves
Caleb Parker
2y
Also: Want to join a roaming network of independent operators? This is us, One Coworking Help to build the “good WeWork” https://onecoworking.com/for-spaces
Adam Blaskey
2y
Great summary - and also channeling my inner Simon Sinek: 1. It is indeed an ‘infinite game’ - flex and proptech continue to change the shape of real estate; many more twists, turns are new innovations are to come so you can’t compete with a finite mindset. 2. However if we ‘start with WHY’, then whilst solutions like this broaden access, for the greater good, at the same time there is an argument that they may commoditise a sector when many operators are working hard to differentiate and deliver the best experience and solutions by understanding the needs of their members and this could create more challenges than it solves …
Great summary, my man! You forgot to predict that Wework is going to acquire Upflex in the next 24 month if things go well!. Here is my (slightly shorter) take: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/christophfahle_wework-and-upflex-sign-strategic-partnership-activity-6897129090726670336-mTi0
Great summary - thanks for publishing Hector
Jamie Russo
2y
I was a bit surprised to see this line about their "asset-light" strategy.... The deal marks a step forward in WeWork's continued shift into an asset-light growth strategy by exponentially increasing the physical network for members without added incremental capital investments. Additionally, by partnering with Upflex, WeWork is enhancing its tech-first approach to providing an exceptional member experience through Upflex’s online marketplace.
In my opinion, these aggregator platforms need to remain agnostic. You can't give one operator visibility into another operator's data (pricing, occupancy, customer base, etc.) If they did, an operator like WW could directly target an indie operator's customers. If WW was to acquire Upflex down the road, like some have suggested, any sophisticated operator would likely pull the plug on listing their inventory with Upflex. I'd also be curious to know what type of firewall exists to prevent Upflex/WW from sharing this data now.
Amy King
2y
As an operator with one location, sometimes my members say to me that they wish they had a seamless way to cowork when they travel. While our brand experience is way different than WW, I think it's a great opportunity for our members. Vice versa, I think it will open up WW members' eyes to a whole other world of inventory / options for their global coworking experience. I also think it makes business sense from a WW perspective to have one excellent, far reaching aggregator. Congratulations to Upflex!
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2yHow about we all stop rushing to share every time WeWork open an envelope or empty a dishwasher and get back to building our communities and businesses? It's like we're in a book club obsessed with serial killers or cults where all the members met an unfortunate ending. WeWork is non-stop here, in the clubhouse, slack rooms, and Allwork.Space articles. Hey, big industry moves are always interesting. I love seeing a good deal go down. But watch where your airtime goes, folks. Please react to ALL the other IMPORTANT news Hector shares every week. Remember what kicked off Simon Sinek's career - "start with your why." We could work on how 80% of coworking and flex space conferences are STILL panels of white men (like me). The 2022 conference season will be with us soon. Will we move beyond "white men" speaking at our coworking events? Check out Jerome's 2021 post with over 43 comments recommending 'non-white' speakers - https://lnkd.in/ea7isC_X AND As Jamie Russo said - this WeWork/UpFlex is enterprise-level stuff, and those people are indifferent. Most of the 'coworking' that makes it into the press is "coworking for the 1%". Rather than the thriving neighbourhood spaces rebooting local communities.