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And I've been trying to wake up an hour
and a half before sunrise. So, in Miami,

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that's about 7:00 a.m. So, 5:30.

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I start with very easy-going

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neck strolls, right, left, new

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sensations in the fingers. See what side

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am I waking up on? Is it my left side
or my right side? My creative side or my

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logical side? And then try to get out
of bed which whatever side feels a little

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bit more. Beautiful. I then go downstairs.
I don't obviously don't turn

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on my phone, but I don't turn
on the light. I light a candle.

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And I just start with slight hip openers
and a little bit of yoga just to get

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comfortable. I cannot sit the way you're

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sitting yet. I'm working on it.

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And I'll do that for 20-30 minutes. And
then I will get as comfortable as I can

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in the seat. And just breathe
in and out from my nose

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for 20 minutes. Nice. And I've been

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noticing every day that I do it, it goes

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Every day is different adventure. Mhm.

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When the thoughts come in, I let them go.

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And the level of clarity that comes
at the end of it is phenomenal.

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For me, because my practice is Judaism,
at the end of it, I put on my tefillin.

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Beautiful. I do my prayers
for about 15 minutes.

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>> Mhm. It's about 7:00 a.m.
I wake up the kids.

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I get 45 minutes with them.
And I start my day. Fantastic.

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>> What I realized before I was so busy

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doing Yeah. that there was no Adam time.

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Yeah. And that time from 5:30 to 7:00
is something I'm really starting to

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cherish. Some people say that praying
is speaking to God and meditation is

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listening. I think I was busy
doing a lot of speaking.

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>> Yeah. And I think for my

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lately listening has been what I've been

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craving more. Nice. Tell me the WeWork
story from the beginning. To tell that

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story, I'll say one thing about
myself first cuz I don't think that uh

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everybody is clear about that.
I was born in Israel.

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>> Mhm. I moved 13 times. By moving from

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place to place, I always found myself
in a new community. Being the new kid in

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every community means you have no
friends on the first day. I would always

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be attracted to the other kids who had
no friends. And my goal in life is to be

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to make the uncool kids cool.
It would take about a few months, then

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we would all become friends, and we
would move to the next destination.

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And I did that literally 13 times in
my childhood. The place I lived the most

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was in a kibbutz. For people
who don't know what a kibbutz is

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>> What's a kibbutz?
>> A kibbutz is a version of used to be.

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There's very few. There used
to be hundreds of them in Israel.

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It was a version of a community where
everybody every person had a different

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job. But everybody uh earned
the same amount of money and had

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access to the same amount of resources.

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Everybody had the same house. I happened
to have just gotten a chance to go to

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the house I lived in the kibbutz. It was I
didn't remember how small it was. The

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entire house, bedroom, kitchen and

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children's room, my sister and I shared
a room, was 450 sq ft. And I don't fit

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in the door. So, I was shorter there,
but when I went to kibbutz, I was like,

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"Oh, wow. The door doesn't fit."

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>> older or younger? Younger sister,
3 years younger. And what was your

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relationship like? Growing up separate
from moving from place to place, which

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means we always had to be very close.

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When I was in the When I was about 8,
my parents got a divorce. And after my

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parents got a divorce, we moved to the US.
My parents are both doctors.

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And we moved to the US for 2 years
cuz my mother had to follow. She's an

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oncologist. She followed in Indiana,
Indianapolis. So, I was a Hoosier for 2

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years. I went to Pacers
games and Indy 500.

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And uh and that's where I learned how
to speak English because uh I'm very

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dyslexic. And for very dyslexic people,

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one of the toughest thing is a new
language. When we moved to Indiana, I

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asked my mom when I went to school
the first I said, "What am I going to do?

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How am I going to order food? There's
a cafeteria. I don't know any words in

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English." She said,
"Say peanut butter and jelly."

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So, I learned peanut butter and jelly.

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And for the next 2 months, every day
I wait in line and everybody gets there

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and they order their hamburgers
and their fries and their chicken nuggets.

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And all I can say
is peanut butter and jelly.

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And one day after 2 months, I was like,
"I can't eat one more peanut butter and

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jelly." And I had the courage
and I said the word hot dog.

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And from there, I started learning. And
that was the 2 years. So, at this stage,

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my parents are divorced. It's my mom, my
sister, and I. We're living alone in the

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US. And as we go back to Israel, my mother
wanted us to have a special experience.

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And that's how we got to the kibbutz.

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And in the kibbutz, because everybody
has a job, she was the doctor at night.

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And in return for her being the doctor
at night, we got a place to live. So,

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she worked the whole day in the hospital
and then at night she was the doctor.

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The reason the kibbutz
for me is so relevant

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was my life had a lot of ups and downs
and a lot of different challenges. The

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first time that I felt
safe was in that community.

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My mother, who many years afterwards
diagnosed as bipolar, and growing up the

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patients were always the most important.

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And I think it taught me a lot because
she was too careful with her patients so

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beautifully. When she would come home,
there was less patients for us. And

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there would be a lot of fighting and
screaming and hitting and things flying

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and a lot of things would occur.
And I remember that no matter how bad the

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night was, there was always three
neighbors checking on me. There were

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always friends that I could go to.
No one ever judged me. Everything was

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always open. I always felt like I was

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part of it. And that feeling of safety

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is something that not only stayed
with me wherever I went to in the world, I

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sort of find myself
bringing people together.

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And when I moved to the US, which
was actually following my sister, so my

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sister left Israel when she was 16.
She was Miss Teenager Israel. She moved to

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the US. She became a very successful

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model. And when I finished the army,
I moved to the US 4 days later and I lived

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with my sister.
And from the first day that we're

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sharing an apartment together,
this was September 11th,

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a month later, and we lived very close
to where it happened cuz that's where

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you got the money from the government
and that was the most affordable thing

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we could do. I remember going up and down
that elevator and was so surprised that in

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America people don't introduce
themselves. So I would see the same

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neighbors every day. No one says hello.

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Until after a month, my sister's name
is Adi, she was like, "What do we do?

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Experiment. Let's introduce
ourselves to everybody

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and in a month we're going to throw
a party on the roof." There was a shared

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roof. And that party, well, we'll see who

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comes. And we did it. And we threw the

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party and half the building came and the

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energy in that building changed. It was

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very obvious for me that this thing
that I cherished, this kibbutz energy, is

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something that we could bring to the
United States in the form of a business.

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This is now 2007. I've

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had uh three failed businesses by this
point. Two fashion businesses and a baby

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clothing business called Crawlers, baby
pants with knee pads on them to protect

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the baby's knees. >> At the time
I thought. Today, being the

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father of six kids, no one ever
complained about the knees. I actually

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think they have extra skin
and they're built for it.

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But uh the universe thought of that one.

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But um I I by this stage
I'm already after my

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third business and I meet Rebecca.
And when I meet Rebecca, the first day,

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first time we met, I remember I couldn't
remember I don't remember what we ate,

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but I was waiting for her to put out her
credit card so I can put out my credit

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card so we could split the bill.

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And we do that twice and the third time
she goes, "Adam, you know, in America,

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it is okay. You could offer to pay
for the meal. I don't have to say yes, but

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you could offer." And I said,
"No, I'm a I'm an entrepreneur

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and my money's in the business."
She goes, "I don't know what kind of

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entrepreneur you are, but if your
money's in the business that you can't

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invite someone for a meal,
you might not be a great one."

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And it's interesting cuz I think it was

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the first time someone talked to me that

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way. And I found it not only intriguing,
but I was like, "Wow." And I said, "No,

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you don't understand how business works."
And she was like, "Maybe you

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don't understand how business works."

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And that kind of discussion very quickly
became a a very passionate relationship.

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3 months from the moment
we met, I proposed.

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>> Wow. And after we were together, she
one day, it was 2:00 a.m., 2:00 o'clock at

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night, uh I was talking to the Chinese
manufacturers of the baby clothing. I

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was screaming at Mr. Mao, Mr. Mao, Mr.

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Mao. And she woke up then and she said,
"If you wake me up one more time screaming

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at your Chinese manufacturer for company
that makes no sense and is probably

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never going to make any money,
it's really going to be an issue."

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And I was like, "What do you mean? This
is my business." And she goes, "What do

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you know about babies? What do you know
about fashion? Why is this your business?"

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And again, and this was what's so
interesting about our relationship, I

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said, "Well, cuz I like being challenged."
I said, "Well, well, what

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do you think my business should be?"

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And she said, "It should be something
you're very passionate about. It should

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be something that you think can actually
make a positive difference and you

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should be so excited to jump out of bed
that everybody wants to join you."

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So, I said to her, "Well, do you have
an idea of what that business might be?"

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And she said, "No, but I can tell you
one observation I have about you. You

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love real estate." I don't know anything
about real estate. She said, "Well, when

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you and I walk down the street, some men,
they look at many things that cross

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by their way. Their eyes wander. Your
eyes look up. You're always looking at

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buildings. And again, I listened.

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And the next morning I walk and I
noticed that I'm looking at buildings.

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And from that moment,
I just started getting

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preoccupied in this concept
of community and buildings.

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And very soon after, and I think that's
how the universe speaks. I think it's

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speaking to us right now. Yeah.

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This landlord in Brooklyn, out of nowhere
says to me, starts talking about

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my baby clothing business
and tells me how horrible it is.

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And I said his name was Mr. Guttman.
I said, "Mr. Guttman, why would you say my

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business is so bad?" Said, "Adam, I have

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nine children. My wife loves buying baby
clothes. She's not once bought from your

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store. I don't think you're even
going to pay me rent next month."

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I said, "Mr. Guttman, how much
real estate do you own?" He says,

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"Everything. As far as the eye can see."

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And I said, "Well, it looks empty to me.

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You don't know a lot about real estate."

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And we would go back
and forth for 6 months.

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Till one day he goes, takes me upstairs
to one of his buildings. Said, "Adam,

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what would you do if I gave
you this floor? I read this in

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your book."
I think sometimes people think ideas

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come after thinking deeply for many
years and coming up with that perfect

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idea. It came on the spot,
instantaneously,

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which made me know that it's not mine.

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Yeah. I think when you take your time,
maybe you think you own it. When it

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comes out of nowhere, you could give
it it's bigger than you. Came from

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something bigger than me. I said, "Well,
Mr. Guttman, I'm a small business owner

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and I pay you a lot of rent.
But I only have five people.

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I would love a small space that fits the
five people with some shared services. A

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receptionist, a and everything in between.

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Your floor makes you you charge $5,000
in rent. We'll charge $1,000 a space. I

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think we can fit 15 spaces. We'll get
15,000. We'll pay the receptionist uh

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$2,500. You'll get 7,500. I'll keep the

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difference."
He said interesting and I went home not

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thinking anything about it. Yeah. I come
the next day, he calls me so excited.

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Said Adam, why do one floor
if we have a whole build?

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We'll put the receptionist downstairs.

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We'll save the cost. We'll fill up
the whole building. I'll get this much,

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you'll get the difference.
I said great idea.

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00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:56,357
The next day I went to Miguel McKelvey,
who was then my co-founder at the time.

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He's an architect, a do-it-all
architect. And in one night, the

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business the business cards, everything
gets created. It was called GreenDesk.

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It's an early mover
on the environmental movement.

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And uh it was a green-shared office

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space. But back then co-working was not

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the concept that a lot of people knew.

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And the launch was May of 2008.

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>> And you weren't aware
of co-working before the idea.

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00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:23,637
Interesting question.
At the time I go to Baruch College.

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00:12:23,720 --> 00:12:26,837
>> Yeah. I actually had
a person sitting next to me.

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Uh a woman who was older and her son had
some version of co-working, but it was

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very different than this and did not
have a brand behind. Had no purpose. It

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was just let's split space.
And we actually had an entrepreneurship

211
00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:41,517
competition and she joined me to the
competition. So I heard stories of her

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00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:45,557
son and our concept. It was called
Concept Living. And it was a building,

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00:12:45,640 --> 00:12:48,957
not an office space. >> Yes.
With shared services. It was Flow.

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But a long long long long time ago.

215
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Yeah. We never made it even to the second
stage of the competition because

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00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:58,317
the dean of the business school told me
that you can disrupt real estate. It's

217
00:12:58,400 --> 00:13:00,357
too big, so the idea doesn't make sense.

218
00:13:00,440 --> 00:13:04,397
So I heard about the idea. I was never
I wasn't aware of it as something that

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00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:07,877
brings two people together. I never
thought about it as the place where that

220
00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:11,277
same community, that same cubicle
that as a child made me safe would make

221
00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:15,437
others. And I think the timing, which
is another thing in life, was perfect.

222
00:13:15,520 --> 00:13:17,637
Because it was after the crash of '08.

223
00:13:17,720 --> 00:13:19,157
Because people were getting fired.

224
00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:23,317
Because people were changing their life
and changing what they were doing. It

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00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:26,117
was a perfect time to start that business.
And I remember our partner

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00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:28,917
told me, "Adam, the business is not
going to succeed." And I said, "Why?" He

227
00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:31,957
said, "Cuz real estate always goes down
when the economy goes down." I said,

228
00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:34,797
"Well, this is not real estate.
It's going to be counter-cyclical. More

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00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:36,277
people are going to want to be here.

230
00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:39,757
More people are going to Cuz when people
have the courage to start something new."

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And we started in May 2008,
and it just took off.

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00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:45,317
It It was positive cash flow within

233
00:13:45,400 --> 00:13:49,637
>> it start?
We put five ads in Craigslist.

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00:13:49,720 --> 00:13:54,317
No money from the bank. Five ads.
The first floor was 92% full within five

235
00:13:54,400 --> 00:13:56,237
business days. What did the ads say?

236
00:13:56,320 --> 00:13:59,677
Probably something to the tone of

237
00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:04,957
green communal shared workspace.

238
00:14:05,040 --> 00:14:06,677
Something like that. Something simple.

239
00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:10,237
And it happened right away?
It filled up immediately. It was instant

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00:14:10,320 --> 00:14:14,037
success. It went from three businesses
that didn't succeed to immediately

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00:14:14,120 --> 00:14:17,757
hitting It was so successful that,
again, the landlord, who's not used to

242
00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:21,557
investing any money, came the next week
and said, "You see, my idea is so good."

243
00:14:21,640 --> 00:14:25,277
I said, "Yes, Mr. Godwin, your idea
is the best." Yeah. And he said to me,

244
00:14:25,360 --> 00:14:28,917
"Let's do Let's open another floor." And
as fast as we would build in 30 days, we

245
00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:32,077
would finish a floor. As fast as we
finished it, it would fill up. Then

246
00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:35,477
another floor, and another
floor, and another floor.

247
00:14:35,560 --> 00:14:40,117
And at the same time,
I'm starting my spiritual journey

248
00:14:40,200 --> 00:14:44,517
because Rebecca, immediately the moment
success is starting, is noticing that

249
00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:48,277
this thing that drove me, this community,
suddenly something is competing with it,

250
00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:52,877
that's success. Money was starting to seep
in. It was tiny little money. Yeah.

251
00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:57,317
But but it was She felt that
this is a great time to start a

252
00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:01,317
spiritual practice. So, growing up,
you didn't you were not spiritual growing

253
00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:03,397
up? What What do you consider spiritual?

254
00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:06,837
A meditation practice, going to uh

255
00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:12,557
temple or church. Based on your
definition, I was extremely not spiritual.

256
00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:15,477
I did none of that.
>> You didn't practice anything? Didn't

257
00:15:15,560 --> 00:15:17,717
practice anything. Were you a believer?

258
00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:21,717
So, you spoke about my sister.
I think if she was here, she would say

259
00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:25,317
that at night, when we were having those
difficult nights after all the craziness

260
00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:28,997
that would occur at home, I would
tell her stories about how we're

261
00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:31,837
going to be very successful
one day in the future.

262
00:15:31,920 --> 00:15:33,437
And how we're not going to have these

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00:15:33,520 --> 00:15:37,637
issues. And how it's all going to

264
00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:40,357
work out great. So, I always had this

265
00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:45,237
very optimistic view no matter how tough
it was. I had a feeling that things will

266
00:15:45,320 --> 00:15:49,277
work out in a very positive way. So, you
were optimistic, but maybe you wouldn't

267
00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:52,277
use the word spiritual. >> No,
I 100% would not use the word

268
00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:55,757
spiritual. I was not spiritual. I
was very optimistic. I would say the only

269
00:15:55,840 --> 00:16:00,920
thing that was spiritual about
me would have been my optimism.

270
00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:09,117
As nutrition science advanced through
the mid-20th century, researchers began

271
00:16:09,200 --> 00:16:10,877
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272
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273
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274
00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:20,557
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275
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278
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Each daily serving provides clinically

280
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282
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283
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284
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310
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Tell me more about the kibbutz. Would
you feel like the other people in the

311
00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:21,197
kibbutz was like an extended family, or

312
00:18:21,280 --> 00:18:25,917
no? So, as we said, I entered 13
communities in childhood. The toughest

313
00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:30,357
community to enter was the kibbutz. The
kids there growing up sleep in the same

314
00:18:30,440 --> 00:18:33,637
house, and only go sleep with their
parents on the weekend. This is the

315
00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:37,517
old-fashioned thing that doesn't exist
anymore. But, that's how they grew up.

316
00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:41,637
And back in the day, the most successful
leaders in Israel grew up in these

317
00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:45,717
kibbutzes. It was a very
successful social movement.

318
00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:49,077
And but it worked for the first
generation. When the second generation,

319
00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:52,797
their kids, not so much. And by the
third generation, the whole thing

320
00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:56,517
collapsed. Funny enough, lately there's
a little bit of a movement back to it.

321
00:18:56,600 --> 00:19:00,237
Today, in the world that we live,
when people are so uh digitally

322
00:19:00,320 --> 00:19:04,237
connected, I actually think there's
a much deeper craving for it. So, when I

323
00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:07,717
was in the kibbutz, I think everybody
felt this way. And I think even though I

324
00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:12,197
was an outsider, cuz I wasn't the kid
that grew up there, they took care of me

325
00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:16,477
really well. And again, my mother
was an unbelievable doctor. So, she was

326
00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:20,037
taking care of everybody. We had
a challenge because she was a single mom

327
00:19:20,120 --> 00:19:23,677
and and she was dealing with her own
challenges. They were personal. Yeah.

328
00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:28,517
Which again, back then as a child,
I could have complained a lot about it.

329
00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:32,077
But today, it's what
made me who I am. I'm so

330
00:19:32,160 --> 00:19:36,437
grateful for every single moment we
spent together. So, I think everybody in

331
00:19:36,520 --> 00:19:40,477
the kibbutz felt that way. I left
the kibbutz at the 11th grade. But it was

332
00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:42,277
the place and I lived there for 5 years.

333
00:19:42,360 --> 00:19:45,877
It was the place that shaped me and
the place that I lived the longest. You

334
00:19:45,960 --> 00:19:48,517
know, when we lived in the kibbutz, I'll
share a few things that were different.

335
00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:52,917
I think we can learn so
much today from the past.

336
00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:57,037
In our kibbutz, one day a week, there
was no school. Everybody volunteered and

337
00:19:57,120 --> 00:20:01,477
worked at the job. Interesting thought.

338
00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:04,717
In our kibbutz, every morning,
we all went to the dining hall to have

339
00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:08,437
breakfast. It was so communal. I loved
breakfast. There was nothing there, by

340
00:20:08,520 --> 00:20:12,597
the way. Bread, a little bit of chocolate,
a little bit of Nutella, but it wasn't

341
00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:17,557
called Nutella, and a little bit
of cream cheese, and maybe some eggs.

342
00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:20,237
That was such a great way to start
the day and all the kids would come. No

343
00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:24,557
parents. All the kids are together. This
is now fifth grade, sixth grade. All the

344
00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:27,757
kids are together and we're talking and
we're excited and we're going to miss it

345
00:20:27,840 --> 00:20:31,477
and everybody goes to the bus
and from the bus straight to school.

346
00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:34,397
And then most of us
were not wearing shoes.

347
00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:38,837
Just to say. Not on the bus,
not in breakfast, and not in the school.

348
00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:42,117
Which then I kept going, which over time
some people thought it was interesting I

349
00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:45,557
wasn't wearing shoes.
But uh I know you enjoy not wearing

350
00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:48,117
shoes, also. How did you meet Rebecca? I

351
00:20:48,200 --> 00:20:52,837
have a best friend and his name is Angel
Finkelstein. And he keeps always telling

352
00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:56,877
me that he had this friend, Rebecca, who
was his best friend or one of his close

353
00:20:56,960 --> 00:21:00,557
friends from Cornell University,
but she lives in Los Angeles.

354
00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:03,477
And one day, he tells me, "I'm going
to move to LA." And all the time he wanted

355
00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:06,797
to be a movie agent. "I'm going to go
I'm going to become to be an agent.

356
00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:10,077
Rebecca got me my first job.
I'm going to sleep on the couch.

357
00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:13,277
And he moves to LA and I've never met
Rebecca at this point and he starts his

358
00:21:13,360 --> 00:21:17,677
career. And he's a very
successful Hollywood agent today.

359
00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:21,557
And he always tells me about Rebecca and
from her side always tells her about the

360
00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:22,997
crazy Israeli.

361
00:21:23,080 --> 00:21:26,717
Never introduces us. Then 2 years later,

362
00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:31,037
I'm now at this stage I'm 28. Rebecca is
moving back from LA to New York and he's

363
00:21:31,120 --> 00:21:35,597
introducing us on phone. Said, "Hey,
if you want to meet someone cool, you're

364
00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:38,917
two cool friends of mine I'm introducing
you." And I remember that first phone

365
00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:40,037
call because I was staying with Rebecca.

366
00:21:40,120 --> 00:21:43,597
You know, anything you need in New York
I can help you get. She was born there.

367
00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:46,757
I was like, "Who is this idiot?" I
was like, "She she was going out to clubs

368
00:21:46,840 --> 00:21:50,037
when she was 14." Yeah. I was like,
"I don't know what this kid wants."

369
00:21:50,120 --> 00:21:51,517
And

370
00:21:51,600 --> 00:21:54,957
and that was that. And a week later she

371
00:21:55,040 --> 00:21:59,477
just out of nowhere calls and says,
"Hey, if you want to hang out, me and my

372
00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:01,957
friend are hanging out,
you can come and say hello."

373
00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:06,277
And I do that. And I go I
at the time I have no money.

374
00:22:06,360 --> 00:22:08,477
I ride my bicycle. I go to that first

375
00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:11,357
meeting. I walk into the her apartment.

376
00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:14,637
She's with a friend. We talk for a few
minutes and then she tells the friend

377
00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:19,317
she can go. And it was just
an instant connection.

378
00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:23,157
And you really knew of her for years,
but you'd never met her. Never knew how

379
00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:24,797
she looked. Never saw a picture.

380
00:22:24,880 --> 00:22:26,277
>> Yeah, I never spoke to her before.

381
00:22:26,360 --> 00:22:30,797
>> never spoke just that one time. Knew
of her. Again, the thing that got me that

382
00:22:30,880 --> 00:22:34,717
first time we met and I think
there's a lot to learn from this.

383
00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:39,357
It was like she put a mirror in front
of my face and said the truth. Not caring.

384
00:22:39,440 --> 00:22:44,037
I think one of her superpowers is how
authentic she is. Yeah. She just looked

385
00:22:44,120 --> 00:22:48,397
at me and within a few minutes she
was like, "Wow, you talk big and you don't

386
00:22:48,480 --> 00:22:51,997
have anything." I was like,
"Well, what do you mean?"

387
00:22:52,080 --> 00:22:55,397
And she goes, "The way you're talking
it's like you're so successful and I can

388
00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:59,197
literally tell that you're broke,
so it's a little ridiculous." Yeah. I was

389
00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:02,277
like, "How would you know my bank
account?" And she goes, "You just came

390
00:23:02,360 --> 00:23:05,677
to meet me for the first time. You
couldn't even showered and taken a taxi.

