WeCrashed (2022) s01e07 Episode Script

1
Hola, amigos. Happy Cinco de Mayo.
What do you call a cargo ship full of
mayonnaise that goes down in the ocean?
Sink-o-da-mayo.
Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
Such a bad joke.
Anyways, today we're covering IPOs,
initial public offerings.
An IPO is the process by which
a private company becomes a public one.
For a founder, ultimate success
sounds like a ringing bell,
specifically the opening bell
of the New York Stock Exchange.
Uh-oh.
Going public has many pros.
But it's also got a big old con.
The risk that the IPO could fail.
IPO is the make-or-break moment.
It separates the winners from the losers.
The Googles from the Groupons.
The Amazons from the Pet.coms.
Going public means that you are
literally going public.
Joe Ordinary gets to see
your dirty laundry,
skid marks and all.
How've you been running your company?
How much have you actually
been making? Or losing?
Which is why some founders try to keep
the enemy outside the gate
for as long as possible.
You shall not pass!
My assistant was
supposed to put it together,
but he twisted his ankle
this morning, or broke it.
I don't know. I'm not a doctor.
He tripped over the suitcases.
My other assistant took him to the ER.
Which is okay, because we adjust.
We adapt. We improvise! Right?
I don't know if anyone told you,
but it's my superpower.
Change.
Why are you coming to us?
Because you have all the money, huh?
WeWork is a…
It's a family business.
And we're at our strongest
when we find the right partners
to join the family. You understand?
I still don't see
how you're a tech company.
The point of the model is to demonstrate
how tech drives workplace insights.
Yeah, which conference rooms
are being booked.
If space is being used efficiently.
Efficiency is…
That's Google.
Why are you coming to us?
Why not SoftBank?
SoftBank remains wildly committed.
Adam, sorry. Why not just IPO?
How sweet was that?
Well, the kids were great,
but everything else was embarrassing.
Teachers' shoes should be
white, black, or beige,
and for God's sakes no laces.
Ms. Myers is a stress-dream
on that tambourine.
How do you not know how to play
a tambourine? It's a tambourine.
And don't even get me started
on the pitch of Mr. Ivey's voice.
Feel free to start writing this down
whenever it suits you, Bea.
That you don't like
the pitch of Mr. Ivey's voice?
Yes.
God, you'd think that in New York
you could find a teacher
that could both sing and teach.
I'm ready to move on to action items.
-Are you?
-Ready.
I rechecked the website this morning.
Tell Gavin I'm still finding
placeholder text
and Helvetica.
Not acceptable.
I called the front desk line at 11:23.
No one answered.
Five rings, straight to voice mail.
Tell Lisa that's not acceptable.
Set a meeting with Nicole
re: expansion plans
for WeGrow San Fran and Tel Aviv,
the pace of scholarship funding,
which is just…
…and the lemonade stand.
So…
The lemonade stand.
We're gonna take kids to our farm
and then have them pick vegetables,
sell them to WeWork employees.
It's gonna be the lemonade stand
for the 21st century.
Conscious entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurship for five-year-olds?
I just heard it too.
You're right.
We'll include the younger kids.
But you have to order the car seats.
Where are the admission certificates
for next year's class?
I have them, but there's a typo.
It says, "Class of 2031."
No, that's right.
That's when they're gonna graduate
from WeGrow High School.
Of course.
I'll sign them.
I'm not just going to abandon kids
to normative education experiences, Bea.
I wanna educate them from birth to death.
What about that for a slogan?
"From birth to death."
-Yeah.
-Can you mock that up on a banner?
So that way I could see it.
Great. That's it.
Okay.
Adam.
You've been in the Valley for a week.
Nobody's coming in.
It's time. You have to IPO.
Motek. I tried to make it back
in time for us to have breakfast together,
but you're up so early.
How about I make a tofu scramble
and some green juice to start your day?
