Checking In with Eliot Brown and 'The Cult of We'

Just Checking In

What happens when a real-estate company is valued like a technology company–and is led by a larger-than-life CEO who has aspirations to be the “president of the world”? That’s the story of WeWork, a rise and fall–and rise again–story that’s even turning into an Apple TV series starring Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway. In this episode of Just Checking In, we’re speaking with Eliot Brown, the WSJ journalist who covered this whole story and has co-authored a riveting business book called The Cult of We, which recounts all the testimonies, anecdotes, and events that changed the course of the company. Join us while we discuss WeWork’s recent SPAC, the eccentric behavior of its former CEO, and Eliot’s writing journey.

Join technology comms pros Becky Buckman and Keyana Corliss as they cut to the heart of today’s tech-news cycle and the general craziness that is high-tech corporate communications right now. With a short, not-too-serious take on the industry - with plenty of humor and irony thrown in - they’ll bring you the best in the biz, across comms and media together, for one-of-a-kind insights and perspectives you won’t hear anywhere else!

Jump straight into:

(00:00) - Introducing Eliot Brown and his latest book “The Cult of We”.

(06:35) - Discussing WeWork going public through a SPAC merger - “WeWork always has this magical way of finding the easy money out there or the most overflowing chunk of the finance system. So that's what SPACs are today.”

(8:01) - The moment things started to fall for WeWork - “What they were doing was portraying themselves to the market as something like a tech company when, in reality, they were a real estate company and the reason they were doing that was to get a bigger value.”

(10:00) - Implications on tech reporting since WeWork’s big boom - “I actually think it was really problematic that you had this organ of the press taking the stories that companies were telling about what they wanted to see in the future.”

(13:51) - The making of the book and Eliot’s turbulent relationship with Adam and WeWork - “It was right before Adam was pushed out of CEO that we started talking too seriously to a publisher. And then the day he resigned, an offer came in from the editor.”

(18:39) - On Hulu documentary and an upcoming Apple TV show with Eliot as a character - “Now anytime there's a big story, it seems that a zillion documentarians try to do a documentary. You also have this rush of people trying to do a Hollywood streaming series based on a true-life story.”

(21:50) - What’s next for Eliot Brown? His interest in covering how SPACs work - “In an IPO traditionally, you're talking about what you've done. You weren't allowed to talk about the future or else you'll get sued, but the rules are different for a SPAC.”

(23:40) - Eliot’s read on SoftBank funding WeWork’s vision - “Some people think it was all SoftBank's fault, but WeWork was buying a wave pool company and rented private jets before SoftBank came in.”

Episode resources:

Eliot Brown’s Twitter and Linkedin

Eliot’s book The Cult of We

Thank you for listening to Just Checking In by Battery Ventures. Go follow Becky and Keyana on social media to know more about them. If you enjoyed this show leave a review and help us find new audiences!

This show is produced by StudioPod Media in SanFrancisco. Editing and music provided by Teresa Buchanan. Nicole Genova is the Show Coordinator.