391
00:23:05,760 --> 00:23:08,957
You drove your bicycle.
You probably couldn't afford a taxi.

392
00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:12,237
And it was true. Yeah. It was so true.

393
00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:17,557
And it was just instantaneous. Amazing
story. Amazing story. And you hit it off

394
00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:21,117
right away. We hit it off
immediately. It was right

395
00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:24,277
after I broke up from a girlfriend. And
after the second day, I came back and I

396
00:23:24,360 --> 00:23:26,837
said to her, "Look, you're amazing, but

397
00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:28,877
I just broke up from a girlfriend. I had

398
00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:34,037
this plan to sort of Yeah.
be men around town for a second.

399
00:23:34,120 --> 00:23:37,397
And so, I'm just letting you know that
I'm not And this is again, this is her

400
00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:40,437
strength. She goes, "Really?" I said,
"Really." She goes, "No problem. Come

401
00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:43,677
back when you're ready, but I
don't want to hang out until then."

402
00:23:43,760 --> 00:23:46,397
I was like, "Okay." Wow.
>> And I go for 2 or 3 days. And I was

403
00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:47,277
like, that was like, "That was weird.

404
00:23:47,360 --> 00:23:50,957
Why wouldn't you Mr. Why wouldn't you
want to hang out with me?" And 5 days

405
00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:54,757
later, I call her. And I was like, "Hey,
what are you doing on Sunday?" She goes,

406
00:23:54,840 --> 00:23:57,957
"I'm going to my Father's
Day something something."

407
00:23:58,040 --> 00:24:01,117
Not intending for me to say anything cuz
it's Father's Day, again a very American

408
00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:04,517
thing. And I say, she And And we talk
a little bit more. She's just being

409
00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:06,517
polite. She said, "Do you want to come?"

410
00:24:06,600 --> 00:24:09,517
Sure, I'm not going to say yes.
I said, "Of course."

411
00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:12,237
She tells me many years later that she
never thought I would want to come to

412
00:24:12,320 --> 00:24:16,557
her Father's Day Yeah. activity.
And I just we hung out and we go to her

413
00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:19,157
Father's Day. I meet her entire family.

414
00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:21,597
And I sort of move in the next day and I

415
00:24:21,680 --> 00:24:22,837
never leave.

416
00:24:22,920 --> 00:24:26,597
So, tell me about her invitation for you

417
00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:31,037
to find your spirituality. So,
we're hanging out. I never leave. We're a

418
00:24:31,120 --> 00:24:35,477
month in to it. And she comes
home one day. I'm working

419
00:24:35,560 --> 00:24:39,157
into my baby clothing
company at the time doing a

420
00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:42,917
2 million in sales and 3 million
in expenses. So, we're just rolling losing

421
00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:46,757
money, rolling it, making ends meet,
making things come together.

422
00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:50,037
She comes to me and she goes, "I don't
think it's going to work out between

423
00:24:50,120 --> 00:24:55,077
us." This is now our month in and I'm
I am head over heels, as I think they

424
00:24:55,160 --> 00:24:57,437
say here. I said, "What
do you mean not going to

425
00:24:57,520 --> 00:25:02,157
work out between us?" He goes,
"I think the man that I'm going to be

426
00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:05,037
with is going to have a spiritual
practice. It's very important for me in

427
00:25:05,120 --> 00:25:07,837
my life. And you really don't have one.

428
00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:11,480
And I don't think you're
interested in one."

429
00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:15,477
"And therefore I don't think it's
going to work out, but it's okay. You're

430
00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:18,117
You're going to do great. And And And
And I think you're You're going to do

431
00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:21,277
great and very good looking. A lot
of girls are going to be interested. Don't

432
00:25:21,360 --> 00:25:22,957
worry about it. You're going to do fine."

433
00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:27,597
I like, "Wait. Wait. Wait.
How would someone go around having a

434
00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:31,557
spiritual practice?" She goes, "Well,

435
00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:35,637
some people do yoga, some people
meditate, some people pray.

436
00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:38,437
There are many different ways for many
different people." I said, "Well, what

437
00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:40,557
do you think a good one for me would be?"

438
00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:42,917
She goes, "Well, you are Jewish.

439
00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:44,877
There's this thing called Kabbalah.

440
00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:48,997
Why don't you explore that? It's It's
the mysticism of Judaism. You like it."

441
00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:50,677
Cuz she knows he's very anti-religious.

442
00:25:50,760 --> 00:25:53,957
Anything religious, being Israeli, a lot
of people don't know this, we don't You

443
00:25:54,040 --> 00:25:56,957
don't like religious. If it's forced
on you and it's religious, you walk the

444
00:25:57,040 --> 00:26:00,517
other way. You want to choose. I didn't
know that at all. People don't know

445
00:26:00,600 --> 00:26:03,837
that. Yeah. That's a lot A lot of the
split. There's There's the stories from

446
00:26:03,920 --> 00:26:06,757
the outside that we hear and there's
what actually happens. Yeah. The big

447
00:26:06,840 --> 00:26:10,357
divide. There's a big divide in Israel
between religious and non-religious.

448
00:26:10,440 --> 00:26:14,997
>> that. It's a big topic, but on a very
high level, growing up the way I grew

449
00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:19,837
up, we grow up we when we're
18 we serve in the army.

450
00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:23,677
We go and get whatever jobs we get.
We pay our taxes. We do what we think is

451
00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:25,597
our civil responsibility. Remember

452
00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:28,637
serving from age 18 to age 21 in my case

453
00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:30,957
till almost 23. I almost did 5 years cuz

454
00:26:31,040 --> 00:26:34,077
I was a navy officer. Serving at such a

455
00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:38,037
young age, I think is such an important
thing cuz it's exactly the age where you

456
00:26:38,120 --> 00:26:41,077
really just want to take care
of yourself and have fun and party and do

457
00:26:41,160 --> 00:26:46,037
whatever it is that 18-year-olds really
want to do. And by being forced to serve

458
00:26:46,120 --> 00:26:49,197
already gives you
a different take about life.

459
00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:51,917
There's an ex- >> You have
responsibilities? Extremely.

460
00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:56,397
Depends what your position in the army is.
I was specifically navy officer. I

461
00:26:56,480 --> 00:27:00,797
did it age 21 within the US, they do
it age 28. What takes your age cuz they

462
00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:03,837
they have less money. Yeah. And they
need to get things. You have tremendous

463
00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:07,357
responsibilities. But even
if you're a soldier working

464
00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:10,557
you have huge responsibilities
and there's many many lessons I learned

465
00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:13,677
there. The one of my biggest lessons was

466
00:27:13,760 --> 00:27:18,677
before you become a great leader,
you must know how to follow orders. If you

467
00:27:18,760 --> 00:27:21,677
don't know how to be a soldier if
you don't know how to do the basic

468
00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:24,277
>> general if you haven't
been a good soldier.

469
00:27:24,360 --> 00:27:26,597
>> You can be an okay general or okay

470
00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:28,597
leader. Because you need to understand

471
00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:31,557
what it's like to get information given

472
00:27:31,640 --> 00:27:35,797
to you. But I also think because
you need to learn that you're not in

473
00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:38,677
control. And when you
always think you're in

474
00:27:38,760 --> 00:27:43,037
control, you never let go.
And when you don't let go, when is the

475
00:27:43,120 --> 00:27:45,917
universe going to get a chance to come in?

476
00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:49,557
I actually think, you know, I have
a acupuncturist who tells this great

477
00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:53,237
story. He goes to Mexico,
there's this hot water river

478
00:27:53,320 --> 00:27:57,237
and there's a pool that fills up every
day in the morning and then everybody

479
00:27:57,320 --> 00:28:00,717
bathe in it and then they empty it
at night. He wakes up early for his

480
00:28:00,800 --> 00:28:04,677
meditation and he sees the guy cleaning
the pool with a mop moving around like

481
00:28:04,760 --> 00:28:09,597
Tai Chi. He literally it looks like it's
movements from a master martial arts.

482
00:28:09,680 --> 00:28:13,357
And he brings an interpreter and he
goes to that guy and says, "Excuse me. It

483
00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:16,717
looks to me like you're doing martial
arts but you're cleaning the pool.

484
00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:20,157
What are you doing?" Said,
"I'm doing what my father taught me."

485
00:28:20,240 --> 00:28:23,157
And he said, "And and who taught you
what did your father used to do?" Said,

486
00:28:23,240 --> 00:28:27,117
"He used to clean this pool." "And who
taught your father?" Said, "His father,

487
00:28:27,200 --> 00:28:29,037
my grandfather. And he used to clean

488
00:28:29,120 --> 00:28:31,037
this pool. This pool is healing for

489
00:28:31,120 --> 00:28:34,237
people. We take every move that we make

490
00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:38,837
in this pool as an art.
And we've practiced it for our entire

491
00:28:38,920 --> 00:28:42,997
life. You could take something as simple
as cleaning a pool and view it as your

492
00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:47,077
spiritual practice and something that's
in the service of others or view it as a

493
00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:51,437
horrible chore and be very
busy complaining. Beautiful.

494
00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:55,437
Beautiful story. That's

495
00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:58,717
what you learn in the army, if you
want to or not. And someone with my

496
00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:02,837
characteristic, it's a must.
Cuz if you look at me before and after,

497
00:29:02,920 --> 00:29:05,037
I was still not in a great place after.

498
00:29:05,120 --> 00:29:07,637
But the me before and the me
after are two different things.

499
00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:10,237
>> How would you describe
you before and you after?

500
00:29:10,320 --> 00:29:12,597
You know, me before is I grew up in this

501
00:29:12,680 --> 00:29:14,797
kibbutz. We did whatever we wanted. We

502
00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:19,837
were part of this community. We didn't
wear shoes. We just enjoyed every second

503
00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:22,917
of life, and we were just looking for
more ways to have fun. It's not that we

504
00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:26,677
didn't have responsibilities, we did,
but it was all about the community of

505
00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:29,757
children and coming together.
It was It was

506
00:29:29,840 --> 00:29:32,877
It was like a storybook
of what kids can do to have fun.

507
00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:35,997
And that's was one piece of it, and the
other piece of it was the challenges at

508
00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:39,237
home and all the different things. And
sort of in between, school was not a big

509
00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:42,877
deal. I would most classrooms, most days,
teachers would literally walk into

510
00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:46,957
the classroom, "Adam, leave. Okay,
now we can start the class." And I'd start

511
00:29:47,040 --> 00:29:49,797
wondering, the Yeah. education there was

512
00:29:49,880 --> 00:29:52,157
not a perfect fit for me.

513
00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:54,997
Me after, I knew that when I am part of

514
00:29:55,080 --> 00:29:59,677
a team, if I can get the team
to follow or to partner with me,

515
00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:02,317
there's not many things
I couldn't achieve.

516
00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:05,237
With that energy, I arrive into the US.

517
00:30:05,320 --> 00:30:08,957
This is after September 11th, so there
was just a horrible terrorist attack.

518
00:30:09,040 --> 00:30:12,357
New York, if you remember at the time,
is changing. There's the New York before

519
00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:16,237
and the New York after. I actually think
New York had a golden era afterwards for

520
00:30:16,320 --> 00:30:20,597
10 years at least, and from what I've
understood and my experience, people

521
00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:24,517
from all over the world are coming to New
York. And it's always at the back of

522
00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:28,677
my mind, this thought that I could
basically do anything I put my mind to,

523
00:30:28,760 --> 00:30:33,197
as long as I can get a team
to believe in it and join.

524
00:30:33,280 --> 00:30:36,397
The problem at that point is I have
all that knowledge, but I have no

525
00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:40,877
spirituality. I have no purpose. So,
when you take a person that's capable of

526
00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:43,877
doing that, but you don't give them
a purpose, I think that's where trouble

527
00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:46,757
comes. Now, Rebecca, who's literally

528
00:30:46,840 --> 00:30:50,917
just starting with me, is seeing the
potential and articulates the potential,

529
00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:54,437
but says without a purpose, you're not
the man for me. Yeah. I really wanted to

530
00:30:54,520 --> 00:30:57,637
be the man for her. So,
she takes me to this first Kabbalah

531
00:30:57,720 --> 00:31:00,517
class, and without getting into the >>
Had she already been doing Kabbalah or

532
00:31:00,600 --> 00:31:04,957
no? She was doing Kabbalah once a week,
but not as a practicing not not with any

533
00:31:05,040 --> 00:31:08,557
religiosity. I would really separate
between Sometimes people say, "Adam, are

534
00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:11,997
you religious or you spiritual?" And I
say, "Spiritual." And they say, "How do

535
00:31:12,080 --> 00:31:15,517
you define?" I say, "So, I keep Shabbat."

536
00:31:15,600 --> 00:31:19,917
And When did that start?
>> 10 years ago, which is 4 years into it.

537
00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:24,717
But, I'll go back to the that first
Kabbalah class. I go to that

538
00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:28,797
first Kabbalah class to prove to this
woman I just met Yeah. that I can do

539
00:31:28,880 --> 00:31:31,557
anything. Oh, you're serious.
>> to say she's not going to say I'm not

540
00:31:31,640 --> 00:31:34,557
the man for her. Maybe she's not
the woman for me. Yeah. You don't break up

541
00:31:34,640 --> 00:31:37,677
with me, I break up with you.
Do you know who I am? My sister is a

542
00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:41,517
model. I was an idiot. Yeah.
I was an actual idiot. Yeah.

543
00:31:41,600 --> 00:31:45,277
And and I go to this class, and this woman

544
00:31:45,360 --> 00:31:48,997
is teaching, and the teach
the lesson was a very

545
00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:51,477
basic one. When a challenge happens in

546
00:31:51,560 --> 00:31:57,437
your life, instead of reacting,
take a deep breath,

547
00:31:57,520 --> 00:32:01,797
stop, and the word they used
to say is pause, wait and wonder.

548
00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:05,517
Pause, wait and wonder. Then,

549
00:32:05,600 --> 00:32:08,477
interact again. No knee-jerk reaction.

550
00:32:08,560 --> 00:32:10,797
>> reaction. Take a breath. Let the

551
00:32:10,880 --> 00:32:15,677
universe come in, or new language,
hone that antenna and let it receive for a

552
00:32:15,760 --> 00:32:19,397
second. There's a certain
speed that this travels in.

553
00:32:19,480 --> 00:32:23,797
And then And that was the that was the
class. Class ends, I'm like, "Whatever."

554
00:32:23,880 --> 00:32:26,677
But, I still want to prove that. So,
I go and talk to the I'm going to ask this

555
00:32:26,760 --> 00:32:28,797
teacher someone something and show her.

556
00:32:28,880 --> 00:32:32,717
Yeah. And I ask the teacher something,
and this one was a very wise teacher.

557
00:32:32,800 --> 00:32:35,797
She takes her book, she gives it to me,
she says, "Adam, I write notes on the

558
00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:39,197
side of my books.
Take a look, your answer is there.

559
00:32:39,280 --> 00:32:42,797
Bring it to me next week.
I think Oh, I'm going to show Rebecca I

560
00:32:42,880 --> 00:32:46,837
took her teacher's book. Meanwhile, I
go outside. I look at the book, the class

561
00:32:46,920 --> 00:32:49,877
ends, I'm like, "Oh my god, this teacher
tricked me. Now I got to come back next

562
00:32:49,960 --> 00:32:54,077
week and give back this book.
I'm not going to not return the book."

563
00:32:54,160 --> 00:32:58,397
And the next day I go back into my baby
clothing business that was genuinely not

564
00:32:58,480 --> 00:33:00,237
succeeding. And I had this saleswoman

565
00:33:00,320 --> 00:33:05,957
who was very powerful, but we argued
every day. And she gets at it again.

566
00:33:06,040 --> 00:33:09,117
And this is something that I think
people don't know about me. Even when I

567
00:33:09,200 --> 00:33:12,437
look like I'm not listening,
I always hear.

568
00:33:12,520 --> 00:33:16,997
And when I think what I learned could
be beneficial, I'll try it at least once.

569
00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:20,837
No matter what,
I'll try it once. So I pause.

570
00:33:20,920 --> 00:33:24,517
I take a deep breath.
And a different reaction comes to my

571
00:33:24,600 --> 00:33:27,437
head. And I try it. And this saleswoman

572
00:33:27,520 --> 00:33:31,957
who's so quick to anger, suddenly
she's pausing. We have this beautiful

573
00:33:32,040 --> 00:33:35,277
dialogue. And we come up with a
new idea of how to do something.

574
00:33:35,360 --> 00:33:38,757
>> Wow. We executed first time.

575
00:33:38,840 --> 00:33:42,957
You know the book The Alchemist?
Yes. He talks about beginner's luck.

576
00:33:43,040 --> 00:33:47,397
I think when we start practicing
spirituality, first time, Yeah. it's

577
00:33:47,480 --> 00:33:51,357
beautiful. I encourage
everybody to give it a shot

578
00:33:51,440 --> 00:33:53,437
and see if it works. Yeah. And if it

579
00:33:53,520 --> 00:33:56,597
works, then we can go then we can go to

580
00:33:56,680 --> 00:34:00,757
the next level. And it works. And I love
things that work. And I come there the

581
00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:02,957
next day, next week, and now I'm hungry.

582
00:34:03,040 --> 00:34:06,597
Now I'm spiritually hungry. Now I want
more. Cuz it already changed your life.

583
00:34:06,680 --> 00:34:10,557
It's already worked. I wouldn't say it
at the I don't recognize at this point

584
00:34:10,640 --> 00:34:13,757
that it already changed.
Some of the biggest moments of our life

585
00:34:13,840 --> 00:34:18,117
that change our life, most of us don't
know that that's what's happening.

586
00:34:18,200 --> 00:34:22,357
And this is why, no matter what moment
you're going through right now, even if

587
00:34:22,440 --> 00:34:26,077
you think you're going right this
second through your worst moment,

588
00:34:26,160 --> 00:34:28,277
>> Yes. you might not
know that the darkest

589
00:34:28,360 --> 00:34:31,717
moment of the night is a
second before dawn. Yes.

590
00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:33,797
>> And if you just pause

591
00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:40,117
and have a little more patience and keep
pursuing Yes. Don't quit. Yes. The light

592
00:34:40,200 --> 00:34:42,557
will be revealed. >> What's
the next scene in the movie?

593
00:34:42,640 --> 00:34:46,957
Let's see what the next scene in the
movie is. The movie is great. I just

594
00:34:47,040 --> 00:34:49,557
don't know how. Yeah.

595
00:34:49,640 --> 00:34:51,477
It's a divine movie by the way.

596
00:34:51,560 --> 00:34:56,757
It was written by the best director,
writer, and producer. And you know who

597
00:34:56,840 --> 00:35:00,637
the star is? We are.
Are we going to be a tragedy?

598
00:35:00,720 --> 00:35:04,837
Are we going to be a success? Are we
going to be an up and down? Are we going

599
00:35:04,920 --> 00:35:08,797
to learn from our lessons? Are we
actually going to curl below our blanket

600
00:35:08,880 --> 00:35:12,637
and oh no, this happened
and I'm not going to go back out?

601
00:35:12,720 --> 00:35:14,837
That's how Rebekah introduced me to it.

602
00:35:14,920 --> 00:35:18,957
And I just drank it like it was from the
firehouse. I was just intrigued. And the

603
00:35:19,040 --> 00:35:20,917
moment that started, things started the

604
00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:24,077
the We call it being in flow state. Once

605
00:35:24,160 --> 00:35:26,517
I hit that flow state things started

606
00:35:26,600 --> 00:35:30,077
moving fast. That led to Green Desk

607
00:35:30,160 --> 00:35:32,997
led to WeWork, led to our first child,

608
00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:35,757
led to everything led to everything,

609
00:35:35,840 --> 00:35:38,277
brought us all the way here today. And

610
00:35:38,360 --> 00:35:40,597
it only started with one class. Yeah.

611
00:35:40,680 --> 00:35:43,037
And one teacher. Yes. And one sentence.

612
00:35:43,120 --> 00:35:45,117
And then you started going every week?

613
00:35:45,200 --> 00:35:49,277
Then I started going to Well, I again,
this is me. When I see something that

614
00:35:49,360 --> 00:35:52,957
works, I actually do more than once
a week. It started with once a week, it

615
00:35:53,040 --> 00:35:56,717
became two times a week, then it became
three times a week. And then at the same

616
00:35:56,800 --> 00:35:58,597
time that this is happening, my life is

617
00:35:58,680 --> 00:36:01,877
changing so fast. We're having This is

618
00:36:01,960 --> 00:36:03,757
I'm at this stage.

619
00:36:03,840 --> 00:36:07,477
I meet Rebekah at 28. I'm now 31, 32.

620
00:36:07,560 --> 00:36:09,877
I'm having my first daughter.

621
00:36:09,960 --> 00:36:11,877
That's a miracle. We're starting to have

622
00:36:11,960 --> 00:36:17,037
that experience. And then uh and then
we're launching WeWork. And WeWork

623
00:36:17,120 --> 00:36:20,157
starts to Tell me do you >>
shooting up and now we got

624
00:36:20,240 --> 00:36:23,597
the starting of WeWork.
Now you got back starting of WeWork, so

625
00:36:23,680 --> 00:36:27,077
We said that we had that business Green
Desk and this landlord kept growing and

626
00:36:27,160 --> 00:36:30,437
growing. And after a few months I saw
that this business could be a national

627
00:36:30,520 --> 00:36:35,117
business. And I go to him, Mr. Gatman,
Mr. Gatman, if you invest in us, the

628
00:36:35,200 --> 00:36:38,600
number is $20 million,
we will give you 50%

629
00:36:39,480 --> 00:36:42,437
and we will build this thing national.

630
00:36:42,520 --> 00:36:46,997
And Mr. Gatman said, I'm sorry, it's not
for me. I like Brooklyn. But if that's

631
00:36:47,080 --> 00:36:50,637
what you guys want and there's there's
actually deeper story there, but maybe

632
00:36:50,720 --> 00:36:53,600
for another time.

633
00:36:53,840 --> 00:36:57,957
If that's what you guys want,
then I encourage you to

634
00:36:58,040 --> 00:37:00,837
I encourage you to go for it.
I will buy you guys out.

635
00:37:00,920 --> 00:37:05,157
And you guys run with it.
And we agree on a number.

636
00:37:05,240 --> 00:37:08,357
But he won't pay the entire number up
front. He's only willing that if the

637
00:37:08,440 --> 00:37:11,837
number is $3 million, we own 50%
with another partner, so a million and a

638
00:37:11,920 --> 00:37:15,597
half, Miguel and I a million. He's
only willing to give us $300,000 of our

639
00:37:15,680 --> 00:37:19,517
million. The rest is installments for
the next 4 years to ensure that we don't

640
00:37:19,600 --> 00:37:22,677
enter Brooklyn with our new business,
so we don't compete. He just wants

641
00:37:22,760 --> 00:37:26,037
Brooklyn. Yeah. By the way, back then
no Brooklyn, no big deal. Well, Brooklyn

642
00:37:26,120 --> 00:37:30,037
became quite a big deal. Yeah, yeah.
But he he wanted Brooklyn. Did he grow the

643
00:37:30,120 --> 00:37:33,957
company in Brooklyn as well? First of all,
it still exists and is successful.

644
00:37:34,040 --> 00:37:36,557
So, yes, he grew it. But

645
00:37:36,640 --> 00:37:41,397
not with the concept of community
and the soul behind it. Yeah. Hey, but it

646
00:37:41,480 --> 00:37:44,357
still exists today and it's still
successful today and then co-working is

647
00:37:44,440 --> 00:37:47,117
a successful business today and this
was the beginning. This was the seed.