If you'll excuse me. I have to go
run the school that you gave me.
-I didn't mean it to come out that way--
-I know you don't think I do anything.
But I actually do.
-Motek. Please.
-No, no. You made it perfectly clear.
-Motek--
-My therapist said,
"You can only hate someone
you truly love."
Guess I truly love you.
And how are you gonna get this
back on track?
Adam?
Who said we're off track?
We're on exactly the right track, Jamie.
The track the universe wants us to be on.
-So, no luck in the Valley?
-They lack vision.
By the way, I'm going to need
to increase our personal line of credit.
Not by much. Just a bit
to give us a little breathing room.
What are you up to, total?
380 million.
Nothing for you to do.
I'll speak to the lending team myself.
And what's WeWork's burn rate these days?
Fifty-eight million a week.
That's a lot of money.
Not compared to what we'll make.
Well…
We've issued you, personally, what?
Ninety-seven million
in low-interest mortgages?
Bought a stake in the company.
A stake that is now worth
over 600 million.
Why not go public?
Why not IPO?
I don't want to answer to anyone.
Well, billions of dollars tend
to make that go down easier.
All these different shapes.
This leaf here, what is this one?
Bloom Energy. Traded up more than 66%
on the first day of trading.
Wow, 66% on the first day?
And this?
Dropbox. Up more than 35%, first day.
Impressive.
And what would mine be?
A unicorn.
A unicorn.
Okay. The next item up is…
Enrollment.
The numbers are dispiriting.
They're just not where I need them to be.
So, how do we boost enrollment?
We could revamp our social strategy.
What social strategy?
There's nothing to revamp, Damian.
We have 600 followers, okay? No.
We need to think bigger.
We need to reach a wider audience.
You were invited on that podcast.
Interesting.
Yeah, if you think that going
from Vanity Fair to a podcast
is the right trajectory
for the chief branding officer
of a multi-billion-dollar company, great.
I was actually thinking CNBC.
Right? Adam is on every other week.
They love WeWork.
This is WeWork's newest,
boldest initiative,
reimagining the education system.
And they're getting
an exclusive with the CEO.
Adam's schedule is kind of packed.
No. No, Damian. No. Me.
I am the CEO of WeGrow.
Okay. So, let them know
that I'm gonna tease our expansion plans,
I'm gonna talk about our global network
of schools, the innovation in our--
Welcome to
the School of Greatness podcast.
I've got Rebekah Neumann in the house,
wife of WeWork founder Adam Neumann.
Actually, I'm…
thrilled to be here. Thank you.
The mission of WeGrow
and, to be honest, the collective "we"
that we're all living under,
is to elevate the world's consciousness.
And it's a school, right?
It's really more of a practice
and a new approach to life.
How were you inspired to do this?
Gosh.
It was really just a lot of things
coming together.
He ended up running off
with my best friend.
No.
Something I wish people knew about me?
I'm really…
flexible?
-Emotionally?
-Physically.
A yogi in India once told me
if you keep your spine nimble
then you won't age.
Is that why you look 21?
Do I hate?
No.
No, I feel sad about things I've--
Like about what?
Any cruelty.
Cruelty to animals.
Kids suffering.
What we're doing to the planet.
But I don't hate.
If we can teach people to--
And I'm including myself in this.
I remind myself every day
that by being conscious and sharing,
they will be more fulfilled.
Find your super passion
and share.
And then they will get
everything they want,
but they have to treat others
the way they want to be treated.
They have to understand that we are one.
Miggy-Migs.
My brother from five different mothers.
Can I come in?
Yeah.
You've got a Lichtenstein.
Wow, it's a lot smaller
than I thought it would be.
What did you pay for it?
Twenty dollars from posters.com.
We need to get you
some real art, my friend.
Some real art.
Miguel.
Look out there.
Look.
We built this.
This big, beautiful thing.
We built it,
and they all came and joined us.
