Reassessing Adam Neumann, the Cult of the Founder and How WeWork Is Not Theranos

variety.com:

Shirley Halperin Executive Editor, MusicWith Jared Leto’s performance in the Apple+ original series “WeCrashed” still echoing, and the Emmy Awards soon upon us, is it any wonder Adam Neumann remains on the minds of the media?In 2019, the WeWork cofounder was ousted from the CEO position of the company he launched with Miguel McKelvey.

His eccentricities, including a party-all-the-time, spend-spend-spend ethos, played no small role in his downfall, though a golden parachute of $1.7 billion certainly helped cushion the landing.As it turns out, soon after Neumann arrived in the United States some 20 years ago, he would encounter — via his sister, Adi — another Israeli-American just making his way into the world of wealthy investors:  Guy Oseary, longtime manager of Madonna, whom Variety named Music Mogul of the Year in a cover story out this week. “I met Adam maybe his first month in America,” says Oseary, who leads the Sound Ventures tech fund with partner Ashton Kutcher. “It was way before WeWork, but he’s the same guy,” he adds. “Adam is a rare breed.”When it comes to investing, both Oseary and Kutcher subscribe to the guiding principle of “founders first.”As Oseary explains: “Ashton thinks: ‘Do I want to work with this person?

Would I want to leave my job and work for this guy?’ I’m more on the ideas side. Like, do I love this idea enough to want to do it myself?

That’s how much I love it. The other thing we look at is: can we help it? Can we really do something here? That’s the foundation.