648
00:37:47,200 --> 00:37:50,957
>> Mhm. And what's interesting is when we
come to start WeWork, so then Miguel and

649
00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:54,597
I want to start WeWork and people have
heard the story before, so I won't get

650
00:37:54,680 --> 00:37:59,837
into it, but we did take 6 months
to come up with the name. So, we knew we

651
00:37:59,920 --> 00:38:03,037
had an amazing business. I knew this
business was a home run. I felt it. I

652
00:38:03,120 --> 00:38:05,757
knew it was right. >> already
experienced it. You experienced

653
00:38:05,840 --> 00:38:10,357
a lesser version of it.
This one had a higher

654
00:38:10,440 --> 00:38:12,477
um intention than the first business.

655
00:38:12,560 --> 00:38:14,677
100% true. This one had time to put

656
00:38:14,760 --> 00:38:16,717
thought and this one had Miguel and I

657
00:38:16,800 --> 00:38:22,357
sitting with a whiteboard for 6 months
planning it. We used to draw a picture

658
00:38:22,440 --> 00:38:24,997
of of of what we would do 9 years into it.

659
00:38:25,080 --> 00:38:28,197
It was very similar to that
initial picture that we drew.

660
00:38:28,280 --> 00:38:31,437
I will send it to you so you see it.
It is a beautiful picture.

661
00:38:31,520 --> 00:38:34,997
>> But the name's not there. Yeah.
And I'm not willing to start the business

662
00:38:35,080 --> 00:38:38,997
because by this stage in my spiritual
practice, I know the power of words.

663
00:38:39,080 --> 00:38:43,797
And I need a name that describes
this vision. And I can't come up with it.

664
00:38:43,880 --> 00:38:47,437
And one thing we didn't say about my
friend Andrew Finkelstein who introduces

665
00:38:47,520 --> 00:38:50,437
me to Rebecca, when we fall
in love and I call and tell

666
00:38:50,520 --> 00:38:54,637
him we're going to marry each other,
he stops talking to us for 3 months.

667
00:38:54,720 --> 00:38:58,437
He has a He had a relationship, nothing
to do between him and Rebecca. He was so

668
00:38:58,520 --> 00:39:01,557
upset because he knew the Adam he knew was

669
00:39:01,640 --> 00:39:05,837
was the Adam that used to party
a lot and go over and be

670
00:39:05,920 --> 00:39:08,837
I used to hang out a lot. Yeah. And
Rebecca was his close friend that he was

671
00:39:08,920 --> 00:39:13,237
so worried about. And he thought she
was some innocent lamb and I was the wolf.

672
00:39:13,320 --> 00:39:15,797
And he didn't want the wolf to get
close to his close friend. So he called

673
00:39:15,880 --> 00:39:19,997
Rebecca and said all the whatever worst
things he could say about me. Wow. And

674
00:39:20,080 --> 00:39:22,397
there's a lesson there also cuz if
you call someone and tell them why you

675
00:39:22,480 --> 00:39:25,997
shouldn't be with someone,
then they get really interested.

676
00:39:26,080 --> 00:39:29,917
And and but we we loved that it was true.
I told him it was true. He just

677
00:39:30,000 --> 00:39:31,277
didn't believe it was true. And I'm I'm

678
00:39:31,360 --> 00:39:34,437
a very loyal person. When I commit, I am

679
00:39:34,520 --> 00:39:37,397
not at 99% committed. I am 100 to a

680
00:39:37,480 --> 00:39:42,197
fault. Yeah. And so Andrew ends up not
talking to us for 3 months, but then

681
00:39:42,280 --> 00:39:45,957
again becoming very close.
And we never forgot that he introduced

682
00:39:46,040 --> 00:39:50,437
us. But when >> And instead
of you somehow hurting her,

683
00:39:50,520 --> 00:39:52,597
she made you better. That's what happened.

684
00:39:52,680 --> 00:39:55,477
>> And I think for her,

685
00:39:55,560 --> 00:40:00,437
the point she meets me, she was celibate
for 6 6 years. She at the age 23, she

686
00:40:00,520 --> 00:40:04,237
was 29. She said that she's not going
to go on this dating scene and this thing

687
00:40:04,320 --> 00:40:07,397
that everybody else doing.
She told the universe she used to So

688
00:40:07,480 --> 00:40:11,437
she's a yogi. She was meditating.
She was Shiva Mukti. She was certified.

689
00:40:11,520 --> 00:40:14,637
And she would meditate and she would
tell the universe, "Sell me Send me my

690
00:40:14,720 --> 00:40:19,437
soulmate or no one at all." Yes. She
was zero interested. So, at this point,

691
00:40:19,520 --> 00:40:20,997
she's 6 years in.

692
00:40:21,080 --> 00:40:23,757
So, when she So, then she meets me.

693
00:40:23,840 --> 00:40:27,997
And um she knew it, I knew it. And

694
00:40:28,080 --> 00:40:30,797
and that's that. And then when it's time
to launch the business, and I don't know

695
00:40:30,880 --> 00:40:34,237
the name, I call my old friend Andrew
Finkelstein, who at this point is in

696
00:40:34,320 --> 00:40:37,277
Hollywood. His career
is starting to take off.

697
00:40:37,360 --> 00:40:39,877
And he was always He has and has always

698
00:40:39,960 --> 00:40:44,757
been an unbelievable agent,
but he's also an amazing

699
00:40:44,840 --> 00:40:48,397
co-writer and speaker. And you know,
like Morty Supreme that just came out,

700
00:40:48,480 --> 00:40:51,837
he put together. He represents the
director. He represent He did a lot. He

701
00:40:51,920 --> 00:40:54,997
did a lot. Write and directed.
He's the agent, but he helped it become a

702
00:40:55,080 --> 00:40:58,037
reality. I was there
for the whole process.

703
00:40:58,120 --> 00:41:02,357
And uh I call him and say, "I need
your help to come up with a name."

704
00:41:02,440 --> 00:41:07,117
And I go to his house.
And we hang out the way we used to hang

705
00:41:07,200 --> 00:41:11,477
out. And we are really
This is now 2:00 a.m.

706
00:41:11,560 --> 00:41:14,117
And we're about to We're about to faint.

707
00:41:14,200 --> 00:41:17,557
And he looks at me, and he literally
goes, "I wish we had a video of this."

708
00:41:17,640 --> 00:41:19,197
He looks like this.

709
00:41:19,280 --> 00:41:21,317
His eyes are like almost rolled back. He

710
00:41:21,400 --> 00:41:25,717
goes, "Steve Jobs had it wrong. It's not

711
00:41:25,800 --> 00:41:30,717
Ibook, iPhone, me, me, me. It's we.

712
00:41:30,800 --> 00:41:36,117
WeWork, WeGive, WeFly, WeTeach, We."

713
00:41:36,200 --> 00:41:39,317
And faints. It's interesting also
that you say it's at 2:00 in the morning,

714
00:41:39,400 --> 00:41:41,517
you're both exhausted. You weren't in a

715
00:41:41,600 --> 00:41:44,717
strong place. The opposite. It was

716
00:41:44,800 --> 00:41:47,877
almost as if you were ready to give up.

717
00:41:47,960 --> 00:41:50,517
You were at the end.

718
00:41:50,600 --> 00:41:54,357
You let go. This is so accurate, Rick.

719
00:41:54,440 --> 00:41:57,637
We were so at the end. I We were done.

720
00:41:57,720 --> 00:41:59,077
Yeah. And it wasn't going to happen.

721
00:41:59,160 --> 00:42:03,197
>> Yeah. And he says it. And

722
00:42:03,280 --> 00:42:07,317
he says, I look up at the universe. By
this point, I'm already practicing more.

723
00:42:07,400 --> 00:42:11,797
I said, "Please, let me remember
it in the morning." I wake up.

724
00:42:11,880 --> 00:42:15,877
and I call Miguel,
trademark, we work, let's

725
00:42:15,960 --> 00:42:19,677
go. Boom. Amazing. And it reminds me,
you just said something I think very

726
00:42:19,760 --> 00:42:24,317
important. It reminds me
of a story, Joseph in the Bible.

727
00:42:24,400 --> 00:42:28,117
He's born. He has all these dreams. He
dreams his father and his mother and his

728
00:42:28,200 --> 00:42:32,477
brothers will bow to him and his
brothers hate him for it. And they put

729
00:42:32,560 --> 00:42:36,077
him in the cave, they want to kill him,
then they decide to sell him. And no

730
00:42:36,160 --> 00:42:40,797
matter what happens, he looks up to
the heavens and he says it's God's will.

731
00:42:40,880 --> 00:42:44,597
The brother sold me, maybe it's my fault
I didn't speak. They sell him if you

732
00:42:44,680 --> 00:42:46,397
don't remember the story,
they sell him, he moves

733
00:42:46,480 --> 00:42:49,997
>> Into slavery. Into slavery, he becomes
slave to one of Pharaoh's right hand

734
00:42:50,080 --> 00:42:53,997
people. He then rises, always whatever
what, he always is blessed. He says

735
00:42:54,080 --> 00:42:57,877
God's will. And he rises, there is a
slave, he starts running the house. Then

736
00:42:57,960 --> 00:43:01,677
the woman of the house, her name was
Eshet Potiphar, she really she wants to

737
00:43:01,760 --> 00:43:05,717
sleep with him cuz he was he was he
he's defined as beautiful from the in and

738
00:43:05,800 --> 00:43:10,317
from the out. He's very handsome,
very smart. And she chases him, he doesn't

739
00:43:10,400 --> 00:43:14,317
want it, he runs away, the clothes gets
ripped, then she feels ashamed. She says

740
00:43:14,400 --> 00:43:18,157
he tries to rape her. He gets thrown
into prison and no matter what, God's

741
00:43:18,240 --> 00:43:21,117
will, God's will throughout his Then
in prison he climbs to the top, he's

742
00:43:21,200 --> 00:43:23,477
helping run the prisoners. God's will.

743
00:43:23,560 --> 00:43:28,557
Until after 10 years those two people
come, the two ministers that have dreams

744
00:43:28,640 --> 00:43:31,437
and interprets their dreams. One he says
Pharaoh will save you and the other one

745
00:43:31,520 --> 00:43:33,637
he says you will die in 3 days.

746
00:43:33,720 --> 00:43:37,637
And the why the one he says Pharaoh will
save you, he says to him on the way out,

747
00:43:37,720 --> 00:43:42,237
please don't forget me.
He suddenly gives up the belief that he

748
00:43:42,320 --> 00:43:45,837
had until then that that it's God's will,
God's will, God's He forgets for a

749
00:43:45,920 --> 00:43:48,637
second. It says that he gets punished to

750
00:43:48,720 --> 00:43:51,077
stay 2 more years. Now he's 12 years in

751
00:43:51,160 --> 00:43:53,477
prison and he gets to this night where

752
00:43:53,560 --> 00:43:58,797
he is done. He's ready to give up.
He says, "God, maybe I don't deserve it.

753
00:43:58,880 --> 00:44:02,597
Maybe I need to be in prison. I will
never leave." He gives up and lets go

754
00:44:02,680 --> 00:44:06,877
and goes to his lowest point. And in his
lowest point, and this I think is very

755
00:44:06,960 --> 00:44:10,477
important for us. When we are there,
and we all have a moment where in that

756
00:44:10,560 --> 00:44:13,157
lowest point, we get to choose.

757
00:44:13,240 --> 00:44:15,837
Do you choose belief, or don't you?

758
00:44:15,920 --> 00:44:19,957
And if you choose belief, and are able
to pick yourself up from that lowest

759
00:44:20,040 --> 00:44:24,757
point, boom, that's when it happens. In
the next second, Pharaoh has his dreams,

760
00:44:24,840 --> 00:44:28,477
can't interpret them, the guy remembers
he met this guy Joseph, this Hebrew

761
00:44:28,560 --> 00:44:31,117
slave. He says, "I I met a slave in in

762
00:44:31,200 --> 00:44:33,557
prison that that interpreted my dream."

763
00:44:33,640 --> 00:44:37,877
Brings him to Pharaoh, interprets
Pharaoh's dream, and goes from a slave

764
00:44:37,960 --> 00:44:42,157
to basically the CEO of Egypt, the number
two to the king, in one day. All

765
00:44:42,240 --> 00:44:45,357
the way from here to that. And to finish
that story, when his brothers there's a

766
00:44:45,440 --> 00:44:49,877
famine, the seven bad years, they come,
and he saves his family. And when his

767
00:44:49,960 --> 00:44:53,157
brothers see him, and they cry, and
they're so hurt, they say, "So sorry for

768
00:44:53,240 --> 00:44:57,317
what we did to you." He said to them,
"It was never you. I was here so we all

769
00:44:57,400 --> 00:44:59,997
could be saved. It's God's will."

770
00:45:00,080 --> 00:45:04,277
So, I think what you're saying is not
only true that in that moment that we

771
00:45:04,360 --> 00:45:06,717
let go. I also think it's the moment

772
00:45:06,800 --> 00:45:08,837
when we're at our lowest moment, and we

773
00:45:08,920 --> 00:45:11,997
let go, where we can choose

774
00:45:12,080 --> 00:45:14,677
to believe. Yeah. I think there's also

775
00:45:14,760 --> 00:45:16,997
something in that lowest moment where

776
00:45:17,080 --> 00:45:20,277
you're not doing the work.

777
00:45:20,360 --> 00:45:25,317
There's space. You said earlier,
in your life you were talking a lot, and

778
00:45:25,400 --> 00:45:27,757
you weren't listening.
When you're working,

779
00:45:27,840 --> 00:45:31,197
a lot of times you're talking talking
talking talking, and there's not the

780
00:45:31,280 --> 00:45:35,677
space. But when you run
out of steam talking,

781
00:45:35,760 --> 00:45:39,477
eventually, you're done.
And then there's space, and

782
00:45:39,560 --> 00:45:44,197
it's quiet, and then it can come through.

783
00:45:44,280 --> 00:45:47,120
And

784
00:45:47,880 --> 00:45:51,557
sometimes when we talk I'll talk about
myself. When I used to do it, I know I

785
00:45:51,640 --> 00:45:53,517
still do it, but I try to do it less.

786
00:45:53,600 --> 00:45:55,557
When I used to do it, I thought I was in

787
00:45:55,640 --> 00:45:59,157
control. When we think we're in control,

788
00:45:59,240 --> 00:46:02,877
that's when we really start losing
the game. Yeah. We're in control of our

789
00:46:02,960 --> 00:46:06,717
reaction Yes. to what happens.
Not of actually what happens.

790
00:46:06,800 --> 00:46:11,117
>> No, and we never know what's going
to happen next, really. We really don't.

791
00:46:11,200 --> 00:46:13,557
The only thing we know is that it's part

792
00:46:13,640 --> 00:46:18,237
of that movie that you described before
with the greatest director, writer,

793
00:46:18,320 --> 00:46:19,557
producer on the planet.

794
00:46:19,640 --> 00:46:23,597
>> Yes, and I'm always anxious to see

795
00:46:23,680 --> 00:46:27,517
what's the next scene, what's the next
chapter. You know, the nice thing about

796
00:46:27,600 --> 00:46:31,117
what you said is if you're patient,
you said anxious, but I bet you're also

797
00:46:31,200 --> 00:46:35,117
patient. Because if you're patient enough,

798
00:46:35,200 --> 00:46:39,037
the next chapter is could
be phenomenal. Yeah, I think

799
00:46:39,120 --> 00:46:43,797
there's no way to get
to greatness without patience.

800
00:46:43,880 --> 00:46:47,477
I think there is no way to get
to lasting greatness without patience. You

801
00:46:47,560 --> 00:46:51,037
could taste it. We all know so many
stories. I've been part of one of those

802
00:46:51,120 --> 00:46:53,397
stories. You could taste it, but it's

803
00:46:53,480 --> 00:46:55,037
not going to last. I think if you want

804
00:46:55,120 --> 00:46:58,557
lasting blessings or lasting greatness,

805
00:46:58,640 --> 00:47:02,157
you need patience. You need
to be aware that you're not in

806
00:47:02,240 --> 00:47:05,837
control. You need to accept the fact
that sometimes even though you don't

807
00:47:05,920 --> 00:47:08,837
know, and it's really, really scary,

808
00:47:08,920 --> 00:47:12,317
life is not about if you fell down.

809
00:47:12,400 --> 00:47:17,320
Life is only about how you get up.

810
00:47:17,760 --> 00:47:21,597
In a world of artificial highs
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Something precise.

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Nicotine is an addictive chemical. So,
you have the name and what happens next?

837
00:48:51,640 --> 00:48:55,277
It's miraculous. It's on fire.
What's the First thing you

838
00:48:55,360 --> 00:48:58,957
do? I go and find a building

839
00:48:59,040 --> 00:49:02,557
on Lafayette and Grand
that wasn't that cool yet.

840
00:49:02,640 --> 00:49:06,517
Former landlord that didn't
like to give any money.

841
00:49:06,600 --> 00:49:08,397
And was very was like one of those very

842
00:49:08,480 --> 00:49:10,117
tight landlords.

843
00:49:10,200 --> 00:49:15,477
And I convinced him to pay us enough
to build it. It had five floors.

844
00:49:15,560 --> 00:49:18,477
The idea was we'll rent the top floor
and then we'll do so well then we'll

845
00:49:18,560 --> 00:49:20,797
rent the floor below, the floor below,
the floor below. And the reason you're

846
00:49:20,880 --> 00:49:23,837
starting floor five, when you do
construction afterwards you're always

847
00:49:23,920 --> 00:49:27,437
doing below people and not above their
head. Making nice little nice noise was

848
00:49:27,520 --> 00:49:30,557
the thought. And I convinced
him to do the deal, but

849
00:49:30,640 --> 00:49:33,477
he has one thing, we must put $300,000

850
00:49:33,560 --> 00:49:35,477
in a letter of credit, otherwise

851
00:49:35,560 --> 00:49:38,957
we can't do it. The exact same $300,000

852
00:49:39,040 --> 00:49:42,557
that we got from the sale that the
partner was willing to give us before

853
00:49:42,640 --> 00:49:46,237
the installments.
Dollar for dollar, same amount. That

854
00:49:46,320 --> 00:49:50,437
same amount moves and I think that's how
energy moves when you're in flow. That

855
00:49:50,520 --> 00:49:54,557
energy moves from that idea that was
like you said the early Yeah. to a

856
00:49:54,640 --> 00:49:56,717
slightly more intentional oriented idea

857
00:49:56,800 --> 00:50:01,637
idea. Now it's there.
And we were under construction. We do

858
00:50:01,720 --> 00:50:05,317
the first floor. We get a very small
budget from him. She's amazing cuz never

859
00:50:05,400 --> 00:50:08,957
for the next 9 years in the history
of WeWork can we build for that price that

860
00:50:09,040 --> 00:50:11,357
we built the first time. Why?

861
00:50:11,440 --> 00:50:16,037
Cuz we were constrained.
Cuz constraints is the mother of all

862
00:50:16,120 --> 00:50:20,477
innovations. >> Yeah.
It It's what takes us to the next level.

863
00:50:20,560 --> 00:50:22,037
And

864
00:50:22,120 --> 00:50:25,997
when we design it, we build it.

865
00:50:26,080 --> 00:50:30,277
I still remember the night before Miguel
was about to have his first son. He He

866
00:50:30,360 --> 00:50:33,597
He gets overwhelmed the night before
and with a few employees we all go and

867
00:50:33,680 --> 00:50:38,277
finish it. And the place just it
fills up before within a month.

868
00:50:38,360 --> 00:50:40,197
99% full.

869
00:50:40,280 --> 00:50:43,157
Next month, next floor, next floor, next

870
00:50:43,240 --> 00:50:45,757
floor, next floor. And that's the case

871
00:50:45,840 --> 00:50:48,397
for and and the first building is done.

872
00:50:48,480 --> 00:50:50,637
And we go to the building two.

873
00:50:50,720 --> 00:50:54,037
We have no money. We raise
our first round and that's

874
00:50:54,120 --> 00:50:56,597
where it starts. Where is building two?

875
00:50:56,680 --> 00:51:00,717
Building two is on 35th and fifth right

876
00:51:00,800 --> 00:51:02,397
in front of the Empire State Building.

877
00:51:02,480 --> 00:51:06,357
Literally right in front, which at the
time was not considered a good location.

878
00:51:06,440 --> 00:51:10,277
Mhm. But for me being an outsider in New
York, what are you talking about? I can

879
00:51:10,360 --> 00:51:14,597
see the Empire State Building from the
roof. It's beautiful. Yeah. Sometimes

880
00:51:14,680 --> 00:51:18,157
I've learned this a lot in life. The ones
who know everything because they've

881
00:51:18,240 --> 00:51:20,357
been living in that market forever Yes.

882
00:51:20,440 --> 00:51:22,037
actually might be limited and for me

883
00:51:22,120 --> 00:51:24,117
coming from the outside

884
00:51:24,200 --> 00:51:29,677
a fresh set of eyes on any situation
or I like to think of it more as a

885
00:51:29,760 --> 00:51:32,717
childlike Yes. >> look.
Rebekah thinks she has seven

886
00:51:32,800 --> 00:51:36,597
children, not six, me being
the toughest one, number seven.

887
00:51:36,680 --> 00:51:39,957
I look at life as a child for good
or for bad, which allows me to see

888
00:51:40,040 --> 00:51:43,837
situations from the beginning.
So that's building number two.

889
00:51:43,920 --> 00:51:48,237
And and we raise our money
from a from the first person

890
00:51:48,320 --> 00:51:52,397
and we just start running.
My third building is in Meatpacking.

891
00:51:52,480 --> 00:51:55,837
The same time also as said New York
is happening Meatpacking is starting to

892
00:51:55,920 --> 00:51:57,957
happen. There was a club called Lotus.

893
00:51:58,040 --> 00:51:59,717
We used to go there every Tuesday every

894
00:51:59,800 --> 00:52:02,997
Tuesday night. Daniel was at the door

895
00:52:03,080 --> 00:52:07,357
and we we just loved the Meatpacking.
It was so I don't know if you remember

896
00:52:07,440 --> 00:52:10,837
Meatpacking back then. So cool.
The original restaurant before rent became

897
00:52:10,920 --> 00:52:14,637
expensive. It was such a great place
to be and I just wanted a building in the

898
00:52:14,720 --> 00:52:18,277
Meatpacking. I find the landlord that no
one can do. I I was very good at doing

899
00:52:18,360 --> 00:52:21,157
the deals with the ones that no one
can do the deals with. Find the landlord

900
00:52:21,240 --> 00:52:25,157
that is impossible. We become friends.
I understand him. He understands me.

901
00:52:25,240 --> 00:52:29,997
>> Also seems like as you have success
it's easier because you have examples.

902
00:52:30,080 --> 00:52:31,957
>> We're not there yet
because this is same

903
00:52:32,040 --> 00:52:36,237
year, right? This is early success.
So it is success but remember real estate

904
00:52:36,320 --> 00:52:38,837
people are very good at saying no.

905
00:52:38,920 --> 00:52:44,037
They know everything. Their business is
cyclical so they've been there done that.

906
00:52:44,120 --> 00:52:47,797
But at the same time if you remember
you're now 2010 office is only starting

907
00:52:47,880 --> 00:52:52,157
to be at the rise. So there's a lot of
empty space which gives us an opportunity.

908
00:52:52,240 --> 00:52:57,197
So we do Meatpacking which is amazing
and I want to do San Francisco. And the

909
00:52:57,280 --> 00:53:00,317
reason I want to do San Francisco,
I want it to be a national brand and my

910
00:53:00,400 --> 00:53:04,157
head was like, "Okay, we'll be national
by being on two coasts." So we go from

911
00:53:04,240 --> 00:53:08,477
So that So three is the answer
and number four is San Francisco.

912
00:53:08,560 --> 00:53:11,517
>> And how was the reaction?
>> Tenderloin. How was the reaction in San

913
00:53:11,600 --> 00:53:16,437
Francisco? The concept of people wanting
to be part of something greater than

914
00:53:16,520 --> 00:53:20,437
themselves and wanting
to be part of the community.