I know that you think
I don't listen to you, but I do.
I hear you.
What does that mean?
You'll see.
-Well, it's official.
-It's official!
-You filed!
-Yes, we filed. We're going public.
-WeWork is going public.
-The We Company is going public.
Time to go buy yourself
some real art, Miguel.
What made you decide you were ready?
We've always been ready.
It was just simply a matter of timing.
Okay, 72 hours to figure out
how much they're worth.
100 million in fees for us. Go.
Let's talk about the financials for a sec.
Now, you didn't reveal any financial
information in the confidential filing.
In the presentation you shared with us
we see that revenue climbed
to $1.8 billion in 2017.
But that was on a net loss of 1.9.
But we reached an annualized revenue
of 2.43 billion in the fourth quarter.
Go.
And we saw a massive jump in membership
from 186,000 to 401,000.
Uber, Lyft, Pinterest,
Slack, and now WeWork.
The We Company. Yeah.
-The We Company.
-Thank you very much.
Sorry about that.
All preparing to go public this year.
And they're calling it
"the unicorn stampede."
We are rooting for everyone's success.
There's no reason not to.
We feel very confident
about investor demand for our IPO.
Okay.
Let's do it.
It's the right time
for the mission of the company.
-Which is?
-To elevate the world's consciousness.
And going public will help us
to achieve that mission.
Oh, my God. It's so exciting.
Can I get a tea?
-Yeah.
-Thanks.
Mother Teresa.
Bob Marley.
Adam Neumann.
Your goal to elevate the world's
consciousness reminds us of these icons.
"Love the life you live.
Live the life you love."
Bob Marley. Rest in power.
The only difference between you
and Amazon and Google and Alibaba
is that you are scaling faster.
We are best in class,
and the best deserves the best.
I feel like I know what you value, Adam.
Personal relationships.
And I think you already know
we are the bank to lead the underwriting.
Jamie, I value you more than you know.
The question is, how much do you value me?
Forty-six billion.
Our last financing round valued us
at 47 billion.
No, you're too low, my friend.
Too low. It's a shame.
Eighteen to 52.
"Eighteen to 52"?
Well, it depends on
how well we're able to--
Sixty billion?
The question is, why so low?
We actually think it's on the high side.
Sixty-three.
Add 18 cents…
and you have a deal.
I think it's a fair number
for our investors
and for our future investors
and, most importantly,
for our employees.
Now, let's make a shit ton of money.
Okay? Shit ton.
All right.
So, we'll work with your team
to get started on the S-1 prospectus.
It's WeWork's introduction--
official introduction to the public,
so it's one of the most
important parts of the process.
-We'll get ahead of it.
-Yes, please.
Write it,
and then I'll give it energy and power.
Adam, it's an important
legal and financial document.
-We'll let the experts deal with it.
-I understand.
Miguel is right, Adam.
It's highly-technical.
Reporting requirements, legal liabilities.
-You don't wanna be a part of that.
-Listen to me.
That is the old way.
I'm not interested in the old way.
I'm interested in the world to come.
You understand? We're making a new world.
A new world, Miguel.
Have your people put something together,
and we'll take it from there.
Okay?
Thank you.
Shit.
What's wrong?
I think we could have gotten 64.
Come on.
-Yes! It's a good deal.
-Yes! Yes!
-Yes!
-Yes!
Yes!
Yes! Yes!
Rivka.
Rivka, come sit with me, please.
I'm not asking as your husband,
I'm asking as your CEO.
This is business. Please, come sit.
Please.
Just a quick sit.
I appreciate it.
Carrot juice.
Do you know what an S-1 is?
I worked on Wall Street, Adam.
I know what an S-1 is.
It's a company's introduction
to the world.
Its mission statement. Its raison d'être.
Precisely.
The lawyers and the bankers will debate
the fine print,
but we need to make it our own.
It's got to be a living, breathing thing,
and it must tell the story of We.