915
00:53:20,520 --> 00:53:24,157
And when you start business and you have
one or two employees or by yourself to

916
00:53:24,240 --> 00:53:28,917
go to the coffee machine and talk
to someone, to meet an accountant uh

917
00:53:29,000 --> 00:53:32,997
today, we'll talk about it later with AI,
the world is different. But to need

918
00:53:33,080 --> 00:53:36,277
all this help and meet five different
people around the coffee machine that

919
00:53:36,360 --> 00:53:40,757
can just you can just talk to, to share
the struggles and the successes with

920
00:53:40,840 --> 00:53:43,117
people in a like-minded place

921
00:53:43,200 --> 00:53:45,757
was relevant all over the planet. Yeah.

922
00:53:45,840 --> 00:53:50,117
It made as much It made tremendous
amount of sense back then. The only time

923
00:53:50,200 --> 00:53:54,517
I would say it makes more sense is today.
Yeah. Because the more people

924
00:53:54,600 --> 00:53:58,277
are getting connected digitally the less
they are connected physically and the

925
00:53:58,360 --> 00:54:01,837
more they crave it. But back then it
was unbelievable in San Francisco as an

926
00:54:01,920 --> 00:54:05,077
answer. And then did you do more
in San Francisco or did you spread out?

927
00:54:05,160 --> 00:54:10,197
>> Adam, back then was very
busy doing push everything out.

928
00:54:10,280 --> 00:54:12,877
By the time I did San Francisco, I might
have done two I might have done one or

929
00:54:12,960 --> 00:54:17,397
two more buildings. But I was ready
to go global. Yeah. I wanted London. Yeah.

930
00:54:17,480 --> 00:54:20,357
And people were like, Adam, no, you
can't go to London. Said, why? It's the

931
00:54:20,440 --> 00:54:23,237
same language, similar accounting
system, similar law. What's the big

932
00:54:23,320 --> 00:54:25,677
deal? Same website. What's the big deal?

933
00:54:25,760 --> 00:54:28,317
Like, Adam, it's London.
It's a different time zone.

934
00:54:28,400 --> 00:54:32,357
So from after doing a few buildings,
I go to London. And what's interesting

935
00:54:32,440 --> 00:54:36,957
about London, London is the inventor
of the original co-working, right? Regus.

936
00:54:37,040 --> 00:54:40,717
The original company that did this
from the '80s, I believe, is there.

937
00:54:40,800 --> 00:54:43,317
So everybody was like, no, it's not
going to work as well in London because

938
00:54:43,400 --> 00:54:47,837
it exists there. In my opinion,
and I feel it's stronger even today,

939
00:54:47,920 --> 00:54:51,117
when you go to a place where people
know of a new concept, but you bring

940
00:54:51,200 --> 00:54:54,557
something innovative, you do even better
than when you have to convince everybody

941
00:54:54,640 --> 00:54:57,557
about a new concept.
So we then go to London and it goes

942
00:54:57,640 --> 00:54:59,437
really well. It basically for the

943
00:54:59,520 --> 00:55:02,437
following 5 years goes unbelievably well

944
00:55:02,520 --> 00:55:05,157
wherever you go. And just to to give it

945
00:55:05,240 --> 00:55:07,717
weight, from year one doing one building

946
00:55:07,800 --> 00:55:12,237
in the first year, and year
two adding I believe three,

947
00:55:12,320 --> 00:55:16,517
you go to a near nine
doing two buildings a day.

948
00:55:16,600 --> 00:55:18,997
In a 100 buildings >> a day. A day.

949
00:55:19,080 --> 00:55:20,157
Nine years.

950
00:55:20,240 --> 00:55:24,797
Two buildings a day in 130 cities,

951
00:55:24,880 --> 00:55:28,277
50 countries, five continents, 72

952
00:55:28,360 --> 00:55:32,317
languages. And when I count today,
I only count business days. So that's 5

953
00:55:32,400 --> 00:55:34,757
days a week, not including holidays.

954
00:55:34,840 --> 00:55:38,997
So you do about three to So you do over
400, maybe you do a crazy amount in that

955
00:55:39,080 --> 00:55:41,717
last year. It's just unbelievable story.

956
00:55:41,800 --> 00:55:44,277
It was an amazing journey and you
know something about the journey that

957
00:55:44,360 --> 00:55:47,797
sometimes doesn't get spoken enough.
To do what I just said,

958
00:55:47,880 --> 00:55:50,157
you need an unbelievable

959
00:55:50,240 --> 00:55:54,917
team that believes. Cuz this is not
technology that's breathing. Not only

960
00:55:55,000 --> 00:55:58,797
can you not breathe everywhere, this
is physical labor. Yes. This is this is

961
00:55:58,880 --> 00:56:02,797
this is a architecture and all these
languages. This is construction. This is

962
00:56:02,880 --> 00:56:04,557
management and it's operations and

963
00:56:04,640 --> 00:56:07,597
hospitality and accounting and and and

964
00:56:07,680 --> 00:56:10,397
and and Yeah. And the thing about WeWork

965
00:56:10,480 --> 00:56:15,237
that I was so the thing I would say
is that team was phenomenal. Yeah. Because

966
00:56:15,320 --> 00:56:19,197
they believed. And then if you ask them,
I met I just met one of them few weeks

967
00:56:19,280 --> 00:56:22,917
ago. He works in Archer, which is the
vertical takeoff drones. They're doing

968
00:56:23,000 --> 00:56:26,437
really well. And he's a top five
and he used to be one of our heads of

969
00:56:26,520 --> 00:56:29,997
construction. And he sees me very nice
and he says, "Adam, I just want you to

970
00:56:30,080 --> 00:56:33,357
know the reason I'm doing so well
is because of everything you taught me at

971
00:56:33,440 --> 00:56:36,797
WeWork." And I said, "I didn't teach you
how to work in a vertical takeoff drone

972
00:56:36,880 --> 00:56:40,717
company. Like, what does construction
have to do with that?" He said, "No.

973
00:56:40,800 --> 00:56:45,277
You taught me that if I put my mind into
it and I get a team to work with me and

974
00:56:45,360 --> 00:56:49,517
I put purpose and mission first, I can
do anything I want and that has worked

975
00:56:49,600 --> 00:56:54,077
phenomenally for me." So,
that's the first 5 years.

976
00:56:54,160 --> 00:56:57,837
It then turns a little,
but that's for another time.

977
00:56:57,920 --> 00:57:00,837
Do you think the success had to do with

978
00:57:00,920 --> 00:57:04,157
the concept or with your personal will?

979
00:57:04,240 --> 00:57:06,837
In hindsight, I think the success was

980
00:57:06,920 --> 00:57:12,117
accumulation of every single
thing that I did leading to that.

981
00:57:12,200 --> 00:57:16,597
It's the childhood. It's the challenges.

982
00:57:16,680 --> 00:57:21,797
It's the parents that were always
giving as doctors. It's the kibbutz.

983
00:57:21,880 --> 00:57:25,077
It's the learning how
to serve at the age of 18.

984
00:57:25,160 --> 00:57:27,477
It's living with Adi, my sister, in New

985
00:57:27,560 --> 00:57:28,997
York City and experiencing this

986
00:57:29,080 --> 00:57:32,997
unbelievable city that inspired me.

987
00:57:33,080 --> 00:57:36,237
It's my friend Andrew Finkelstein
who teaches me about America and about

988
00:57:36,320 --> 00:57:38,117
culture and about movies and about all

989
00:57:38,200 --> 00:57:43,520
these beautiful things that
inspire me and get me excited.

990
00:57:43,920 --> 00:57:47,437
And it's this belief

991
00:57:47,520 --> 00:57:50,077
in something

992
00:57:50,160 --> 00:57:55,157
that I that I play a part
in something bigger than me, that I can

993
00:57:55,240 --> 00:57:58,237
make a difference.
Maybe sometimes it feels big and

994
00:57:58,320 --> 00:58:01,957
sometimes it feels small, but there's
a mission for me on this planet, there's a

995
00:58:02,040 --> 00:58:05,037
message. For me it's more community

996
00:58:05,120 --> 00:58:08,997
and that message needs to be told,
it needs to be heard, and as long as I

997
00:58:09,080 --> 00:58:15,320
stick to it and don't forget it
and put that first, nothing can stop me.

998
00:58:23,280 --> 00:58:29,560
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1019
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How come you about SoftBank and Masa?

1020
00:59:53,720 --> 00:59:56,157
I was planning we were going to talk
about feelings and we're actually

1021
00:59:56,240 --> 01:00:01,237
talking about real life about I love it.

1022
01:00:01,320 --> 01:00:05,037
First, I'll start with the most
important thing to say about Masa cuz

1023
01:00:05,120 --> 01:00:08,637
for me it's Masa. It's SoftBank is the
company that he created and SoftBank is

1024
01:00:08,720 --> 01:00:13,557
great, but it's Masa.
When Masa walks the first time into

1025
01:00:13,640 --> 01:00:17,277
WeWork, he goes like this,

1026
01:00:17,360 --> 01:00:20,397
"It smells like a factory of dreams.

1027
01:00:20,480 --> 01:00:24,117
Wow. You're not manufacturing
business here. Wow.

1028
01:00:24,200 --> 01:00:26,357
>> You're making dreams." What a beautiful

1029
01:00:26,440 --> 01:00:29,357
line. What a beautiful statement. And I

1030
01:00:29,440 --> 01:00:33,797
am I get shivers all over
my body and I was like, "Adam,

1031
01:00:33,880 --> 01:00:37,397
he just met someone who
thinks bigger than you." Yeah.

1032
01:00:37,480 --> 01:00:40,037
I didn't even know where it came from.

1033
01:00:40,120 --> 01:00:41,717
And then he just kept talking.

1034
01:00:41,800 --> 01:00:45,677
I didn't even know where it came from
and he was supposed to come for an hour

1035
01:00:45,760 --> 01:00:49,317
and a half and he only had 12 minutes.

1036
01:00:49,400 --> 01:00:53,837
This all this in the 12 minutes he says
that and my HQ my headquarters my where

1037
01:00:53,920 --> 01:00:57,237
I sit when I used to bring investors had
this whole tour through our HQ I would

1038
01:00:57,320 --> 01:01:00,677
do. On the fifth floor I was never
getting there. So, I took him into our

1039
01:01:00,760 --> 01:01:04,117
innovation center and introduced him to
two residents cuz our buildings I always

1040
01:01:04,200 --> 01:01:07,357
wanted to work in buildings where
customers were there, members so I could

1041
01:01:07,440 --> 01:01:08,997
always hear from them in the elevator.

1042
01:01:09,080 --> 01:01:11,997
Yeah. They love telling me what's
wrong and I love hearing. Yeah. So, I

1043
01:01:12,080 --> 01:01:15,757
introduced him to two
residents, two members

1044
01:01:15,840 --> 01:01:20,517
and he says what he says. He looks at me.
He goes, "This is great. I need to

1045
01:01:20,600 --> 01:01:24,117
go uptown. Would you like to join me
in the car? We could talk some more.

1046
01:01:24,200 --> 01:01:28,477
I said, of course.
And he walks into We go into the car.

1047
01:01:28,560 --> 01:01:33,477
Have this whole presentation. Closes the
door and like, forget your presentation.

1048
01:01:33,560 --> 01:01:36,277
So, what do I do? I said,
your team told me there's no

1049
01:01:36,360 --> 01:01:40,200
deal making.
We're only talking high level.

1050
01:01:40,840 --> 01:01:44,877
I think I need to add something
to this if if this is where we're going.

1051
01:01:44,960 --> 01:01:46,197
The night before we have a board

1052
01:01:46,280 --> 01:01:49,237
meeting. This is 2016 towards the end.

1053
01:01:49,320 --> 01:01:53,637
And we decide as a board we could turn
our business profitable whenever we want

1054
01:01:53,720 --> 01:01:56,557
because we're growing. That business
is called about Green Desk. Never stopped

1055
01:01:56,640 --> 01:02:00,237
being profitable. >> just slow down
building and you'd be profitable.

1056
01:02:00,320 --> 01:02:04,637
>> Or even better. You stop. You let
the machine catch up with you cuz you've

1057
01:02:04,720 --> 01:02:08,757
done so much. You actually take account
inventory of where you're at, which is

1058
01:02:08,840 --> 01:02:13,037
There is no way to grow as fast as we
were one of the fastest, maybe fastest

1059
01:02:13,120 --> 01:02:16,077
physically growing
business on the planet. Yes.

1060
01:02:16,160 --> 01:02:19,997
>> No matter how good at what you do you
are. Yes. You will never be able to do

1061
01:02:20,080 --> 01:02:22,677
that perfectly right. You stop. You let

1062
01:02:22,760 --> 01:02:27,557
the deals catch up with you. And you
reconsider everything you're doing. You

1063
01:02:27,640 --> 01:02:30,757
look at everybody. Are everybody in the
right roles? Do I have enough employees?

1064
01:02:30,840 --> 01:02:33,677
Do I have too many employees? Is our
technology working? What do we need to

1065
01:02:33,760 --> 01:02:37,437
do? You take a moment cuz up
until this point you're sprinting.

1066
01:02:37,520 --> 01:02:40,917
I think sprinting would
be an understatement.

1067
01:02:41,000 --> 01:02:44,157
I think if you came cuz I know you
a little bit, I think you would have told

1068
01:02:44,240 --> 01:02:47,397
me after our meeting that you need
to take 10 minutes and meditate before you

1069
01:02:47,480 --> 01:02:50,437
go downstairs. Yeah. Because you would
have felt that you cuz that energy I

1070
01:02:50,520 --> 01:02:54,877
think you would have loved it.
But that energy was electric. We were

1071
01:02:54,960 --> 01:02:59,197
flying. He used to say outside of my door,
we do the impossible every day,

1072
01:02:59,280 --> 01:03:03,237
miracles once a week.
And we did We meant it. Yeah. We meant

1073
01:03:03,320 --> 01:03:07,157
it. And it happened. It happened. It
happened. We meant it. It was happening.

1074
01:03:07,240 --> 01:03:10,517
How big is WeWork in 2016?
>> I would need to go back. It's been some

1075
01:03:10,600 --> 01:03:14,917
time. Approximately, I'm going to guess
I I I remember it by buildings and

1076
01:03:15,000 --> 01:03:16,157
revenue.

1077
01:03:16,240 --> 01:03:19,637
WeWork is at

1078
01:03:19,720 --> 01:03:23,037
$450 million revenue

1079
01:03:23,120 --> 01:03:26,837
going to 900 million. So, we're
is doubling not just in size every year,

1080
01:03:26,920 --> 01:03:29,677
but in revenue. Which then
doubles your expenses and the

1081
01:03:29,760 --> 01:03:31,997
growth and everything that comes. It's

1082
01:03:32,080 --> 01:03:35,157
a $16 company of its last valuation.

1083
01:03:35,240 --> 01:03:36,997
It's for sure in Europe,

1084
01:03:37,080 --> 01:03:38,877
in the United States, and in Latin

1085
01:03:38,960 --> 01:03:43,197
America. Wow. At this point. I will fly.

1086
01:03:43,280 --> 01:03:47,077
And we're working. We are working many,
many, many hours. Everyone, the

1087
01:03:47,160 --> 01:03:50,237
employees, myself,
everyone's working non-stop.

1088
01:03:50,320 --> 01:03:54,037
We have the board meeting the night
before and we agree. We say

1089
01:03:54,120 --> 01:03:57,317
Adam is going to We're going to go out
to raise money one more time. One of my

1090
01:03:57,400 --> 01:04:01,357
abilities is that I am able to raise
money because I'm able to bring people

1091
01:04:01,440 --> 01:04:04,757
with me towards the direction I want
to go and I'm also for people who know me,

1092
01:04:04,840 --> 01:04:07,917
I keep my word. If I say we're going
to double by this number, I do. If I say

1093
01:04:08,000 --> 01:04:10,757
we're going to hit this goal, I do.
So, people who get to know me People The

1094
01:04:10,840 --> 01:04:14,277
best people for me to raise money for a
second time, people who passed the first

1095
01:04:14,360 --> 01:04:17,197
time, but heard what I said, and then I
come to them the next time say, "Let me

1096
01:04:17,280 --> 01:04:18,997
show you what I did since we met." Yeah.

1097
01:04:19,080 --> 01:04:21,597
And they're like, "Oh, wow. You told us
10 things we thought you were going to

1098
01:04:21,680 --> 01:04:26,277
do one, you did nine." And then they
would want to join the the the journey.

1099
01:04:26,360 --> 01:04:29,557
And so, this we had the board meeting
and we decide that I am going to raise

1100
01:04:29,640 --> 01:04:33,597
300 million. Mhm. We're going to take
a pause. Yeah. We're going to clean

1101
01:04:33,680 --> 01:04:36,557
everything up. Yeah. We're going to turn
the company profitable, stop signing

1102
01:04:36,640 --> 01:04:39,317
leases. We're going
to take the company public.

1103
01:04:39,400 --> 01:04:42,637
And not only are we going to take
the company public to 2016 going to 2017,

1104
01:04:42,720 --> 01:04:45,637
we're not going to worry about
our last valuation of 16 billion.

1105
01:04:45,720 --> 01:04:48,797
We're going to take it for 10. Again,
but at this point, we weren't using

1106
01:04:48,880 --> 01:04:52,317
valuations. At least
on my side and my executive

1107
01:04:52,400 --> 01:04:56,877
team. We believed that our solution is so
correct and and it worked everywhere.

1108
01:04:56,960 --> 01:04:59,477
There was not a place on the planet you
open this thing and it didn't work. We

1109
01:04:59,560 --> 01:05:04,317
knew had proof. We had proof, we had
belief, we had everything we needed to

1110
01:05:04,400 --> 01:05:07,917
know and the plan was solid.
You slow down first and

1111
01:05:08,000 --> 01:05:10,917
and the next morning I meet Masa. And we

1112
01:05:11,000 --> 01:05:14,957
sit in his car at the store I told you,
happens what happens. He invites me into

1113
01:05:15,040 --> 01:05:17,557
his car. We sit in the car and says,
"What's the deal? How much are you

1114
01:05:17,640 --> 01:05:20,677
looking for?" So, again, it happened
the night before and I'm already this By

1115
01:05:20,760 --> 01:05:24,237
this stage, I am studying spirituality
and I believe there's no It's not cause

1116
01:05:24,320 --> 01:05:27,317
and effect. I believe in cause and effect,
but I believe Wow, we said it

1117
01:05:27,400 --> 01:05:29,117
yesterday and it's happening today.

1118
01:05:29,200 --> 01:05:32,717
Yeah. So, I'm going to tell him the number
we said. Yeah. Raising 300 million. Yeah.

1119
01:05:32,800 --> 01:05:35,997
>> At a 20 billion-dollar valuation,
cuz the last one was 16.

1120
01:05:36,080 --> 01:05:40,597
He looks at me and goes,
"But I know I must say

1121
01:05:40,680 --> 01:05:44,117
I have the Vision Fund. It's going to be
a hundred-billion-dollar Vision Fund. It

1122
01:05:44,200 --> 01:05:48,197
could take a long time to spend a hundred
billion dollar 300 million dollar checks.

1123
01:05:48,280 --> 01:05:50,637
Don't you have a bigger
vision, a bigger picture?"

1124
01:05:50,720 --> 01:05:53,717
I said, "I do, but you know that that
would be very a big amount for us to

1125
01:05:53,800 --> 01:05:57,837
raise." He said, "Well, tell me, if you
could do anything, what would you How

1126
01:05:57,920 --> 01:06:00,557
would you be How big can this company be?"

1127
01:06:00,640 --> 01:06:03,557
I said, "This company can be as big as
as much money as you inject into it. You

1128
01:06:03,640 --> 01:06:06,837
put money on one side, you get growth on
that. I haven't missed my numbers once."

1129
01:06:06,920 --> 01:06:09,357
Remember, by this point, 2010 to 11, I

1130
01:06:09,440 --> 01:06:13,917
grow 3x. First time I grow 3x, 3x, 3x
and then 2x, 2x, 2x, but I don't miss my

1131
01:06:14,000 --> 01:06:16,157
growth. Yeah. I said, "Look, we're 450.

1132
01:06:16,240 --> 01:06:19,717
I'll hit 900 million next year, then
a billion eight, then 3.6." It's going to

1133
01:06:19,800 --> 01:06:23,037
keep Depends how much money
you want to put in the machine.

1134
01:06:23,120 --> 01:06:26,837
And he says, "Well, what do you think
about Southeast Asia?" I said, "I've

1135
01:06:26,920 --> 01:06:29,477
never been there." He said, "Well,
do you think the concept will work there?"

1136
01:06:29,560 --> 01:06:32,597
I said, "I'm sure it will, but I would
need to learn about it." Yeah. He said,

1137
01:06:32,680 --> 01:06:34,397
"Well, we should do a company there."

1138
01:06:34,480 --> 01:06:37,797
And then he said, "What do you think
about China?" Oh, sorry, when I said

1139
01:06:37,880 --> 01:06:40,997
we're in all those places, I forgot
to mention we're already in China also by

1140
01:06:41,080 --> 01:06:43,677
that point. Really? >> So,
when Must I comes, we're in China,

1141
01:06:43,760 --> 01:06:48,157
Latin America, Europe, and the US. And
China already is a free-standing company

1142
01:06:48,240 --> 01:06:51,237
that we raised locally at a 2
billion-dollar valuation. And the reason

1143
01:06:51,320 --> 01:06:54,317
I raised the local company, if the locals
don't believe in it, I don't want

1144
01:06:54,400 --> 01:06:57,877
to enter a market that that's hard.
So, that was my litmus test, litmus test,

1145
01:06:57,960 --> 01:07:01,317
and worked out very well. And he says
to me, "Well, what Southeast Asia?" I say,

1146
01:07:01,400 --> 01:07:04,597
"Yes." He said, "Well, we can write
this size check there." And then he says,

1147
01:07:04,680 --> 01:07:06,957
"What about Japan?" I said, "I really
don't know anything about Japan." He

1148
01:07:07,040 --> 01:07:10,037
said, "Well, I don't I know Japan and
tells me the whole story of Yahoo Japan

1149
01:07:10,120 --> 01:07:13,797
and how at some point Yahoo Japan was
bigger than all of Yahoo and said okay,

1150
01:07:13,880 --> 01:07:16,997
we could do that together and then he
said China you could go much bigger in

1151
01:07:17,080 --> 01:07:19,597
China and the 300 million request

1152
01:07:19,680 --> 01:07:24,437
becomes a 3 billion

1153
01:07:24,520 --> 01:07:27,317
big change >> big change
and it's all written down and

1154
01:07:27,400 --> 01:07:32,637
it's all in 28 minutes in 28 minutes the
from the moment we started writing till

1155
01:07:32,720 --> 01:07:36,557
the moment we arrived 28 minutes but
we're not there we're only 20 minute 22

1156
01:07:36,640 --> 01:07:40,277
and he's writing all of it down on an
iPad and he looks at it and he goes and

1157
01:07:40,360 --> 01:07:44,037
and and I said but I can't take this
much dilution into into into we were I

1158
01:07:44,120 --> 01:07:47,397
don't need this much I need 300 I don't
maybe I could take you know maybe a

1159
01:07:47,480 --> 01:07:50,757
billion but it's like I said no but we
will find Southeast Asia as a separate

1160
01:07:50,840 --> 01:07:54,557
company China already was separate
Japan will be separate so this way so you

1161
01:07:54,640 --> 01:07:58,477
don't just have WeWork as one valuation
you have all these separate companies

1162
01:07:58,560 --> 01:08:01,797
with their own valuations and again
that money in them because we have a team

1163
01:08:01,880 --> 01:08:06,557
that can execute will become successful
businesses they the the right he was not

1164
01:08:06,640 --> 01:08:09,237
wrong the recipe was in place he was very

1165
01:08:09,320 --> 01:08:13,680
right and then he says

1166
01:08:14,880 --> 01:08:18,437
let's make it 4 billion I said
I don't have I I don't have it in

1167
01:08:18,520 --> 01:08:22,037
me this is me and this is this I said I
I don't have it in me I don't I don't I

1168
01:08:22,120 --> 01:08:25,037
don't know where I would put
it >> were you scared at all

1169
01:08:25,120 --> 01:08:29,677
it sounds scary you know I'm
in my mid-30s I think some I so

1170
01:08:29,760 --> 01:08:33,357
my lesson in hindsight after
a lot of time of reflection

1171
01:08:33,440 --> 01:08:36,797
when you tell the universe you're
looking for 300 million and the next day

1172
01:08:36,880 --> 01:08:40,717
a guy offers you 4 billion instead
of signing the dotted line you take a

1173
01:08:40,800 --> 01:08:44,317
breath and say why what
does it come with what am I

1174
01:08:44,400 --> 01:08:47,837
committing to is there
something here I don't see

1175
01:08:47,920 --> 01:08:51,597
but to be fair including
myself most 30-something year

1176
01:08:51,680 --> 01:08:56,437
old sitting in that seat too
you got to have those numbers I

1177
01:08:56,520 --> 01:08:59,837
is it the Israeli from the kibbutz who
came to New York City and lived with the

1178
01:08:59,920 --> 01:09:02,837
sister who was paying his rent for the
first 6 years and then Rebecca paying

1179
01:09:02,920 --> 01:09:06,157
for the following 3 years.
I go, "What am I going to do with

1180
01:09:06,240 --> 01:09:08,597
another billion?" He said,
"You'll do secondary."