And We has always been…
you and me.
Write it with me.
No.
You built the company.
You can write it yourself.
I saw the podcast that you did.
I thought you were phenomenal.
It was a podcast. It doesn't matter.
Of course it matters. It was important.
Damian tells me
that you don't think your message
is reaching a wide enough audience.
I agree.
You want to get your message out there?
You want to grow your school?
You want to be heard?
Then write the S-1 with me.
Not as my wife…
but as my cofounder.
It'll be hard for them not to listen
to the cofounder
of a multi-billion-dollar company.
I heard 100.
Goldman pitched a trillion.
Listen to me. Buy your options now.
-Forget options. I'm buying an apartment.
-I'm paying off student loans.
I'm cashing out
and getting the hell out of here.
No, I am serious.
Listen, it'll reduce the capital gains tax
when you sell your shares.
But I don't have any money.
How do I buy my options?
I got a loan from my grandparents.
-Of course you did.
-Yeah.
Attention!
Attention, my beautiful WeWorkers.
My tribe. My family.
You have the rest of the day off.
And tomorrow.
So water your plants.
Call your mother. Go for a walk.
Fall in love.
But whatever you do, get out of here.
Go, go, go. Okay?
-Thank you. Go.
-Is he serious?
He's not fucking around.
I feel like this is a test.
All right.
Where is everyone?
We gave them the day off. Actually, two.
Besides, we have everyone
we need right here.
No distractions, no noise.
Just us.
I had Bea print out the S-1s
from the top IPOs of the last ten years.
I'm gonna get reading.
I don't think they
have anything to teach us.
I'll be in my office.
How about some yoga first?
Maybe limber up a bit?
Latte?
That's a cappuccino.
Pretty sure it's a latte.
It's a cappuccino.
My assistants call them lattes.
Because you call them lattes, and no one
wants to tell you that you're wrong.
Tell me what to do,
because a thousand apologies
haven't worked.
How do we get past it?
We don't. It forever exists.
So, this is it?
-This?
-You really think you built this alone?
Really?
You gave me a theater, you gave me a job,
you gave me a school--
What about what you took?
You took my father's money.
You took everything I believe in
and made it into a shiny wrapper
to package your bullshit.
You even took my words.
"Elevating the world's consciousness."
Who came up with that? You?
You couldn't have built shit without me.
You're right.
They are your words.
But do you mean them?
How can you elevate
the world's consciousness
if you're not willing to forgive?
There's your cappuccino.
-Hi.
-Hello. Welcome.
Thank you.
-It's lovely to have you here.
-Thanks.
Thanks.
So here we have the piece
you were inquiring about.
He's challenging us to ask ourselves,
"What is worth our time and attention?"
Yeah, it's cool.
I feel like he's staring right at me.
So, how much is it?
Adam and Rebekah have been
our clients for years,
so we'd like to extend
their discount to you.
Cool, thank you.
Yeah, so 48 million.
That's with the discount?
I heard you'll be able to afford it soon.
Adam mentioned the IPO. Congratulations.
What about that one?
You're interested in that one?
You were right.
They're useless.
Lifeless.
Dead things.
They reminded me why I hated
working on Wall Street.
What's that?
These? More dead things from the lawyers.
Take a look.
Risk factors?
"One, our rapid growth
may not be sustainable.
Two, we have a history of losses,
and if we continue to grow
at an accelerated rate,
we may be unable to achieve profitability
for the foreseeable future."
And number three:
small men proceed from fear!
And we are not small!
No, and we proceed from hope,
from creativity, imagination and--
and from love.
Okay. So how do we capture that?
Creation began with the word, right?
So, what are our words?
Come.
Come, come, come.
The word.
Community.
Consciousness.
Growth.
Spiritual growth!
Intention!
-Positivity.
-Meaning.
Hope!
-We.
-We!
I am nothing without you.
Adam, it's Bruce.