1181
01:09:08,680 --> 01:09:11,997
For you and for all your investors and
for all your employees and and everybody

1182
01:09:12,080 --> 01:09:14,517
will have an exit, so they feel this.

1183
01:09:14,600 --> 01:09:19,757
Okay, that's And

1184
01:09:19,840 --> 01:09:24,837
I should have been scared.
I wasn't. I should have been scared.

1185
01:09:24,920 --> 01:09:28,477
I've never thought about this before.
I should have been terrified. Yeah.

1186
01:09:28,560 --> 01:09:31,077
Because I was way more I should have

1187
01:09:31,160 --> 01:09:32,797
done that first lesson that I learned in

1188
01:09:32,880 --> 01:09:35,957
Kabbalah, pause. But I wonder.

1189
01:09:36,040 --> 01:09:40,037
But I didn't. Yeah. I took that
pen and I signed that document.

1190
01:09:40,120 --> 01:09:44,637
>> Right there. On the spot.
On the spot. He offered it on the spot.

1191
01:09:44,720 --> 01:09:49,157
>> Amazing. >> on in the art of the deal,
which I know you're master of.

1192
01:09:49,240 --> 01:09:52,997
Still sometimes have momentum. They have
moments. They're second in time, just

1193
01:09:53,080 --> 01:09:56,397
like channeling. Yeah. But the deal can
go from both sides and just I want to

1194
01:09:56,480 --> 01:10:00,677
make this clear. Not only do I
not blame myself for anything.

1195
01:10:00,760 --> 01:10:03,997
>> No. I am so grateful.
>> Yeah. So appreciative.

1196
01:10:04,080 --> 01:10:07,677
>> He saw the vision.
>> He trusted more He trusted completely.

1197
01:10:07,760 --> 01:10:11,117
Yeah. I walk out

1198
01:10:11,200 --> 01:10:13,117
>> How could you be
mad at that guy? I walk

1199
01:10:13,200 --> 01:10:16,637
up because other people many times after
Oh, he pushed you to grow so fast. We're

1200
01:10:16,720 --> 01:10:19,837
we're going to say what happened. We're
going to get there, but I couldn't be. I

1201
01:10:19,920 --> 01:10:23,797
couldn't be. I wouldn't be. There's
nothing If he called me today Yeah. and

1202
01:10:23,880 --> 01:10:25,717
said, "Adam, I need this or that." I am

1203
01:10:25,800 --> 01:10:29,437
on that plane and with him as fast as as

1204
01:10:29,520 --> 01:10:31,637
as engines can take me. Of course.

1205
01:10:31,720 --> 01:10:35,997
Straight away. I walk out of that car

1206
01:10:36,080 --> 01:10:40,640
and that is the Again, in hindsight,
I couldn't know at that moment.

1207
01:10:41,000 --> 01:10:43,797
That's when a mission-driven company

1208
01:10:43,880 --> 01:10:47,957
that was based on belief that came
from kibbutz, that came from

1209
01:10:48,040 --> 01:10:52,637
all the right things
with all the right energies

1210
01:10:52,720 --> 01:10:57,277
switched to become about growth, money,

1211
01:10:57,360 --> 01:11:02,077
and valuation. And because you've
had now a commitment to live up to.

1212
01:11:02,160 --> 01:11:06,397
Before that, you were building you
wanted to build as fast as you could.

1213
01:11:06,480 --> 01:11:08,637
But you were building at the fastest

1214
01:11:08,720 --> 01:11:11,077
pace you could with what you had. And

1215
01:11:11,160 --> 01:11:14,637
now you're put in the situation of

1216
01:11:14,720 --> 01:11:17,117
multiplying it by a hundred times. Yes,

1217
01:11:17,200 --> 01:11:19,157
but I want to take more accountability

1218
01:11:19,240 --> 01:11:22,837
than that. Before all that happened,

1219
01:11:22,920 --> 01:11:26,557
I had a choice.
I could walk out of that car, take a

1220
01:11:26,640 --> 01:11:31,837
deep breath, really pause,
maybe go talk to Rebecca,

1221
01:11:31,920 --> 01:11:35,477
go talk to some of my spiritual teachers,
go to people I know who have

1222
01:11:35,560 --> 01:11:39,597
more experience than me. Mhm.
I signed already. Let's say this I I

1223
01:11:39,680 --> 01:11:42,837
thought about this many times. I could
have not not signed. That wasn't in the

1224
01:11:42,920 --> 01:11:49,360
cards. Not that Adam then No, maybe
Buddha could. I could have not not signed.

1225
01:11:51,520 --> 01:11:55,237
I could have taken a deep breath and said
to myself, this is more money than

1226
01:11:55,320 --> 01:11:59,397
I've ever touched.
This is a tremendous responsibility.

1227
01:11:59,480 --> 01:12:02,277
Yes, he wants me to grow very fast, but
that's not what he really wants. What he

1228
01:12:02,360 --> 01:12:04,757
really wants is the result
in five years from now.

1229
01:12:04,840 --> 01:12:07,997
What would be the best way?
And I could have thought for a second

1230
01:12:08,080 --> 01:12:11,197
about my spiritual studies
by this point about five years

1231
01:12:11,280 --> 01:12:14,757
that when things come really easy,
we tend to not appreciate them. And we

1232
01:12:14,840 --> 01:12:17,917
don't appreciate them,
we tend to short circuit.

1233
01:12:18,000 --> 01:12:21,837
And but I didn't. Instead of that, and I

1234
01:12:21,920 --> 01:12:25,757
remember it, I walked it was like 58th
Street, I think, where is and our HQ was

1235
01:12:25,840 --> 01:12:28,957
on 18. I walked down New York City.

1236
01:12:29,040 --> 01:12:34,397
Every step I took, the ego went up.
It was under control.

1237
01:12:34,480 --> 01:12:37,597
It was there, but I had Rebecca and I
had my kids and I this I have I have a

1238
01:12:37,680 --> 01:12:40,757
beautiful relationship where I
get given feedback all the time

1239
01:12:40,840 --> 01:12:43,677
with the executives, with the teacher
that we worked with. There are a lot of

1240
01:12:43,760 --> 01:12:46,117
controls around us to keep it.

1241
01:12:46,200 --> 01:12:48,637
But it went above my threshold, above my

1242
01:12:48,720 --> 01:12:51,157
spiritual level at the time. Yeah. And

1243
01:12:51,240 --> 01:12:55,597
it came up and I walked into that HQ

1244
01:12:55,680 --> 01:12:59,397
a different version of myself. A lesser

1245
01:12:59,480 --> 01:13:04,197
The The purpose and the mission
suddenly became not the goal.

1246
01:13:04,280 --> 01:13:07,477
The revenue, those promises that were
made on growth and revenue became the

1247
01:13:07,560 --> 01:13:11,437
goal. Yeah. But that wasn't the DNA of
what we built. I'm not saying that there

1248
01:13:11,520 --> 01:13:13,237
aren't companies that
could be built that way.

1249
01:13:13,320 --> 01:13:18,477
>> Yes. I, Adam, don't operate that way.
I cannot build a company that way. Yeah.

1250
01:13:18,560 --> 01:13:20,037
And then we really started growing fast.

1251
01:13:20,120 --> 01:13:23,757
Fasty fast was fast before then then we
started flying. I feel like you're being

1252
01:13:23,840 --> 01:13:28,637
very hard on yourself considering
you've been in business for 5 years, 6

1253
01:13:28,720 --> 01:13:32,077
years. You've been sprinting or flying the

1254
01:13:32,160 --> 01:13:35,757
whole time only having success.

1255
01:13:35,840 --> 01:13:40,357
And here's someone who believes in you
even more than you believe in yourself

1256
01:13:40,440 --> 01:13:44,517
saying you can do this.
Saying you can do this. I don't know

1257
01:13:44,600 --> 01:13:45,917
anyone

1258
01:13:46,000 --> 01:13:49,197
in that position who could not not move

1259
01:13:49,280 --> 01:13:53,357
forward with that.
I appreciate you saying that.

1260
01:13:53,440 --> 01:13:56,797
I don't view my words
that I just said as hard.

1261
01:13:56,880 --> 01:14:01,277
I cherish that moment because in hindsight

1262
01:14:01,360 --> 01:14:03,477
that is what made me who I am today.

1263
01:14:03,560 --> 01:14:07,837
Yeah. Yeah.

1264
01:14:07,920 --> 01:14:11,917
In general I think for me

1265
01:14:12,000 --> 01:14:14,157
I think it's relevant for other people.

1266
01:14:14,240 --> 01:14:17,837
If we can start taking those moments
that at the moment we can view as a

1267
01:14:17,920 --> 01:14:21,317
mistake and actually say

1268
01:14:21,400 --> 01:14:26,837
it's not a mistake. It's exactly what
needed to happen as long as I can learn

1269
01:14:26,920 --> 01:14:30,877
from it. Yeah. If I can
learn from it Yeah. it's meant

1270
01:14:30,960 --> 01:14:32,197
to be and it's part of my journey.

1271
01:14:32,280 --> 01:14:36,317
That's cool. If I'm going to go and make
that mistake that decision again, that

1272
01:14:36,400 --> 01:14:38,437
makes it a mistake. Yeah. But yes,

1273
01:14:38,520 --> 01:14:41,637
that's where we were. Is there a world

1274
01:14:41,720 --> 01:14:45,997
in what Mass believed could have happened?

1275
01:14:46,080 --> 01:14:49,037
100%. Yeah. So it was possible.

1276
01:14:49,120 --> 01:14:51,957
>> We were very close if I

1277
01:14:52,040 --> 01:14:56,157
played 2019 differently,
there's a very high likelihood that it

1278
01:14:56,240 --> 01:15:01,197
would. But, it's very
important to say Yeah.

1279
01:15:01,280 --> 01:15:04,397
You know this concept of on the one hand
we have free choice, on the other hand

1280
01:15:04,480 --> 01:15:08,317
it's meant to be? Yes. When I say that
to people, I say, "How would you explain

1281
01:15:08,400 --> 01:15:12,837
that?" The way I would put it is >>
say it? We get to a fork in life. Yeah.

1282
01:15:12,920 --> 01:15:15,277
We all do many times. You have free will.

1283
01:15:15,360 --> 01:15:19,197
You choose one choice, and it actually
ends up working out or that you perceive

1284
01:15:19,280 --> 01:15:22,357
as working out, you're like,
"Oh, meant to be." Work great.

1285
01:15:22,440 --> 01:15:26,597
Choose another choice, and suddenly
things don't work out. If you take those

1286
01:15:26,680 --> 01:15:30,917
things that didn't work out, and you
learn and grow from them, you're right

1287
01:15:31,000 --> 01:15:34,677
back to meant to be. Yeah. So, it's our
future. It's again that thing of us not

1288
01:15:34,760 --> 01:15:38,957
controlling us, controlling our reaction.
Yes. It's that. So, to answer

1289
01:15:39,040 --> 01:15:42,757
your question, if So,
I'm going to caveat what I'm

1290
01:15:42,840 --> 01:15:46,597
about to say. Without everything
happening exactly the way you did, I

1291
01:15:46,680 --> 01:15:51,557
wouldn't be where I am today.
>> Yes. And I love where I am today.

1292
01:15:51,640 --> 01:15:55,917
>> no regret. >> Not only no regret,
I think I am as a person >> Yes.

1293
01:15:56,000 --> 01:15:59,317
>> happier. Yes. I think I have
the capacity to build things that are

1294
01:15:59,400 --> 01:16:03,877
tremendously larger, as you said.
If Green, if if Kibbutz was here, Yeah.

1295
01:16:03,960 --> 01:16:07,517
>> then Green Desk was alert, then
WeWork was this, I think Flow is the next

1296
01:16:07,600 --> 01:16:10,997
level, and would have never been able
to be born without those steps. So, I'm so

1297
01:16:11,080 --> 01:16:14,597
happy. But, here's a difference
in an easy scenario for you.

1298
01:16:14,680 --> 01:16:18,797
If instead of my investors, I would have
Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz as my

1299
01:16:18,880 --> 01:16:21,877
partners, my partners today, and I'm
saying this from knowledge, cuz I've

1300
01:16:21,960 --> 01:16:23,837
gotten to know them. I sit with them.

1301
01:16:23,920 --> 01:16:27,077
We're very board meeting in 2 days. I'm
very excited about it. I'm going to get

1302
01:16:27,160 --> 01:16:29,157
to sit with both of them in the room.

1303
01:16:29,240 --> 01:16:34,477
Best part of my business, without a doubt,
is the 9 hours of sitting with Marc and

1304
01:16:34,560 --> 01:16:37,997
Ben, Yeah. knowing that they're going
to tell you what they actually think, not

1305
01:16:38,080 --> 01:16:41,677
what you want to hear, Yes. and learning
from people who are not just in my

1306
01:16:41,760 --> 01:16:43,917
opinion, the best investors
in the world, they've built their own

1307
01:16:44,000 --> 01:16:48,037
businesses. If they were sitting around
that table when the whole thing was

1308
01:16:48,120 --> 01:16:51,077
happening, the one thing they wouldn't
have done is said, "Adam, you should

1309
01:16:51,160 --> 01:16:53,797
step down." That they
knew was not going to work

1310
01:16:53,880 --> 01:16:56,877
because it's been tried many times,
and literally, if you look at the history,

1311
01:16:56,960 --> 01:16:59,997
almost has never worked. >> Yeah.
They would have said something

1312
01:17:00,080 --> 01:17:02,037
like, "Adam, we need to have a serious

1313
01:17:02,120 --> 01:17:07,077
talk." Maybe taking me somewhere,
locked the door, thrown the key, and said,

1314
01:17:07,160 --> 01:17:09,997
"Okay, Adam, you've proven that you're
the fastest-growing company in the

1315
01:17:10,080 --> 01:17:13,877
world. You've proven you The It's
time to prove profitability.

1316
01:17:13,960 --> 01:17:16,797
Because if we're going to mature to our
next stage as a business, and if we're

1317
01:17:16,880 --> 01:17:21,317
going to want to go to Wall Street,
they're not going to understand this un-

1318
01:17:21,400 --> 01:17:26,757
stoppable growth. Yeah. And we know
that the four-wall units are profitable.

1319
01:17:26,840 --> 01:17:29,317
Let's prove it." Yeah. So, they would
have That's the first thing they would

1320
01:17:29,400 --> 01:17:32,157
have done. Second thing they would have
done, again, now that I know, they would

1321
01:17:32,240 --> 01:17:34,477
have said, "Adam,
our tech is not working."

1322
01:17:34,560 --> 01:17:37,877
Cuz if our tech was working, we would be
able to show things in a way that would

1323
01:17:37,960 --> 01:17:42,717
be very clear to everybody. The fact that
we can also means that we can't control.

1324
01:17:42,800 --> 01:17:45,757
Which means we need to go and fix
that also. Mhm. Those are just two of the

1325
01:17:45,840 --> 01:17:49,437
good. But the one thing That's That's

1326
01:17:49,520 --> 01:17:53,597
the thing that in in September of 2019,

1327
01:17:53,680 --> 01:17:57,557
if happened differently,
we would have had a chance for Mast's

1328
01:17:57,640 --> 01:17:59,837
idea not only to have worked, but to

1329
01:17:59,920 --> 01:18:01,317
have worked phenomenally cuz remember

1330
01:18:01,400 --> 01:18:04,597
what happens then? Corona comes.

1331
01:18:04,680 --> 01:18:09,277
And in Corona, WeWork would
have had an opportunity to

1332
01:18:09,360 --> 01:18:12,437
press the reset All those
leases we We haven't talked We

1333
01:18:12,520 --> 01:18:15,277
don't need to get into the details
of the business, but we were taking these

1334
01:18:15,360 --> 01:18:18,477
long-term leases, Yes.
selling against short-term commitments.

1335
01:18:18,560 --> 01:18:21,877
>> Yes. We then started growing into
enterprise that was taking longer. If

1336
01:18:21,960 --> 01:18:26,597
you remember, in Corona, everybody left
office. No one paid their rent, except

1337
01:18:26,680 --> 01:18:30,077
for one company, WeWork.
Cuz the people running it, it wasn't

1338
01:18:30,160 --> 01:18:33,717
their money anymore. They didn't treat
it like theirs, so they they pay. No one

1339
01:18:33,800 --> 01:18:38,637
was paying their rent. Yeah.
If If we were there, me and our original

1340
01:18:38,720 --> 01:18:42,757
team, and we sat there and we actually
had the opportunity to reflect.

1341
01:18:42,840 --> 01:18:45,517
>> Yes. Have partners that were honest
with By the way, the honesty could have

1342
01:18:45,600 --> 01:18:47,557
included saying if we said, "Adam, you

1343
01:18:47,640 --> 01:18:51,197
did great taking the company from one to

1344
01:18:51,280 --> 01:18:54,677
uh 3.6 billion in revenue." We talked
about the size of it, but the revenue

1345
01:18:54,760 --> 01:18:58,197
grew from zero to huge. >> Yeah.
"We should bring in a professional

1346
01:18:58,280 --> 01:19:01,837
CEO that should do it daily, and you
should become chairman." The discussion

1347
01:19:01,920 --> 01:19:03,957
could have been a very real discussion.

1348
01:19:04,040 --> 01:19:07,437
We had no discussion. And then when
Corona happened, the reset button would

1349
01:19:07,520 --> 01:19:11,317
have been set. And I actually think
what's interesting about Corona, and now

1350
01:19:11,400 --> 01:19:13,517
that there's been time to think about it,

1351
01:19:13,600 --> 01:19:16,237
work has never been the same since.

1352
01:19:16,320 --> 01:19:19,437
It needed leadership. It needed a

1353
01:19:19,520 --> 01:19:23,480
vision. And and when

1354
01:19:24,520 --> 01:19:30,280
So, yes, I think Masa could
have been could have been right.

1355
01:19:30,560 --> 01:19:33,717
He's still going to have a chance,
by the way, one day. Right.

1356
01:19:33,800 --> 01:19:36,157
What happened in 2019

1357
01:19:36,240 --> 01:19:39,317
where it changed? I think, as I said,

1358
01:19:39,400 --> 01:19:43,997
what happened started actually
in that December of 2016.

1359
01:19:44,080 --> 01:19:47,997
>> Getting out of the car.
It all moved to chase these things, and

1360
01:19:48,080 --> 01:19:50,597
it started big It became bigger than us.

1361
01:19:50,680 --> 01:19:55,077
And we just grew for the sake of growth,
and and Masa saw us go from 450 to 900

1362
01:19:55,160 --> 01:19:58,517
million. A lot of companies promised him
that we're the only ones who hit. Then

1363
01:19:58,600 --> 01:20:02,717
he saw us go from 900 million to 1.8
billion. Mhm. So, then he came in again,

1364
01:20:02,800 --> 01:20:07,437
and then it became even bigger.
And by this point, we were rushing.

1365
01:20:07,520 --> 01:20:10,717
And SoftBank was going
through their own set

1366
01:20:10,800 --> 01:20:15,237
of challenges, and their their own
public stock challenges, and and the

1367
01:20:15,320 --> 01:20:17,117
Japanese stock market.

1368
01:20:17,200 --> 01:20:20,197
In March of 2018,

1369
01:20:20,280 --> 01:20:22,357
Masa

1370
01:20:22,440 --> 01:20:24,797
comes to me and says, "Why don't we buy

1371
01:20:24,880 --> 01:20:30,077
WeWork from all your investors
at a $20 valuation?" And

1372
01:20:30,160 --> 01:20:31,797
>> How many investors
did you have at that time?

1373
01:20:31,880 --> 01:20:35,517
>> Not that many. Institutional investors,
the biggest ones. Best ones, the biggest

1374
01:20:35,600 --> 01:20:40,077
ones. But you know, seven
to eight institutions plus

1375
01:20:40,160 --> 01:20:44,517
10 individuals maybe. Mhm. Not that many.
And why did he want to do that?

1376
01:20:44,600 --> 01:20:48,077
He wanted to build
a trillion-dollar company. Yeah. He

1377
01:20:48,160 --> 01:20:50,877
wanted to go huge. Yeah,
and he could see it working.

1378
01:20:50,960 --> 01:20:53,957
>> Saw it working. He knew it was going
to cost money. He had no problem with it

1379
01:20:54,040 --> 01:20:57,637
losing money. Yeah. He knew that if it
needed to go public, Wall Street won't

1380
01:20:57,720 --> 01:20:59,437
understand it, but he understood it.

1381
01:20:59,520 --> 01:21:03,357
Yeah. He wanted to grow to a way bigger
revenue and then do the pause and the

1382
01:21:03,440 --> 01:21:05,037
cleanup. >> I see.
>> He wanted to keep growing.

1383
01:21:05,120 --> 01:21:09,837
>> wanted to wait longer before
the cleanup. He wanted to truly own the

1384
01:21:09,920 --> 01:21:12,557
category. Yes.
>> At this moment people are copying from

1385
01:21:12,640 --> 01:21:16,637
all over the world. There are 40,000
companies that got funded, registered,

1386
01:21:16,720 --> 01:21:19,477
and opened copying WeWork. 40,000. Hm.

1387
01:21:19,560 --> 01:21:20,997
So he saw

1388
01:21:21,080 --> 01:21:23,677
and he just wanted us to own it. Yeah.

1389
01:21:23,760 --> 01:21:26,877
And he to do that, he offered a $20

1390
01:21:26,960 --> 01:21:31,237
billion valuation. $10 billion
for all of our investors and

1391
01:21:31,320 --> 01:21:34,997
employees and $10 billion
on the bank account.

1392
01:21:35,080 --> 01:21:38,957
Mhm. Just so you have this thing.
This is at the time the company is losing

1393
01:21:39,040 --> 01:21:42,197
about a billion eight
to two billion a year. Mhm.

1394
01:21:42,280 --> 01:21:45,717
Again, this is where a different board
would have done things differently. I

1395
01:21:45,800 --> 01:21:48,797
can't be part of that decision cuz I'm
staying in. I wasn't selling. Wasn't

1396
01:21:48,880 --> 01:21:51,397
even selling secondary in that this.
I was keeping everything cuz I'm aligned

1397
01:21:51,480 --> 01:21:55,437
with him and we had goals that but
the deal it was a deal 70-30 his way

1398
01:21:55,520 --> 01:22:00,197
approximately and every time
the management team hits a a goal we go up

1399
01:22:00,280 --> 01:22:03,157
in ownership or at the end
when we hit the final goal

1400
01:22:03,240 --> 01:22:05,557
and which was a very big goal
but we believed we could hit it.

1401
01:22:05,640 --> 01:22:09,997
>> Yeah. We would own 51% and he would own
49. Everybody would get more equity and

1402
01:22:10,080 --> 01:22:13,917
it was was a big plan.
He was a big thinker.

1403
01:22:14,000 --> 01:22:17,677
>> Yeah. I know they had hiding in it
not just WeWork. It had WeLive so it had

1404
01:22:17,760 --> 01:22:21,237
residential hiding in it. It had
construction as a new category hiding in

1405
01:22:21,320 --> 01:22:24,760
it. It it saw the future.

1406
01:22:25,680 --> 01:22:30,557
Staying in the deal.
I was a conflicted party and therefore I

1407
01:22:30,640 --> 01:22:33,197
couldn't take any part
in accepting the deal.

1408
01:22:33,280 --> 01:22:36,277
So, the board did what's called
a special committee and that special

1409
01:22:36,360 --> 01:22:38,237
committee's job was to negotiate with

1410
01:22:38,320 --> 01:22:40,597
Masa and do whatever they need to do.

1411
01:22:40,680 --> 01:22:44,917
And I think they made again, mistakes
everything the way you and I talk about

1412
01:22:45,000 --> 01:22:48,517
mistakes. I think they were greedy.

1413
01:22:48,600 --> 01:22:52,597
Because instead of saying we'll take
the win, we'll take a $20 billion company,

1414
01:22:52,680 --> 01:22:55,517
the $10 billion by the way these
investors these investors for 20 million

1415
01:22:55,600 --> 01:22:58,237
that we're walking out with 2.4 billion.

1416
01:22:58,320 --> 01:23:01,277
Clean cash. They thought
the company was worth $100

1417
01:23:01,360 --> 01:23:04,877
billion. They believed
also deals have momentum.

1418
01:23:04,960 --> 01:23:09,717
Again, I'm sitting on a board
and there's a founder like me

1419
01:23:09,800 --> 01:23:14,117
and the founder brings a $20 billion
acquisition to our company that that's

1420
01:23:14,200 --> 01:23:18,077
that has a great vision but currently
is losing money every month.

1421
01:23:18,160 --> 01:23:19,477
I go to the founder and I say, "Mr.

1422
01:23:19,560 --> 01:23:23,077
Founder, is this what you want?"

1423
01:23:23,160 --> 01:23:26,517
And if the founder said, "Yes, yes,
maybe it's hurtful that he wants me to

1424
01:23:26,600 --> 01:23:29,517
sell and doesn't agree with it but if
he says yes and it has happened to me and

1425
01:23:29,600 --> 01:23:32,917
I've done it multiple times.
If the founder said I just did it on a

1426
01:23:33,000 --> 01:23:37,197
company 3 months ago.
The founder says, "Yes, this is what I

1427
01:23:37,280 --> 01:23:40,317
want." I say, "Thank you
so much for working so

1428
01:23:40,400 --> 01:23:45,077
hard for the past 9 years and good luck."
And I walk out with my in this

1429
01:23:45,160 --> 01:23:49,517
case a 100 x return
on my 20 million or 150

1430
01:23:49,600 --> 01:23:53,317
cuz they pulled out money.
But no, they negotiated and Masa told

1431
01:23:53,400 --> 01:23:56,357
them very clearly, "This is my number.
I didn't negotiate. I gave you a huge

1432
01:23:56,440 --> 01:23:57,877
number in cash for a company that we all

1433
01:23:57,960 --> 01:24:00,477
know needs a lot still work to do."

1434
01:24:00,560 --> 01:24:04,997
And they negotiate
from March till September.

1435
01:24:05,080 --> 01:24:08,037
Then the Japanese market starts changing.

1436
01:24:08,120 --> 01:24:11,677
Then when they see there's
a problem, they stop negotiating

1437
01:24:11,760 --> 01:24:15,557
and they're still fighting till the day
they go down and then and then until in

1438
01:24:15,640 --> 01:24:18,877
Christmas they finally decide, "Okay,
we're not negotiating." A little before.

1439
01:24:18,960 --> 01:24:22,637
Not negotiating anymore. They agree
to everything and they pass it to Masa.

1440
01:24:22,720 --> 01:24:26,077
Now, here's the problem.
Because this is all happening, Masa and

1441
01:24:26,160 --> 01:24:29,317
I are already planning that the company
is going to grow very big. I'm already

1442
01:24:29,400 --> 01:24:32,797
signing a lot of deals. I'm already
planning for this to happen, but I'm not

1443
01:24:32,880 --> 01:24:34,837
in charge of it happening. Yeah.

1444
01:24:34,920 --> 01:24:38,277
And there was a guarantee, there was
a protection that if it doesn't happen,

1445
01:24:38,360 --> 01:24:40,717
Masa still needs
to invest a certain amount.

1446
01:24:40,800 --> 01:24:44,997
And and I trust Masa because
we've done this before.

1447
01:24:45,080 --> 01:24:48,757
And he invested. And so we're I'm we're
signing deals. We're running really,

1448
01:24:48,840 --> 01:24:52,037
really quickly. This is not
happening and then suddenly

1449
01:24:52,120 --> 01:24:56,037
our our special committee decides,
"Okay, now it's time to agree." What I

1450
01:24:56,120 --> 01:25:00,197
just want to say one thing.
You're running quickly and this is what

1451
01:25:00,280 --> 01:25:02,157
Masa wants. Exactly what he wants.

1452
01:25:02,240 --> 01:25:05,237
>> 100%. To the T. You didn't go rogue in

1453
01:25:05,320 --> 01:25:09,277
trying to build a company fast. This is
what you signed up for with Masa and you

1454
01:25:09,360 --> 01:25:12,997
were doing it. >> the opposite
of going rogue. People who know me

1455
01:25:13,080 --> 01:25:16,437
will know that I make
a partner that keeps his word.

1456
01:25:16,520 --> 01:25:18,677
And if I need to change, he and I
are partners and I'm going to change

1457
01:25:18,760 --> 01:25:21,637
something or I want to change something,
Yeah. I will call you. I will ask for

1458
01:25:21,720 --> 01:25:24,997
permission. Yeah. And if you And I'll
always offer something. Yeah. And if you

1459
01:25:25,080 --> 01:25:28,637
say no, I will say, "I understand."
Yeah. I And then I would

1460
01:25:28,720 --> 01:25:31,397
say, "Don't get offended that I tried.
I wanted to go a different direction, but

1461
01:25:31,480 --> 01:25:33,677
I respect our partnership."
>> Yeah, yeah, yeah.

1462
01:25:33,760 --> 01:25:36,677
So, what I signed up for, it's what we
took the money for. Yeah, yeah. Also,

1463
01:25:36,760 --> 01:25:40,037
our partners were all there with us.
And I remember their employees Yes. are

1464
01:25:40,120 --> 01:25:41,717
killing it. They're running for it.

1465
01:25:41,800 --> 01:25:44,837
They're running through walls. Had the

1466
01:25:44,920 --> 01:25:47,477
Japanese market not changed, would the

1467
01:25:47,560 --> 01:25:52,117
picture have been different? Had
And again, we're doing a lot of ifs and

1468
01:25:52,200 --> 01:25:54,677
maybes. >> Had

1469
01:25:54,760 --> 01:25:59,917
the board's special committee Yeah.
got on a plane the next day, said, "Masa,

1470
01:26:00,000 --> 01:26:02,317
you already have two board seats in the
company. You know everything. We don't

1471
01:26:02,400 --> 01:26:05,357
need to We don't need to disclose
anything. Yeah. 20 billion, here's a

1472
01:26:05,440 --> 01:26:08,477
term sheet, here's our bank
account, please sign." Yeah.

1473
01:26:08,560 --> 01:26:10,077
It would have happened the next day.

1474
01:26:10,160 --> 01:26:13,517
They would have all been out.
The cash would have been there.

1475
01:26:13,600 --> 01:26:16,877
And when Corona hits, we wouldn't have
had the whole 10 billion cuz we would

1476
01:26:16,960 --> 01:26:20,637
have been burning, but we
would have had enough. Mhm. And

1477
01:26:20,720 --> 01:26:24,797
again, we wouldn't be where we are today,
which I'm very happy about. But I

1478
01:26:24,880 --> 01:26:27,757
think the interesting thing to connect
it to where you and I are sitting right

1479
01:26:27,840 --> 01:26:30,037
now, it's December 20

1480
01:26:30,120 --> 01:26:35,637
18. I am sleeping in a house 3
minutes away from here. I get a phone

1481
01:26:35,720 --> 01:26:38,917
call from Masa. Adam, I'm so sorry.

1482
01:26:39,000 --> 01:26:41,037
The Japanese market has changed. Our

1483
01:26:41,120 --> 01:26:44,157
stock is down 30%. My CFO told me that

1484
01:26:44,240 --> 01:26:48,717
if I go through with this $20 billion
acquisition, our stock will crash.

1485
01:26:48,800 --> 01:26:51,997
My first responsibility
is to my shareholders.

1486
01:26:52,080 --> 01:26:55,597
I know I promised.
I know you've been growing. Mhm.

1487
01:26:55,680 --> 01:27:00,157
I can't go through. Understood.
I remember Rebecca is in the kitchen

1488
01:27:00,240 --> 01:27:03,197
playing with the kids. The house that we
were living here and has like a kitchen

1489
01:27:03,280 --> 01:27:06,757
with a couches in it, so the kids are
next to the kitchen. Everyone's hanging

1490
01:27:06,840 --> 01:27:09,517
out. They're eating, they're drinking,
everyone's smiling. They're really

1491
01:27:09,600 --> 01:27:11,357
having fun. I decide I'm not going to

1492
01:27:11,440 --> 01:27:17,397
say anything today. I just went and hung
out and took many, many deep breaths.

1493
01:27:17,480 --> 01:27:20,437
Yeah. That night when
everybody was sleeping,

1494
01:27:20,520 --> 01:27:24,277
I told Rebecca what happened. She had
a nice relationship with Masa, also.

1495
01:27:24,360 --> 01:27:28,197
Said, "Let's go see him."
Where is Masa at the same time?

1496
01:27:28,280 --> 01:27:30,157
Can you guess where he would be?

1497
01:27:30,240 --> 01:27:32,877
Cuz the universe, remember who's writing
the story. If you're directing the

1498
01:27:32,960 --> 01:27:34,757
story, where would Masa be? Not far.

1499
01:27:34,840 --> 01:27:37,757
Exactly. 15 minutes away. Unbelievable.

1500
01:27:37,840 --> 01:27:39,677
We go and sit. >> And you
didn't know that before.

1501
01:27:39,760 --> 01:27:42,797
>> have a clue.
They didn't have a clue. That's when

1502
01:27:42,880 --> 01:27:46,757
you're in flow. Yeah. Bad things
or perceived bad things can happen when

1503
01:27:46,840 --> 01:27:50,837
you're in flow, also. Yeah. If they're
still in flow, it's just another clue to

1504
01:27:50,920 --> 01:27:54,477
tell you they're not bad.
It might be seen bad. We go

1505
01:27:54,560 --> 01:27:57,477
15 minutes away. We walk in.

1506
01:27:57,560 --> 01:28:01,517
We discuss. Again,
in hindsight, legal, you

1507
01:28:01,600 --> 01:28:04,597
promised, I grew because of it. There's
all these things I could have done, but

1508
01:28:04,680 --> 01:28:08,957
no. This is my partner. I understand
what he just said. I'm not going to He

1509
01:28:09,040 --> 01:28:10,437
wasn't happy to make the call to you.

1510
01:28:10,520 --> 01:28:13,237
>> No, not at all.
You could see to him, "No." No.

1511
01:28:13,320 --> 01:28:17,117
>> not easy for him. He didn't want to
make the call. It was his team. It was his

1512
01:28:17,200 --> 01:28:19,317
team this spot. >> And it
was just the reality of the

1513
01:28:19,400 --> 01:28:21,277
situation changed and he was at the

1514
01:28:21,360 --> 01:28:23,677
mercy of the reality of the situation.

1515
01:28:23,760 --> 01:28:28,197
He did the right thing.
He did what he He didn't really have a

1516
01:28:28,280 --> 01:28:30,997
really have a choice.
>> is not Masa's and money. No.

1517
01:28:31,080 --> 01:28:33,357
>> This was SoftBank money.
Yes. And Vision

1518
01:28:33,440 --> 01:28:35,717
Fund money, but SoftBank This So, this
is the other thing we didn't say. This

1519
01:28:35,800 --> 01:28:39,197
is not even Vision Fund. This is a
SoftBank acquisition. Yes. Small Vision

1520
01:28:39,280 --> 01:28:41,957
Fund, big SoftBank.
He did the right thing.

1521
01:28:42,040 --> 01:28:44,637
So, then we talked. We said, "Well, what
are we going to do? We've been spending.

1522
01:28:44,720 --> 01:28:47,397
We agreed on an amount that we'll
still go." Yeah. So, we're still very

1523
01:28:47,480 --> 01:28:49,717
supportive. Yeah. At this very large

1524
01:28:49,800 --> 01:28:51,877
valuation, that's where that $40 billion

1525
01:28:51,960 --> 01:28:55,317
valuation comes from. And I walk out.

1526
01:28:55,400 --> 01:28:59,037
But now, it's January of 2019.
We have this big

1527
01:28:59,120 --> 01:29:02,357
offsite in um LA.

1528
01:29:02,440 --> 01:29:04,677
Rented Universal Studios.

1529
01:29:04,760 --> 01:29:07,077
Again, a moment of reflection. I could

1530
01:29:07,160 --> 01:29:10,037
have gone on that stage, told everybody

1531
01:29:10,120 --> 01:29:12,677
what happened, told the stars what

1532
01:29:12,760 --> 01:29:17,477
I really, really would not like to be
in any similar situations ever again. Yes.

1533
01:29:17,560 --> 01:29:21,237
But if I were, I would
go up on that stage, tell

1534
01:29:21,320 --> 01:29:24,717
everybody exactly what happened, say,
"This is what we have in the bank cuz

1535
01:29:24,800 --> 01:29:26,517
this is all we get. Yeah. And we're

1536
01:29:26,600 --> 01:29:29,437
turning this company profitable now."

1537
01:29:29,520 --> 01:29:34,597
Yes. Which was doable. 100% doable, but

1538
01:29:34,680 --> 01:29:37,797
I get on that stage. I say a light
version of it. Not exactly, but I say

1539
01:29:37,880 --> 01:29:41,757
we're going to get serious today.
My main My My

1540
01:29:41,840 --> 01:29:45,237
I had one close person on that board
that was really close to me. His name

1541
01:29:45,320 --> 01:29:48,717
His name is Steven Langman. He's amazing.
He's still a close friend. He

1542
01:29:48,800 --> 01:29:52,517
lost a lot from being a part of this and
never did he say a word except call me

1543
01:29:52,600 --> 01:29:56,197
and laugh about it and be a great friend.
He's the definition of a How do

1544
01:29:56,280 --> 01:30:01,237
we define a great friend? When things
are actually challenging. Yeah. How do

1545
01:30:01,320 --> 01:30:05,037
they for you? He comes and sees me.
I was in San Francisco I was somewhere

1546
01:30:05,120 --> 01:30:07,597
around here. He comes, sits with me.
We talk about the fact that we're going to

1547
01:30:07,680 --> 01:30:11,117
make the company profitable. We make the
commitments, we're clear, we're going to

1548
01:30:11,200 --> 01:30:13,597
do what needs to be done. We know
exactly what needs to be done again

1549
01:30:13,680 --> 01:30:16,717
because we're the leaders, we know where
everything is buried. We know exactly

1550
01:30:16,800 --> 01:30:21,917
what to do to do it. And then my CFO
goes to the Lyft IPO. This is like a

1551
01:30:22,000 --> 01:30:26,997
month later. We're we're warming up to use
it to and it's on fire and it's all about

1552
01:30:27,080 --> 01:30:30,917
revenue. It has nothing to do with
profitability. He goes, "Adam, based on

1553
01:30:31,000 --> 01:30:33,877
their value, we're worth We're worth
on their revenue. We have more and they're

1554
01:30:33,960 --> 01:30:38,477
getting multiple of revenue." And again,
the fire starts. Now the IPO story and

1555
01:30:38,560 --> 01:30:43,197
the fire starts and basically
he says, "And not only him,

1556
01:30:43,280 --> 01:30:46,597
bankers, and those bankers are not any
bankers, these are the biggest bankers

1557
01:30:46,680 --> 01:30:49,277
on the planet, come to me

1558
01:30:49,360 --> 01:30:53,637
and show me books which obviously we
still kept that show the valuations that

1559
01:30:53,720 --> 01:30:57,077
we're going to go public in and
they'll make sure to go above 40

1560
01:30:57,160 --> 01:31:00,237
billion cuz that's the last valuation
cuz they're making a sale again. All

1561
01:31:00,320 --> 01:31:02,037
stuff that today I understand, but back

1562
01:31:02,120 --> 01:31:04,637
then I had no clue. Yeah. And basically

1563
01:31:04,720 --> 01:31:09,197
if you keep obtaining
growth of this magnitude,

1564
01:31:09,280 --> 01:31:11,757
the markets will understand that you
can always pull the lever and turn

1565
01:31:11,840 --> 01:31:16,197
profitable. Grow faster, grow more,
we'll take the company public for this

1566
01:31:16,280 --> 01:31:19,317
gigantic number. And

1567
01:31:19,400 --> 01:31:21,277
home run? And what happened? Life

1568
01:31:21,360 --> 01:31:24,597
happens. Never plan on everything being

1569
01:31:24,680 --> 01:31:28,357
perfect just like if this works and this
works a second ago and again, just look

1570
01:31:28,440 --> 01:31:30,317
how many times the universe tried to

1571
01:31:30,400 --> 01:31:33,957
come in and tell me. How many messages?

1572
01:31:34,040 --> 01:31:37,957
Turn it profitable the first time,
the second time, the third time.

1573
01:31:38,040 --> 01:31:41,477
What actually happens is we
start running for this IPO.

1574
01:31:41,560 --> 01:31:45,157
We keep growing, we don't slow
down at all, so we keep burning

1575
01:31:45,240 --> 01:31:48,557
because we're told it's going
to be a multiple of revenue.

1576
01:31:48,640 --> 01:31:51,517
And there's Lyft and there's Uber and as

1577
01:31:51,600 --> 01:31:56,477
we're preparing for this IPO,
Uber goes public and immediately

1578
01:31:56,560 --> 01:32:00,637
crashes. Value goes down because the
public markets don't want just revenue.

1579
01:32:00,720 --> 01:32:04,077
They actually want profitability.
And there's this flip

1580
01:32:04,160 --> 01:32:07,597
that happens in the public markets a lot,
where it goes in one second from we

1581
01:32:07,680 --> 01:32:11,677
all want revenue multiples of revenue
to we want profitability. You're living in

1582
01:32:11,760 --> 01:32:14,397
a world today where you're going
to see you're going to see some

1583
01:32:14,480 --> 01:32:18,677
very valuable AI companies go with huge
revenue and a lot of losses, and they're

1584
01:32:18,760 --> 01:32:23,077
going to get some mega valuations.
So, it's And I hope for all of them that

1585
01:32:23,160 --> 01:32:25,557
they can turn the switch whenever they
need and do whatever it is they need.

1586
01:32:25,640 --> 01:32:26,877
I'm sure they know what they're doing.

1587
01:32:26,960 --> 01:32:29,717
I'm not. But, on that, I hope they know.

1588
01:32:29,800 --> 01:32:34,240
Not my business. But,

1589
01:32:34,600 --> 01:32:38,477
the market flips in a second.
It's not about revenue, it's about

1590
01:32:38,560 --> 01:32:42,397
profitability. For us,
we needed 9 months to turn the

1591
01:32:42,480 --> 01:32:46,397
ship is sailed really far
for us to suddenly move is this.

1592
01:32:46,480 --> 01:32:50,197
And I now suddenly we have to take
the company public. If we don't take the

1593
01:32:50,280 --> 01:32:54,517
company public, it it

1594
01:32:54,600 --> 01:32:59,917
it won't have enough money.
Or so we're told. And

1595
01:33:00,000 --> 01:33:02,997
at this point, the bank that then again,
without getting into it because it's so

1596
01:33:03,080 --> 01:33:07,677
many details and but the two banks
that are fighting on us, I end up choosing

1597
01:33:07,760 --> 01:33:12,760
one of the banks. And that bank is

1598
01:33:13,240 --> 01:33:16,717
leading us into the IPO, and we're
doing the meetings, and they're not going

1599
01:33:16,800 --> 01:33:22,077
well. And the articles
start coming out because

1600
01:33:22,160 --> 01:33:24,877
people are in the meetings and things
are And And that the valuation is not

1601
01:33:24,960 --> 01:33:28,197
there, and it's not going to be 40,
it's going to be 30. There's this thing in

1602
01:33:28,280 --> 01:33:32,237
growth companies, you can't catch
a falling knife. Once it starts dropping,

1603
01:33:32,320 --> 01:33:34,277
you don't know where the bottom is.

1604
01:33:34,360 --> 01:33:38,637
And Masa calls me. And says,
"Adam, I don't want you to

1605
01:33:38,720 --> 01:33:40,957
take the company public. It's not good.

1606
01:33:41,040 --> 01:33:43,317
It's not looking good.
Things are not working well.

1607
01:33:43,400 --> 01:33:45,277
Let's let's rethink. Let's regroup."

1608
01:33:45,360 --> 01:33:49,837
But, my executive My the leaders around
me, and this is a big big choice. And

1609
01:33:49,920 --> 01:33:52,597
again, I'm saying this again,
so it's heard again.

1610
01:33:52,680 --> 01:33:54,557
I take full accountability. Yeah, yeah.

1611
01:33:54,640 --> 01:33:57,117
The leaders that I put around me. Yeah.

1612
01:33:57,200 --> 01:34:00,917
And when did I start putting those
leaders really? After that 2016, the

1613
01:34:01,000 --> 01:34:04,077
leaders cuz I was at the beginning
attracting people that were mission and

1614
01:34:04,160 --> 01:34:07,597
purpose-oriented like me.
But when you stop being mission and

1615
01:34:07,680 --> 01:34:10,797
purpose-oriented, then the people you
attract will stop being mission and

1616
01:34:10,880 --> 01:34:15,357
purpose-oriented. They all wanted that
IPO. Yeah. Everybody was doing math. And

1617
01:34:15,440 --> 01:34:18,477
they're pushing IPO IPO and the bank and
everything everything is you can't talk

1618
01:34:18,560 --> 01:34:22,277
to Masa. You can't talk to Masa. If
you talk to Masa, it will all be ruined.

1619
01:34:22,360 --> 01:34:25,557
Even as I tell you
this story, I think about

1620
01:34:25,640 --> 01:34:30,517
Again, this is this is why life and
experience is so important today. Yeah.

1621
01:34:30,600 --> 01:34:34,917
I was advising me. I said,
"foreclose everybody out." Yeah. "Who

1622
01:34:35,000 --> 01:34:37,237
gave you the most money?" "Masa." Yeah.

1623
01:34:37,320 --> 01:34:41,277
"Has he trusted you?" "Yes." "Has he
believed in you?" "Yes." "Go talk to

1624
01:34:41,360 --> 01:34:45,237
Masa. Don't worry about what they tell
you." Yeah. "Go to Masa." Of course.