What is this nonsense I'm hearing
about you and Rebekah rewriting the S-1?
It's a very technical document and--
You know what? I'm coming over.
Hello!
How many pages do we have?
We have…
-nine words.
-Nine words?
Nine words!
It can't be true.
Okay, okay, okay.
We have our words.
And now we need numbers.
Fortunately, the only numbers
that Wall Street cares about
are actually letters.
E-B-I-T-D-A, EBITDA.
EBITDA.
Earnings before interest, taxes,
depreciation, and amortization.
EBITDA is a standardized way
of assessing a company's performance
and comparing it to other companies.
Its power lies in the fact
that everyone uses it.
And because everyone uses it,
it allows you to compare apples to apples.
-Fuck EBITDA!
-Why?
We lose too much money.
We could be profitable
tomorrow if we wanted,
but we spend on growth.
So?
They're just letters.
Let's use different ones.
Let's reframe it.
We can't let ourselves be defined
by the old ways.
If their letters don't fit,
we come up with new ones.
What did you just say?
We use new ones.
-Where is the S-1?
-Here.
We'll work off the S-1
the lawyers gave us,
and then we just need to subtract
tenant fees and rent expenses,
staffing expenses and design expenses,
marketing and administrative expenses.
Then we show a profit.
We'll call it community-adjusted EBITDA.
And show them, show them
the true value of our community!
Okay. Okay, could you say that again?
Okay, yep.
A little to the right.
Right, right. Cool. Great, guys.
Awesome. All right, let's do a photo.
You guys can be in it. Yeah.
Hey, my brother from another mother.
I didn't buy the Lichtenstein,
but I got something even better.
And
if you need any help with the S-1,
I'm here.
Yo! This is it.
This is our home for the evening.
-Check it out. Come on.
-Should I take off my shoes?
No, don't take your fucking shoes off.
I thought we were just
getting Adam's mail.
Come here. I want you to touch this.
Actually, I want you to hold it.
-Put that down.
-Hold it.
-Put it down.
-Or I drop it.
How's it feel?
-It feels fine.
-It feels great.
Come on, let's drink it.
I don't know. I'm worried.
What if they come back?
-Yeah, I'm not sure about this.
-Stop worrying.
Adam doesn't even care.
Plus, put the kids and the nannies
on a blade to the Hamptons.
So we're fine.
Like a helicopter?
-Yeah, what else is there?
-Wow.
Let's see what we got.
Vegan snacks.
My dad used to mark the bottles
so he'd know if me or my sister drank any.
We're not teenagers anymore.
You're a grown-ass dude
who's about to be a millionaire.
-So act like it.
-Yeah, Mikey.
Plus, I once found an $84,000 check
in Adam's pants at the dry cleaner's.
So something tells me
he's not measuring alcohol.
Okay, grab one.
What are we cheersing to?
This IPO.
-This fucking IPO.
-Yeah.
-Cheers.
-Cheers.
-Cheers.
-Cheers. Yeah.
-Wow.
-Wow.
Okay, so.
Chloe, what are you spending
your first million on?
And do not give me anything
about student loans
or any of that nonsense.
You know I don't need anything.
Yeah, nobody needs anything.
But, Chloe…
Chloe…
-Please, no.
-What do you want, Chloe?
What do you want?
-You're terrorizing me--
-Stare into my soul.
If you want nice things,
you need to have intention.
Intention.
And success and happiness, it will follow.
Chloe, don't you want to expand
the world's consciousness, Chloe?
-Elevate, Chloe! Think about the "we."
-No!
-Chlo-We.
-Chlo-We!
It's Chlo-We.
Wow.
Hey. Don't you dare avoid the question.
What're you gonna buy? I want to know.
Do you ever think
you're turning into Adam?
-Don't say that.
-You are.
Are you actually saying
I'm turning into Adam?
I don't think so.
-You use salt?
-Yeah.
Drink.
-Yeah.
-Wait. One, two, three, go.
-Do you want to make out?
-No.
-Don't you just a little bit?
-No.
We just struck gold.
Do it! Do it! Do it!
Do it! Do it! Do it!
Come on, you can pay it off
in installments.
It's more than I made
last year after taxes.
Yeah, but we didn't IPO last year, dude.
Hey, man, check it out.
This place is huge.
They added a whole floor
since the last time I was here.
Yeah. And the San Francisco house
has a room that's shaped like a guitar.
I bet they have orgies in it.
No. They do not have sex.
They just levitate,
and their souls fucking meld.
Did you buy it?
No, I'm just staring at it.
It's Adam.
-Why is he FaceTiming me?
-What?
-Why is he FaceTiming me?
-No, Mikey.
Don't pick it up.
-He doesn't know that we're here.
-Asshole.
I have to answer.
-Smash your phone!
-You do not have to answer it.
-I have to answer it.
-Do not answer it under any circumstance.
Shit, turn off the music.
Hey, Adam. What's up?
The printer isn't working.
Okay. You can try to reset it.
Remember how I showed you last time?
See you soon.
The fuck does that mean? "See you soon"?
-Clean up and get out!
-Come on, are you joking?
Buy the bag.
-Yeah, yeah.
-See ya!
-I love y'all. See y'all tomorrow.
-No! What the--
-No. Come on. Goddamn it.
-Love you, bro.
Hey!
Someone probably stepped
on the surge protector.
Mikey, you're a genius.
You're a good boy.
You've been with us from
the beginning, huh?
-Yeah.
-The very beginning.
What, ten years now?
-Yeah.
-Yeah, yeah.
Mikey.
Mikey, Mikey, Mikey.
Have you been drinking?
I had a drink with some friends.
A drink with friends?
I know that smell.
Tequila.
Tequila.
-Am I right, or am I right?
-Yeah, you're right.
You like tequila?
-Yes?
-Yeah.
Yes. Well, I don't blame you.
You got to try the good stuff.
Come with me. Come, come.
Come with me, Mikey.
I'd join you, but
I'm on a cleanse.
A cleanse. That's cool.
Well…
You're 21, right?
-I'm almost 26.
-Right? Okay, you look like a baby.
Savor it. Savor it.
-Here.
-I'm sorry.
-Have another.
-Force of habit.
Now.
Sip it, slowly.
Savor it.
Tell me what you taste.
There's notes of…
charcoal?
Mikey.
It tastes like money.
How many shares do you have?
Close to 80,000.
80,000?
Well, Mikey, when we IPO,
you'll be worth 30 mil, minimum.
Time to start getting used to
the nice things in life, Mikey.
Here, it's yours.
Take it. Enjoy. It's yours.
It's a memory.
Rivka!
Namaste.
Mikey has been with us
since the very beginning, as you know.
Ten years now?
-Ten years!
-Yeah.
-Really? That's wonderful.
-Ten years.
Yes, yeah.
We should probably get back to it.
-Of course.
-Remember that first night?
Opening the first location?
I do. How could I forget?
How could I forget?
Running around, screwing desks together,
trying to connect the Internet.
I remember it was crazy but fun.
Fun, Mikey. Fun.
-I miss it.
-Yeah, I do too.
It didn't feel like work, you know?
Like business.
It felt like this crazy, like,
Red Bull and adrenaline
and laughing your butt off
and getting shit done.
It felt like being a part of something.
I agree.
He's right.
WeWork's not a business. It's a feeling.
We need to give people that feeling.
We're not gonna be able to
do it with charts and graphs and acronyms.
Even the right words
can only get us so far.
We need…
We need images.
-Images. Images.
-Images.
Is that normal for an S-1?
We need to immerse people.
We need to give people that feeling
that we all had that first night.
Wait, were you there that night?
I don't remember you being there.