1625
01:34:45,320 --> 01:34:48,637
>> "And say, 'Masa-san,
you trusted me so much. Yeah. I am

1626
01:34:48,720 --> 01:34:52,517
grateful and appreciative. I'm sorry
we got into this. The truth is we were

1627
01:34:52,600 --> 01:34:55,717
going to buy the company and then you
changed in the last seconds, so you put

1628
01:34:55,800 --> 01:34:58,997
me in a little bit of an uncomfortable
situation. They then told me to go

1629
01:34:59,080 --> 01:35:02,677
public, so I take accountability, but we
did it as partners.'" I never had that

1630
01:35:02,760 --> 01:35:06,597
conversation. Yeah. "We did it
as partners, Masa. What should we do as

1631
01:35:06,680 --> 01:35:10,997
partners now to solve it?" Yeah.
That one conversation didn't happen. Yeah.

1632
01:35:11,080 --> 01:35:15,317
And it didn't happen, and today I know
a lot more about it for two reasons. One,

1633
01:35:15,400 --> 01:35:18,357
cuz I needed to be where I am today
and I wouldn't get there. But the more

1634
01:35:18,440 --> 01:35:22,437
technical reason, because there were
a lot of people who had different agendas.

1635
01:35:22,520 --> 01:35:24,677
And when the numbers are of that
magnitude, we were not dealing with

1636
01:35:24,760 --> 01:35:28,757
billions. We were dealing with tens
of billions. When the magnitude going to

1637
01:35:28,840 --> 01:35:31,557
potentially hundreds.

1638
01:35:31,640 --> 01:35:35,517
When the numbers are of that magnitude,

1639
01:35:35,600 --> 01:35:38,157
if you didn't surround yourself with

1640
01:35:38,240 --> 01:35:42,837
people that are actually
there for the right reasons,

1641
01:35:42,920 --> 01:35:46,637
your chances of getting the right
advice are very slow small.

1642
01:35:46,720 --> 01:35:50,517
Remember also that at that time I'm
very good at this. Yeah. Yes, I had of

1643
01:35:50,600 --> 01:35:53,837
practice and yes,
I'm but I'm very good at this.

1644
01:35:53,920 --> 01:35:57,437
Going into a retreat for a week

1645
01:35:57,520 --> 01:36:00,117
and and

1646
01:36:00,200 --> 01:36:04,757
stopping everything and breathing
and meditating and really

1647
01:36:04,840 --> 01:36:07,037
asking myself, "Who do
I have that I can trust?"

1648
01:36:07,120 --> 01:36:11,477
>> Yeah. And going and talking to them
would have been the wise thought. And

1649
01:36:11,560 --> 01:36:14,317
then maybe similar things would have
happened, but would have been it We

1650
01:36:14,400 --> 01:36:18,117
never even gave it a shot. And it
sounds like from what you're saying, even

1651
01:36:18,200 --> 01:36:20,557
though Masayoshi made the call to you

1652
01:36:20,640 --> 01:36:22,677
that you didn't like or that that he

1653
01:36:22,760 --> 01:36:25,837
didn't like, the the the first call of

1654
01:36:25,920 --> 01:36:28,277
like things are changing, I'm guessing

1655
01:36:28,360 --> 01:36:32,157
you still trusted Masa. I was not able

1656
01:36:32,240 --> 01:36:36,477
to quiet down the noise
that came around me because

1657
01:36:36,560 --> 01:36:41,037
the people were telling me, "Don't do
that." were the most powerful people in

1658
01:36:41,120 --> 01:36:44,877
the business world. Yeah. We're
talking about the heads of the banks.

1659
01:36:44,960 --> 01:36:48,317
>> Yes. We're talking about the biggest
venture capitalists on the planet. We're

1660
01:36:48,400 --> 01:36:51,517
talking about They're We're
talking about a lot of the

1661
01:36:51,600 --> 01:36:54,557
board members. We're talking about
people that have built this repertoire

1662
01:36:54,640 --> 01:36:58,157
for a very long time. Yeah. And they
have more experience than you. They've

1663
01:36:58,240 --> 01:37:02,357
been through this before. This is your
first time. There were a few voices out

1664
01:37:02,440 --> 01:37:06,677
there. I missed two Two voices
called me that I missed. Yeah.

1665
01:37:06,760 --> 01:37:10,837
Marc Benioff calls me. He wasn't such We
were close friends, but not the closest.

1666
01:37:10,920 --> 01:37:13,797
Yeah. Said, "Adam, I don't need to know
a lot to know what's happening. I can

1667
01:37:13,880 --> 01:37:15,117
read the press. You don't know this.

1668
01:37:15,200 --> 01:37:17,997
Salesforce was going to go public.
I pulled back. I reshuffled. I did it

1669
01:37:18,080 --> 01:37:22,237
again. You must pull
back and fire your CFO and

1670
01:37:22,320 --> 01:37:24,877
general counsel. And I don't need
to know who they are. I just know they're

1671
01:37:24,960 --> 01:37:27,117
not advising you right right now." Yeah.

1672
01:37:27,200 --> 01:37:29,477
Missed that one. There was another super

1673
01:37:29,560 --> 01:37:31,997
powerful person, comfortable saying Ruth

1674
01:37:32,080 --> 01:37:37,077
Porat. Superstar. Same story.
Sends me someone from a

1675
01:37:37,160 --> 01:37:41,197
different bank to advise me.
Said, "Ruth sent me."

1676
01:37:41,280 --> 01:37:43,957
But I'm I missed I missed
the signs. There was

1677
01:37:44,040 --> 01:37:46,317
so much noise. And I'm not talking to

1678
01:37:46,400 --> 01:37:49,397
Masa. And the noise is all around me.

1679
01:37:49,480 --> 01:37:52,517
And he's not talking to me. And now
the bank that was supposed to go as public

1680
01:37:52,600 --> 01:37:54,997
is telling me we're having real issues.

1681
01:37:55,080 --> 01:37:57,997
And this is moving really fast. And the
articles are coming in the distance. And

1682
01:37:58,080 --> 01:38:01,317
again, they keep Everyone keeps telling
me how SoftBank is doing this to me and

1683
01:38:01,400 --> 01:38:02,837
SoftBank is doing that to me. They

1684
01:38:02,920 --> 01:38:06,157
actually painted SoftBank as the

1685
01:38:06,240 --> 01:38:08,797
enemy. Yeah. But they weren't. He wasn't

1686
01:38:08,880 --> 01:38:12,837
and they weren't. No. And

1687
01:38:12,920 --> 01:38:16,877
And then I have this very
monumental meeting on a Sunday

1688
01:38:16,960 --> 01:38:21,037
with the head of the bank
that's that's taking us public.

1689
01:38:21,120 --> 01:38:23,797
Where he sits me down and basically
says, "Adam, you're going to have to

1690
01:38:23,880 --> 01:38:27,197
step down. And

1691
01:38:27,280 --> 01:38:32,157
if you do in one, you do, we'll
take care of it over the business.

1692
01:38:32,240 --> 01:38:35,357
We'll take We'll We'll fund the business
and we'll do the different things." And

1693
01:38:35,440 --> 01:38:37,917
I remember talking to him saying, "But
how do you think someone else is going

1694
01:38:38,000 --> 01:38:40,917
to understand how to I understand what
needs to be done." Yeah. He says, "Yeah,

1695
01:38:41,000 --> 01:38:44,117
it's a lot of founders think that
and then things survive without them.

1696
01:38:44,200 --> 01:38:47,517
They don't really I don't know a lot
of examples for venture backed businesses

1697
01:38:47,600 --> 01:38:49,677
that then become huge success without it."

1698
01:38:49,760 --> 01:38:53,557
>> the arrogance of the people
with the money. They think they

1699
01:38:53,640 --> 01:38:57,237
they think because they have the money
they know what the right thing to do is.

1700
01:38:57,320 --> 01:39:02,437
And often not the case. I think so. I also
think he truly believed in what he was

1701
01:39:02,520 --> 01:39:05,877
saying. I actually think his team told
him that it's possible and maybe they

1702
01:39:05,960 --> 01:39:08,837
didn't understand what the magic
of WeWork really was. That's what I'm

1703
01:39:08,920 --> 01:39:12,437
saying. I don't think he did. So I'm not
so again, I don't know how much he knew

1704
01:39:12,520 --> 01:39:14,757
himself. >> Yeah.
Cuz he has a big team and he's

1705
01:39:14,840 --> 01:39:18,237
doing a lot of things. This is one other
meeting. Yeah. You know, no blaming at

1706
01:39:18,320 --> 01:39:21,197
all. No. And I did I
did mistakes before that

1707
01:39:21,280 --> 01:39:24,717
there's many many things
that I did. And I come back

1708
01:39:24,800 --> 01:39:29,277
with my partner and and now I have
the beginning of a family office that was

1709
01:39:29,360 --> 01:39:32,397
with me three individuals. And I'm like,
"Okay, we're going to need to It looks

1710
01:39:32,480 --> 01:39:34,797
like we're going to need to step down."

1711
01:39:34,880 --> 01:39:39,237
And the guy that's running my family
office he says to His name is Ilan.

1712
01:39:39,320 --> 01:39:41,597
He says to me, "I don't like it.

1713
01:39:41,680 --> 01:39:46,317
There's a clause and the one piece and
miss one missing piece of the story that

1714
01:39:46,400 --> 01:39:47,997
you don't have is at the same time I

1715
01:39:48,080 --> 01:39:50,157
have debt of over 400 million that I

1716
01:39:50,240 --> 01:39:55,237
borrowed against the equity from
that same bank that was telling me

1717
01:39:55,320 --> 01:39:58,317
to step down. He says to me, "I don't
like you. You have a clause that says

1718
01:39:58,400 --> 01:40:01,077
that you are that if you step down

1719
01:40:01,160 --> 01:40:05,597
then you're in breach of your contract
cuz you're not come to control clause

1720
01:40:05,680 --> 01:40:07,597
and then they can call back the money."

1721
01:40:07,680 --> 01:40:10,837
I said no he wouldn't. He's the one who
told me he'll protect me. He said, "I

1722
01:40:10,920 --> 01:40:14,637
don't like it." So we go and we bring
it up. I have another board member that

1723
01:40:14,720 --> 01:40:17,557
says, "Of course I'm going to talk
to them." And then I talk to them and

1724
01:40:17,640 --> 01:40:20,957
there's no problem and it won't
happen and everything is good. I get

1725
01:40:21,040 --> 01:40:23,437
comfortable even though my team
is not as comfortable because again I'm

1726
01:40:23,520 --> 01:40:25,997
speaking to the people running the place.

1727
01:40:26,080 --> 01:40:30,877
And and I trust.
I do actually have I trust.

1728
01:40:30,960 --> 01:40:34,837
And I step down on the board
meeting on the board call.

1729
01:40:34,920 --> 01:40:39,197
And 9 minutes later I receive an email

1730
01:40:39,280 --> 01:40:42,557
from the same bank. Three There were two
other banks part of it but that bank was

1731
01:40:42,640 --> 01:40:45,157
the biggest part that I'm
in breach of contract.

1732
01:40:45,240 --> 01:40:48,637
>> Wow. And that they're
calling all my shares.

1733
01:40:48,720 --> 01:40:53,277
>> Wow. And I have 15 days

1734
01:40:53,360 --> 01:40:57,117
to pay back 435 million dollars.

1735
01:40:57,200 --> 01:41:00,637
Which of course I didn't have
and there's no chance I could have done.

1736
01:41:00,720 --> 01:41:04,677
That's unbelievable.
And just so we're clear about the 9

1737
01:41:04,760 --> 01:41:09,877
minutes. A bank cannot
create a document in 9

1738
01:41:09,960 --> 01:41:13,037
minutes or in a day.
It has to go through a lot of legal

1739
01:41:13,120 --> 01:41:16,797
process. At least a weekend if not a week.

1740
01:41:16,880 --> 01:41:21,197
On a very very fast accept.
So it was perfectly executed. Wow.

1741
01:41:21,280 --> 01:41:25,757
>> I walked right into it.
Terrible story. And then no, it's not a

1742
01:41:25,840 --> 01:41:29,277
terrible story. >> It is. At this point
in the story it's a terrible story.

1743
01:41:29,360 --> 01:41:33,477
>> It's interesting. I've never told it
by the way. Yeah. It's a shocking story.

1744
01:41:33,560 --> 01:41:36,117
>> these stories occurred but we've
we've never heard these stories. I think

1745
01:41:36,200 --> 01:41:38,677
they're are of this story. I think they
happen more often than we know. They

1746
01:41:38,760 --> 01:41:42,877
happen more often than we know. Yeah,
and every time it's a tragedy. Well, let

1747
01:41:42,960 --> 01:41:47,200
me tell you it's interesting
and maybe this is me

1748
01:41:47,680 --> 01:41:49,877
So now I'm really getting down.

1749
01:41:49,960 --> 01:41:53,077
Now I feel down. Yeah. Now my 10 years

1750
01:41:53,160 --> 01:41:57,077
of spiritual practice are in the garbage.
I am properly depressed.

1751
01:41:57,160 --> 01:42:02,117
Everybody told me I'm and at the same
time articles are coming out at a speed

1752
01:42:02,200 --> 01:42:06,157
of one every three to five minutes.

1753
01:42:06,240 --> 01:42:10,037
This is now 2019. This is Trump's first
term. There's a lot of noise in the

1754
01:42:10,120 --> 01:42:14,717
media. I have a friend who called it the
first time social media was used it like

1755
01:42:14,800 --> 01:42:17,597
it was like like social media before
social media was fully there in the

1756
01:42:17,680 --> 01:42:20,437
speed that articles were coming out
and I just started and I said but no one

1757
01:42:20,520 --> 01:42:23,477
knows the story and another story and
another story and another story and I'm

1758
01:42:23,560 --> 01:42:27,317
feeling really low. And my

1759
01:42:27,400 --> 01:42:31,877
spiritual teacher calls me.
And this is like two days into this and

1760
01:42:31,960 --> 01:42:35,077
he goes Adam just called
to see how you're doing. I

1761
01:42:35,160 --> 01:42:38,637
said to him this is not a good time. I'm
not doing great. Things are really tough

1762
01:42:38,720 --> 01:42:42,517
right now and I'm not sure Yeah. what's
going to happen. And he says to me I

1763
01:42:42,600 --> 01:42:45,277
thought you might say that. I just
called to remind you the one thing we

1764
01:42:45,360 --> 01:42:49,277
learned. I said to him we've
been studying for eight years.

1765
01:42:49,360 --> 01:42:52,757
Same as eight ton. Said eight ton we
studied for eight years. We did not

1766
01:42:52,840 --> 01:42:55,317
study one thing. I studied three times
a week. I think we studied more than one

1767
01:42:55,400 --> 01:42:59,157
thing. I was wrong. We actually only
studied two things but they're similar

1768
01:42:59,240 --> 01:43:01,677
but we only studied two things. One

1769
01:43:01,760 --> 01:43:06,397
treat other people the way you want
to be treated. The rest is commentary.

1770
01:43:06,480 --> 01:43:11,277
Two and this is the real one.
The darkest moment of the night is a

1771
01:43:11,360 --> 01:43:15,117
second before dawn. I want you to know
something he says I've seen you for the

1772
01:43:15,200 --> 01:43:18,357
past eight years with belief
and connecting people and speaking about

1773
01:43:18,440 --> 01:43:22,077
spirituality and the business. Of course
you believe in the universe when you

1774
01:43:22,160 --> 01:43:25,237
were flying like this no one's ever
seen something like that happen before.

1775
01:43:25,320 --> 01:43:28,157
That's not belief. That's you being
an idiot if you don't believe in that

1776
01:43:28,240 --> 01:43:31,437
happens. Belief is measured

1777
01:43:31,520 --> 01:43:34,917
when everything goes wrong

1778
01:43:35,000 --> 01:43:40,397
and you can look up to the heavens and
say, "I don't know how, I don't know why,

1779
01:43:40,480 --> 01:43:43,837
but this will end up working for the
best." And he says, "If you can, I know

1780
01:43:43,920 --> 01:43:46,557
it's hard, and most people can't. Yeah.

1781
01:43:46,640 --> 01:43:50,037
If you can actually change your

1782
01:43:50,120 --> 01:43:54,397
perception right now,
because belief is a choice,

1783
01:43:54,480 --> 01:43:57,917
and choose to believe that this will
work out, I don't know how, then you

1784
01:43:58,000 --> 01:43:59,637
version of yourself that will come out

1785
01:43:59,720 --> 01:44:01,677
of this will be so much more powerful,

1786
01:44:01,760 --> 01:44:06,997
Yeah. so much stronger, so much smarter,
that you will actually be able to reveal

1787
01:44:07,080 --> 01:44:11,157
the thing that you were put on this planet
to do. Just like that first lesson.

1788
01:44:11,240 --> 01:44:14,637
I hear it. I believe it.

1789
01:44:14,720 --> 01:44:17,037
I almost feel it. Yeah. Almost there.

1790
01:44:17,120 --> 01:44:20,677
I'm not there yet.
And I hang up the phone, go to sleep.

1791
01:44:20,760 --> 01:44:23,837
I wake up at 5:00 a.m. sweating,

1792
01:44:23,920 --> 01:44:27,797
crying. I don't cry. I cried as a child,
I don't cry as an adult. Everything's

1793
01:44:27,880 --> 01:44:32,117
fine, nothing is as bad as what
I had as a kid, so nothing is bad.

1794
01:44:32,200 --> 01:44:35,677
Rebecca wakes up 5:00 a.m., looks at me,
she's never seen me cry. We're together

1795
01:44:35,760 --> 01:44:37,677
at this point, 12 years, 13 years.

1796
01:44:37,760 --> 01:44:41,437
Because you're crying.
Said, "Yes." She goes, "Why?"

1797
01:44:41,520 --> 01:44:45,077
Said, "Cuz it's all gone."
Said, "What?" I said, "Everything.

1798
01:44:45,160 --> 01:44:48,397
It's all gone, they're going to take it
all away. It's gone. I did I made this

1799
01:44:48,480 --> 01:44:50,517
mistake, I made that, it's all gone."

1800
01:44:50,600 --> 01:44:53,037
She goes, "Everything?"
I go, "Everything."

1801
01:44:53,120 --> 01:44:56,517
She goes, "Well, remember we spoke about
you once putting a hundred million on my

1802
01:44:56,600 --> 01:45:01,717
name, so in case one thing happens, we'll
have something like bankruptcy remote?"

1803
01:45:01,800 --> 01:45:05,117
Said, "Yeah, I never did that."
She goes, "Well,

1804
01:45:05,200 --> 01:45:07,677
remember we spoke about the fact that we
never signed a personal guarantee, so

1805
01:45:07,760 --> 01:45:10,917
it's not all gone.
We didn't sign a personal guarantee."

1806
01:45:11,000 --> 01:45:13,317
Said, "No, we're signing
on a personal guarantee.

1807
01:45:13,400 --> 01:45:15,997
This piece for your if you really want
to understand first because we were

1808
01:45:16,080 --> 01:45:18,437
going to go public. That debt I had that

1809
01:45:18,520 --> 01:45:23,197
after an IPO you're supposed to be
in a lockup period, so that they can't use

1810
01:45:23,280 --> 01:45:26,797
that as collateral. So I wrote in the
documents that for the six month after

1811
01:45:26,880 --> 01:45:31,317
the IPO it's personal guarantee. But I
forgot my lawyers forgot to write but if

1812
01:45:31,400 --> 01:45:36,117
there's not an IPO on so there wouldn't
be then that guarantee goes away. So

1813
01:45:36,200 --> 01:45:40,517
I say to her no we're
personally guaranteed.

1814
01:45:40,600 --> 01:45:44,037
Our relationship I think we
all get to a moment where the

1815
01:45:44,120 --> 01:45:46,797
two sides get actually tested. Something

1816
01:45:46,880 --> 01:45:51,157
real happened. Yeah. Many ways Rebecca
could have answered this. Many ways

1817
01:45:51,240 --> 01:45:53,517
other partners could have reacted.

1818
01:45:53,600 --> 01:45:55,277
She took a deep breath.

1819
01:45:55,360 --> 01:45:58,997
She looked at me and goes

1820
01:45:59,080 --> 01:46:02,557
"You know my mom's house in upstate
New York she owned it for 30 years she

1821
01:46:02,640 --> 01:46:06,117
doesn't have a mortgage.
We could move there with five kids at

1822
01:46:06,200 --> 01:46:09,437
the time we'll take our five kids.
We're going to home school for a little we

1823
01:46:09,520 --> 01:46:11,517
don't need to send them for school.

1824
01:46:11,600 --> 01:46:14,877
Uh you're going to take a second to find
yourself again. If you want to go back

1825
01:46:14,960 --> 01:46:19,757
into business amazing. If you don't
we'll move to Costa Rica. We'll do a

1826
01:46:19,840 --> 01:46:23,437
little real estate. Kids will be
home school we'll surf every day.

1827
01:46:23,520 --> 01:46:25,477
It'll work out either way. Amazing. No

1828
01:46:25,560 --> 01:46:28,597
matter what you got me and the kids.

1829
01:46:28,680 --> 01:46:33,597
What are you crying about?
At this moment I understood something.

1830
01:46:33,680 --> 01:46:36,557
When we're children and we have
a hard moment when we really

1831
01:46:36,640 --> 01:46:39,997
have a hard moment with our parents
like a difficult that you're like

1832
01:46:40,080 --> 01:46:42,477
suppose you trust them
and they're not there for you.

1833
01:46:42,560 --> 01:46:45,797
That's why it's so sad when children go
through horrible things. There's no one

1834
01:46:45,880 --> 01:46:50,717
there. But as adults
if we do have a partner

1835
01:46:50,800 --> 01:46:53,797
if we have a few close friends they
say you have one close friend you have a

1836
01:46:53,880 --> 01:46:58,397
whole world. If we have a few
close friends if we have a family

1837
01:46:58,480 --> 01:47:02,717
suddenly I felt like I'm not a child
anymore. And there's something I can

1838
01:47:02,800 --> 01:47:05,317
lean on. It's not the end of the world.

1839
01:47:05,400 --> 01:47:09,597
But she looks at my face and she sees
that I'm not I'm almost there she knows

1840
01:47:09,680 --> 01:47:12,237
me well but no she didn't get me over
the hump. I'm still a little depressed

1841
01:47:12,320 --> 01:47:15,837
and it's not like me cuz
I don't get depressed.

1842
01:47:15,920 --> 01:47:19,637
And she goes and by the way
something I've meant to tell you

1843
01:47:19,720 --> 01:47:22,077
when we You you were broke. I find you

1844
01:47:22,160 --> 01:47:27,077
much sexier broke than I do with money.

1845
01:47:27,160 --> 01:47:32,240
Then I smiled. Now I wasn't happy.

1846
01:47:32,800 --> 01:47:36,237
I walked downstairs. Remember I had
15 days to pay back from the 30 million

1847
01:47:36,320 --> 01:47:38,677
that doesn't exist.

1848
01:47:38,760 --> 01:47:41,117
I walked downstairs.

1849
01:47:41,200 --> 01:47:46,357
I have three employees. A week ago,
I had 13,000. I went down from 13,000 to

1850
01:47:46,440 --> 01:47:49,717
three cuz now it's all gone. The three
family office who came just joined me a

1851
01:47:49,800 --> 01:47:53,517
few months ago to manage all this money
that now we don't have. And I'm smiling.

1852
01:47:53,600 --> 01:47:57,917
6:00 a.m. We started at 6:00 a.m. cuz we
had to deal with this horrible situation.

1853
01:47:58,000 --> 01:48:01,877
And I'm smiling. And they're
like, "Why are you smiling?"

1854
01:48:01,960 --> 01:48:05,317
I said, "First of all, I'm smiling
cuz it's all going to work out." They

1855
01:48:05,400 --> 01:48:08,317
thought I lost my They're very rational
investors. They're world-class. They're

1856
01:48:08,400 --> 01:48:09,997
all three of them are with me still.

1857
01:48:10,080 --> 01:48:12,277
Elon, DJ, and Max, they're unbelievable.

1858
01:48:12,360 --> 01:48:13,517
So, I said, "We're going to work out.