-It was me, Jacob--
-Of course I was there.
-I've always been here.
-Always.
Thanks for coming.
Thank you, Mikey. Thank you.
Okay, Mikey.
Okay, you're not driving, right?
-No, no.
-Good.
-We were children.
-So great.
Our very first summer camp.
Look at those adoring faces.
They love you.
-No, they love us, us, us.
-I do too.
-The both of us.
-No, no, no.
It's you.
-No.
-They love you.
They resent me.
-They mock me.
-No.
-They talk shit about me behind my back.
-No. No.
They think the school's a vanity project.
They think I can't hear it, but I can.
Even when I don't, I feel it.
Who is "they"? Who is "they"?
Give me names, and they're gone.
Gone.
You can't fire the whole company.
Yes, I can. Watch me.
-I'll drag them out by their--
-It doesn't matter, doesn't matter.
I've evolved beyond all of that now.
I finally know…
what I am.
I'm not a maverick,
or a magician, or a muse.
I'm not even Chief Branding Officer.
Not really.
I used to think that it was my job
to safeguard the soul of the company,
but even that's not really true.
I am the soul of the company.
Yes, you are.
You are.
And you are in every atom
of wood and brick and steel
in every WeWork in the world.
We both are.
Yes.
And what we have made
is even bigger than the both of us.
Yes.
Yes?
I have to write.
WeWork is a community company
committed to maximum global impact.
We dedicate this to the energy of we.
Greater than any one of us,
but inside each of us.
We believe our company has the power
to elevate how people work…
live…
and grow.
"The We Company is committed
to being meat-, plastic- and carbon-free."
"Our mission is nothing less than
to elevate the world's consciousness."
We invite you to join us
in creating a better world,
because "we" are just getting started.
What the fuck was that?
I knew he wouldn't get it.
That was our S-1.
But don't worry, Cammy Number Two.
Everything the lawyers wanted is in there.
-We just got rid of old conventions.
-Right.
These pictures… My God.
That introduction--
You've turned the S-1
into a children's book.
-Cam.
-Okay? Bruce.
Have you ever seen an S-1?
Actually, Cam, I worked on Wall Street.
So, yes, I do know what an S-1 is.
Got it.
I have a question for you.
Do you know what a mandarin is?
No? Well, let me tell you.
When I was in China,
opening our Shanghai location,
dealing with inspectors and bureaucrats
and more inspectors and more bureaucrats,
my Chinese friends taught me
the word "mandarin."
A mandarin was a government official
in the imperial system
in 15th-century China.
They thought they were hot shit
because they were chosen
by a rigorous examination process.
The Emperor wanted them to think that,
because in thinking that,
they carried themselves
with great dignity and authority,
and everybody listened
to what they had to say.
But what they had to say was simply
what the Emperor wanted them to say.
They had no real agency or vision…
or power.
So, for all their arrogance and swagger,
they were simply bureaucrats.
Civil servants.
Mouthpieces.
You're a mandarin.
And I…
I'm an emperor.
File it, Bruce.
You're not going to back this, are you?
Maybe he's right.
Maybe it's time for a new approach.
You're going to allow this?
We're going to get fucking pilloried.
They're going to fucking destroy us.
And another thing.
The mandarins
were mostly eunuchs.
-My queen.
-Yes, my king.
-Thank you.
-Of course.
She worked on Wall Street.
For three weeks.
-Here we are, guys.
-Here we are!
Hamptons, here we come.
Dude, this is amazing.
-Only way to get to the Hamptons.
-Hamptons!
For real, man.
How much are you gonna make off this deal?
Worst case, maybe 20, 30 million.
-Twenty, thirty million? What the fuck?
-Yeah.
But if it goes
the way the town expects it to,
it could be 50.
-Shit. Fifty million!
-Yeah, I know!
Dude, you've got to read this.
Galloway just destroyed
WeWork on his blog.
Have you read their S-1 yet?