1859
01:48:13,600 --> 01:48:17,637
It's all going to work
out because I believe.

1860
01:48:17,720 --> 01:48:21,037
And I don't know how, and I don't know
why. This was the darkest moment. Dawn

1861
01:48:21,120 --> 01:48:24,717
is coming. Just going to take
a deep breath. Going to show itself.

1862
01:48:24,800 --> 01:48:29,320
And my wife thinks I'm sexy.

1863
01:48:32,840 --> 01:48:37,560
Amazing. Do you know who saves the day?

1864
01:48:37,920 --> 01:48:41,520
If you wrote the movie, who saves the day?

1865
01:48:42,200 --> 01:48:45,880
But how? Who is his messenger?

1866
01:48:46,880 --> 01:48:49,637
Do you know that by talking to you now
I'm actually understanding myself what

1867
01:48:49,720 --> 01:48:51,757
happened? Do you know
how many times you told me

1868
01:48:51,840 --> 01:48:54,357
that I should talk about this and I
haven't? And you're like, "Adam, we

1869
01:48:54,440 --> 01:48:58,997
should talk about it."
And I was not expecting us to talk about

1870
01:48:59,080 --> 01:49:02,357
this today. I was expecting
to talk about a lot of other things.

1871
01:49:02,440 --> 01:49:04,757
But by saying it, I myself am
understanding something. There's some

1872
01:49:04,840 --> 01:49:08,237
actions I'm going to need
to do after than this. Massa.

1873
01:49:08,320 --> 01:49:10,797
Massa saves the day. How?

1874
01:49:10,880 --> 01:49:13,957
He pays back the debt. How? He calls

1875
01:49:14,040 --> 01:49:18,557
through Marcelo with his team. They
call Marcelo calls him for a meeting. So,

1876
01:49:18,640 --> 01:49:24,160
here's okay. So, now we're going to
connect and this is all going to connect.

1877
01:49:24,800 --> 01:49:28,117
This is back to belief.
I celebrate the holidays. I'm

1878
01:49:28,200 --> 01:49:31,957
celebrating Yom Kippur. It's the day
of How do you say that word? Atonement

1879
01:49:32,040 --> 01:49:35,877
atonement? Atonement.
It's a day of reflection.

1880
01:49:35,960 --> 01:49:38,757
We don't eat. We don't drink. We pray.

1881
01:49:38,840 --> 01:49:41,837
Or we pray to go to the next
version of ourselves.

1882
01:49:41,920 --> 01:49:44,997
We pray to be forgiven
for all of our sins.

1883
01:49:45,080 --> 01:49:47,317
We pray to learn from our past mistakes.

1884
01:49:47,400 --> 01:49:51,197
And it's Rosh Hashanah and then Yom
Kippur. And in Rosh Hashanah, a close

1885
01:49:51,280 --> 01:49:54,877
friend of mine comes with me and he's
Everybody around me is down, by the way.

1886
01:49:54,960 --> 01:49:57,957
They're all people are really crying
People are really affected by what

1887
01:49:58,040 --> 01:50:02,917
happened. And I'm very affected because
I feel extremely bad for the employees

1888
01:50:03,000 --> 01:50:05,317
and for everybody that was
at the churning with me.

1889
01:50:05,400 --> 01:50:08,317
The investors, all the investors except
for us have all made money already

1890
01:50:08,400 --> 01:50:11,320
multiple times.

1891
01:50:11,480 --> 01:50:15,437
I have this sense of belief.
I don't know how it's going to work out.

1892
01:50:15,520 --> 01:50:19,157
And so, we do the this Rosh Hashanah
and this and then and then between Rosh

1893
01:50:19,240 --> 01:50:24,117
Hashanah and Yom Kippur and then
Yom Kippur happens and we're

1894
01:50:24,200 --> 01:50:28,117
praying. And there are many different
without getting into in Judaism, there's

1895
01:50:28,200 --> 01:50:30,797
different sectors and they
don't all get along.

1896
01:50:30,880 --> 01:50:34,037
And I practice with many different
sectors. I practice with this sector and

1897
01:50:34,120 --> 01:50:37,557
that sector. So, three different sectors
who do not get along with each other,

1898
01:50:37,640 --> 01:50:40,077
which is a shame, but it's the truth.

1899
01:50:40,160 --> 01:50:45,157
All three of them send representatives
to pray with me that day that Yom Kippur.

1900
01:50:45,240 --> 01:50:48,237
One of the biggest rabbis sends his sons.
They've never not prayed with him

1901
01:50:48,320 --> 01:50:52,357
in Yom Kippur. The other one, the head
of the organization and his number one guy

1902
01:50:52,440 --> 01:50:55,917
comes eight ton,
the guy that spoke in and his

1903
01:50:56,000 --> 01:51:00,437
Michael Bird. All these people come
together around me and we are praying

1904
01:51:00,520 --> 01:51:02,637
like there is no tomorrow.

1905
01:51:02,720 --> 01:51:05,717
We're praying for a miracle.

1906
01:51:05,800 --> 01:51:10,597
And suddenly before it ends, Max, one
of the three, comes. I see on his face he

1907
01:51:10,680 --> 01:51:13,757
has something really important to tell me.
He said, "Max, this is all business.

1908
01:51:13,840 --> 01:51:16,237
Don't talk to me. 24 hours no talking
business. This is no business." And he's

1909
01:51:16,320 --> 01:51:19,517
sitting there. He can't help himself.
He said, "They keep trying to want to tell

1910
01:51:19,600 --> 01:51:21,197
me something." I said, "Max, please.

1911
01:51:21,280 --> 01:51:24,717
Unless it's life and death,
I need you to let the sun go down. Just

1912
01:51:24,800 --> 01:51:29,837
participate. Enjoy. Join us.
We're not talking business."

1913
01:51:29,920 --> 01:51:34,157
And it ends. And he says to me,

1914
01:51:34,240 --> 01:51:38,117
"You won't believe this.
Marcelo is inviting you

1915
01:51:38,200 --> 01:51:43,640
for a meeting. He wants
to work the situation out."

1916
01:51:45,840 --> 01:51:50,037
I go and meet Marcelo. He basically says,

1917
01:51:50,120 --> 01:51:55,760
"Adam, we trusted you.
We invested tremendous amount.

1918
01:51:56,720 --> 01:51:59,797
We want to now save the day the way we
want to save the company the way we see

1919
01:51:59,880 --> 01:52:02,997
fit. We would like you
to give us the keys.

1920
01:52:03,080 --> 01:52:07,437
In return for that, we will pay your debt
in full. So, no one has a gun to your head

1921
01:52:07,520 --> 01:52:10,597
because we don't like how
they're treating the situation."

1922
01:52:10,680 --> 01:52:14,197
Again, at this point, they were from the
outside because everybody else was able

1923
01:52:14,280 --> 01:52:18,077
to keep them locked out.
This is what was really happening.

1924
01:52:18,160 --> 01:52:20,637
If I would have gone before we If we
were together, they wouldn't have been

1925
01:52:20,720 --> 01:52:25,000
able to keep them locked out,
but they kept them locked out.

1926
01:52:25,840 --> 01:52:29,157
We will pay you and

1927
01:52:29,240 --> 01:52:32,637
we'll buy your controlling shares

1928
01:52:32,720 --> 01:52:37,720
for approximately $100 million.
It's supposed to be even more.

1929
01:52:38,160 --> 01:52:39,717
We will uh

1930
01:52:39,800 --> 01:52:43,477
pay back your debt 100% and in full and

1931
01:52:43,560 --> 01:52:48,637
on time. And and then
we're going to go and we're

1932
01:52:48,720 --> 01:52:53,357
going to invest an amount in the company
so the company can go to its next level.

1933
01:52:53,440 --> 01:52:56,317
And we will buy from you and from all
the other shareholders at the discounted

1934
01:52:56,400 --> 01:52:59,877
valuations, the approximate valuation
of $10 billion. The last valuation was was

1935
01:52:59,960 --> 01:53:01,197
40.

1936
01:53:01,280 --> 01:53:04,997
Uh 30% which will be a billion to you

1937
01:53:05,080 --> 01:53:07,117
and 2 billion to cuz I own 30% of their

1938
01:53:07,200 --> 01:53:10,197
slots, of everything, minus their piece.

1939
01:53:10,280 --> 01:53:14,437
Um and there was the Miguel part and 2
billion to everybody else. All your

1940
01:53:14,520 --> 01:53:17,117
investors, all the employees, everybody.

1941
01:53:17,200 --> 01:53:20,677
And we said yes. And I stepped down.

1942
01:53:20,760 --> 01:53:24,357
And they put Marcelo the beginning
was running it himself.

1943
01:53:24,440 --> 01:53:28,397
Um interactions with Marcelo were always
whatever he promised that would happen.

1944
01:53:28,480 --> 01:53:32,157
And um and then he chose
the CEO that he chose.

1945
01:53:32,240 --> 01:53:36,117
He asked me to not be as close. Again,
this is back to the old playbook. This

1946
01:53:36,200 --> 01:53:40,677
is the playbook of keep the founder away
and like this. And they come in and the

1947
01:53:40,760 --> 01:53:45,437
thing on the first day they do is they
fire all the people closest to me.

1948
01:53:45,520 --> 01:53:48,917
The problem is they were the ones who
knew everything. They're the only ones

1949
01:53:49,000 --> 01:53:53,237
who knew. Not only ones who knew.
They lived it and breathed it. But it's an

1950
01:53:53,320 --> 01:53:56,837
old playbook. You kill the king and then
you take out the king then you kill all

1951
01:53:56,920 --> 01:54:00,437
of his loyalists. I they called me
the two biggest loyalists called me said,

1952
01:54:00,520 --> 01:54:02,957
"Adam, should we stay cuz the business
will go down?" I said, "Of course you

1953
01:54:03,040 --> 01:54:06,197
should stay." They got
fired first. They put a new

1954
01:54:06,280 --> 01:54:10,677
CEO. And we negotiated
the three and remember

1955
01:54:10,760 --> 01:54:13,277
when we negotiated the reason I stepped
down also and the reason I accepted this

1956
01:54:13,360 --> 01:54:15,957
we negotiated 3 billion for the whole
company, not just 3 billion for

1957
01:54:16,040 --> 01:54:20,437
everybody to take out money.
And uh 3 billion for the whole company.

1958
01:54:20,520 --> 01:54:24,677
So the company is funded. They have
a new CEO. And the payment is scheduled.

1959
01:54:24,760 --> 01:54:28,117
The 3 billion to the company money
in the company goes in. The 3 billion for

1960
01:54:28,200 --> 01:54:31,957
because it's their company now and they
own most of it. The 3 billion that's for

1961
01:54:32,040 --> 01:54:34,677
everybody else is scheduled to come in

1962
01:54:34,760 --> 01:54:38,517
April 1st, 2020.

1963
01:54:38,600 --> 01:54:41,797
Corona hits. March. And the last day of

1964
01:54:41,880 --> 01:54:44,437
March we get a letter from SoftBank

1965
01:54:44,520 --> 01:54:49,637
saying, "Force majeure." And though
it wasn't in the contract, uh we're not

1966
01:54:49,720 --> 01:54:54,517
paying. So all the money that I thought
was coming was going to go. By the way, by

1967
01:54:54,600 --> 01:54:59,077
this point I'm a practiced samurai.

1968
01:54:59,160 --> 01:55:03,717
Deep breath. But and Rebecca a month
before said it's never coming. She

1969
01:55:03,800 --> 01:55:06,557
she was never She
was like it's never coming.

1970
01:55:06,640 --> 01:55:08,277
Uh she was like too good to be true.

1971
01:55:08,360 --> 01:55:11,157
We're going to We're going to have
a little more. We're not out yet. I took a

1972
01:55:11,240 --> 01:55:14,917
deep breath. Didn't come
in and I got the last gift

1973
01:55:15,000 --> 01:55:18,117
that master gave me. Gift of litigation.

1974
01:55:18,200 --> 01:55:22,157
Litigated. We learned a lot about that.

1975
01:55:22,240 --> 01:55:24,797
I don't know if you want another story,
but I could tell you how it goes from

1976
01:55:24,880 --> 01:55:28,757
there, but What was it like having

1977
01:55:28,840 --> 01:55:32,597
people write things about you that are
not true? You know are not true. What's

1978
01:55:32,680 --> 01:55:35,397
that like? You know, connecting to what

1979
01:55:35,480 --> 01:55:39,797
you and I just spoke about. There are
a lot of things I knew I was giving away

1980
01:55:39,880 --> 01:55:41,557
when I stepped down.

1981
01:55:41,640 --> 01:55:44,997
The one thing I completely missed was

1982
01:55:45,080 --> 01:55:48,637
that I was giving away my narrative.

1983
01:55:48,720 --> 01:55:51,957
I had a platform and I had a microphone.

1984
01:55:52,040 --> 01:55:56,997
And then in one day,
I stepped down which to the un

1985
01:55:57,080 --> 01:56:01,317
to the eye that's not experienced >> Yeah.
probably means he must has been

1986
01:56:01,400 --> 01:56:02,877
wrong. Everything he did was wrong.

1987
01:56:02,960 --> 01:56:05,997
Otherwise, he wouldn't have given them
back the keys. The story that you just

1988
01:56:06,080 --> 01:56:09,677
heard the build up, they didn't
No one knew any of it. Yeah.

1989
01:56:09,760 --> 01:56:11,317
That was a hind That's something I now

1990
01:56:11,400 --> 01:56:16,877
understand. So, I handed
over the control over my

1991
01:56:16,960 --> 01:56:21,677
narrative. You were never
accused of doing anything illegal.

1992
01:56:21,760 --> 01:56:26,717
You were never brought up on any
charges. It was all just innuendo,

1993
01:56:26,800 --> 01:56:31,357
storytelling. It was me being a novice

1994
01:56:31,440 --> 01:56:33,557
to the game of life when it comes to

1995
01:56:33,640 --> 01:56:37,397
communication Yeah. and uh media.

1996
01:56:37,480 --> 01:56:41,237
I remember the first time I met you, you
did not need to You didn't need to hear

1997
01:56:41,320 --> 01:56:45,197
the story to know the story. Yeah.
And another person when we met both of you

1998
01:56:45,280 --> 01:56:46,957
at the same time and we're in Malibu.

1999
01:56:47,040 --> 01:56:50,037
Marc Andreessen.
Marc Andreessen calls me a few weeks

2000
01:56:50,120 --> 01:56:54,477
after I stepped down.
Knowing that because he heard so much

2001
01:56:54,560 --> 01:56:57,997
noise from the media, that must not be
the He knew what the story wasn't. Yeah.

2002
01:56:58,080 --> 01:57:00,757
He didn't know what the story was and in
hindsight now that I know him and Ben so

2003
01:57:00,840 --> 01:57:03,757
much better, we've
spoken about it a little.

2004
01:57:03,840 --> 01:57:08,717
For them, getting such media coverage
and hearing so many stories means pick

2005
01:57:08,800 --> 01:57:11,837
up the phone and call. Yeah.
>> There's something very interesting.

2006
01:57:11,920 --> 01:57:14,837
There's an opportunity here. Yeah,
something's going on that's not being

2007
01:57:14,920 --> 01:57:16,837
said. All because this story that's

2008
01:57:16,920 --> 01:57:20,557
being being shouted, it's too much. Not

2009
01:57:20,640 --> 01:57:25,517
only is it too much in their eyes,
we know what WeWork built. Yeah. We know

2010
01:57:25,600 --> 01:57:29,397
Mark says this is a I've shared
this before, but I think it's relevant.

2011
01:57:29,480 --> 01:57:32,157
He calls, first phone call, Adam,
you might not know who I am. I'm Marc

2012
01:57:32,240 --> 01:57:36,437
Andreessen, I'm an investor. I said,
Mark, I know exactly who you are. A16Z

2013
01:57:36,520 --> 01:57:37,637
were already very big at this point.

2014
01:57:37,720 --> 01:57:39,757
This is 2019, right after

2015
01:57:39,840 --> 01:57:42,717
a little after. This is a 2020.

2016
01:57:42,800 --> 01:57:46,037
And he goes, and what do you think? And I
start telling you a little bit what I

2017
01:57:46,120 --> 01:57:50,237
think, and I'm speaking a little bit
like the story that's being told about me.

2018
01:57:50,320 --> 01:57:53,717
And he goes, oh, you're still at that
stage. I said, what stage is that, Mark?

2019
01:57:53,800 --> 01:57:56,437
The one where you believe what other
people are saying about you, and you

2020
01:57:56,520 --> 01:57:59,917
forgot what actually happened.

2021
01:58:00,000 --> 01:58:02,837
This is like the first time I met Marc
Andreessen. Like, I love this guy. This

2022
01:58:02,920 --> 01:58:07,317
is amazing. I said, well, well, Mark,
yes, you might be right. He goes, would

2023
01:58:07,400 --> 01:58:09,277
you like me to tell you what we think

2024
01:58:09,360 --> 01:58:13,517
about you here at A16Z? I said, please.

2025
01:58:13,600 --> 01:58:18,277
He said, you're the only company in our
entire portfolio, at the time about 400,

2026
01:58:18,360 --> 01:58:20,237
today over 1,000.

2027
01:58:20,320 --> 01:58:22,957
You're the only company in our portfolio

2028
01:58:23,040 --> 01:58:27,837
who every single startup that we have
either is using today or used in the

2029
01:58:27,920 --> 01:58:31,877
past. We have no other company
that we could say that about.

2030
01:58:31,960 --> 01:58:34,837
What you've built was not built
in one room with a bunch of engineers.

2031
01:58:34,920 --> 01:58:39,157
Actually, your tech was your weakest link.
We can talk about that one day.

2032
01:58:39,240 --> 01:58:43,677
What you built is you had
to be in 50 countries. You

2033
01:58:43,760 --> 01:58:47,037
were in 70 languages. You were doing
construction. You built a brand. You

2034
01:58:47,120 --> 01:58:51,357
created a movement. The word WeWork
is said as a verb almost. It means I've

2035
01:58:51,440 --> 01:58:53,957
made the WeWork. He said, do you know
how many pitches we get under we work of

2036
01:58:54,040 --> 01:58:55,957
this and the we work of that?" Yeah.

2037
01:58:56,040 --> 01:59:00,637
You You created a category.
That's what we think.

2038
01:59:00,720 --> 01:59:04,157
Um I said, "Thank you so much."
And I hung up the phone.

2039
01:59:04,240 --> 01:59:07,517
Missing the fact that he actually wanted
to do some business or get to know me

2040
01:59:07,600 --> 01:59:10,717
better. Cuz I was at that stage.
But back to

2041
01:59:10,800 --> 01:59:13,557
your question.

2042
01:59:13,640 --> 01:59:17,397
I handed over the mic. Yeah. And I

2043
01:59:17,480 --> 01:59:20,757
didn't understand that by doing so

2044
01:59:20,840 --> 01:59:22,597
the story's going to run away from me.

2045
01:59:22,680 --> 01:59:27,517
Yeah. But because we never
actually did anything of the

2046
01:59:27,600 --> 01:59:29,517
things that you just said. Yeah.

2047
01:59:29,600 --> 01:59:33,237
All it was was a story.
Yeah. Makes a good book.

2048
01:59:33,320 --> 01:59:35,077
I heard it makes a good television show.

2049
01:59:35,160 --> 01:59:39,757
Yeah. But um But if I
haven't So, I haven't watched

2050
01:59:39,840 --> 01:59:42,957
the television show. Yeah. I watched
the first episode cuz my friend Stephen

2051
01:59:43,040 --> 01:59:48,040
Langman really wanted me to. But

2052
01:59:48,400 --> 01:59:52,477
I know from my friends who watched and
people watch it and the stories in this

2053
01:59:52,560 --> 01:59:54,637
If they have 30% of the story right,

2054
01:59:54,720 --> 01:59:56,157
that would be a big number. What's

2055
01:59:56,240 --> 01:59:59,597
interesting about the TV series about

2056
01:59:59,680 --> 02:00:02,677
you, I'll call it a smear piece,

2057
02:00:02,760 --> 02:00:07,237
is everyone I know who's seen it

2058
02:00:07,320 --> 02:00:10,917
thought that both you and Rebecca were
the heroes of the story, which is a

2059
02:00:11,000 --> 02:00:16,317
funny thing to come out from
a smear piece being the heroes.

2060
02:00:16,400 --> 02:00:19,557
I think this is connected
to what we said before.

2061
02:00:19,640 --> 02:00:23,077
I think truth

2062
02:00:23,160 --> 02:00:25,037
and authenticity

2063
02:00:25,120 --> 02:00:27,917
are the biggest tools that we can have.

2064
02:00:28,000 --> 02:00:34,240
So, even though I gave away the mic Yeah.
and let everyone else run with it

2065
02:00:34,800 --> 02:00:38,517
somehow the truth even
in something that was

2066
02:00:38,600 --> 02:00:42,197
supposed to be a smear piece, floated
to the top. And I'll tell you a little bit

2067
02:00:42,280 --> 02:00:47,477
how I think. So, Jared Leto. So,
we talked about Andrew Finkelstein.

2068
02:00:47,560 --> 02:00:50,877
He's a character in our story, I see,
which is excellent. He made sure, by the

2069
02:00:50,960 --> 02:00:53,197
way, to write himself out of every show.

2070
02:00:53,280 --> 02:00:55,317
Cuz he's in Hollywood, he's very powerful.

2071
02:00:55,400 --> 02:00:59,517
Uh but not not this one. He doesn't
get to write himself out of this one.

2072
02:00:59,600 --> 02:01:03,477
Andrew Finkelstein keeps getting
email from Jared Leto's uh agent saying

2073
02:01:03,560 --> 02:01:07,477
Jared's going to play Adam.
He's a method actor. He must meet Adam.

2074
02:01:07,560 --> 02:01:10,797
And I'm ignoring.
Ignoring, ignoring, ignoring.

2075
02:01:10,880 --> 02:01:14,197
And and

2076
02:01:14,280 --> 02:01:18,077
eventually Andrew calls me and he says,
"Look, Adam, they're driving crazy.

2077
02:01:18,160 --> 02:01:19,437
Can't we take one meeting with the guy?

2078
02:01:19,520 --> 02:01:23,477
He'll come in, he'll come out. He's a
movie star, he's an Oscar winner. Be fun."

2079
02:01:23,560 --> 02:01:26,157
So, I have a defamation lawyer at the
time and we're going to show it's going

2080
02:01:26,240 --> 02:01:28,477
to come out. We're like, "How's it legal?

2081
02:01:28,560 --> 02:01:33,117
How can Apple tell a story about us
using our name that we haven't approved,

2082
02:01:33,200 --> 02:01:35,317
that we haven't read,
that we didn't write?"

2083
02:01:35,400 --> 02:01:37,917
And this whole thing, if you're a public
figure, you could do this, could do

2084
02:01:38,000 --> 02:01:41,317
that. I think 15 years ago it wouldn't be.
Today, obviously, it is. Social

2085
02:01:41,400 --> 02:01:44,237
media today, we're in a different place.

2086
02:01:44,320 --> 02:01:48,237
And but I remember talking to the lawyer.
I said, "Look, Adam, if it's so

2087
02:01:48,320 --> 02:01:52,517
horrible because Jared Leto is also
a producer in this, a credit, at least

2088
02:01:52,600 --> 02:01:54,037
we'll tell him some of the true story.

2089
02:01:54,120 --> 02:01:57,517
And maybe it will play
favorable for us." Mhm.

2090
02:01:57,600 --> 02:02:00,717
I I also remember the whole time
reaching out to Apple and sort of being

2091
02:02:00,800 --> 02:02:03,797
I sent an email directly
to Tim Cook, actually,

2092
02:02:03,880 --> 02:02:08,317
saying if Apple is all about personal
privacy and safety and security,

2093
02:02:08,400 --> 02:02:12,117
how can on the one hand you be that when
it represents your iPhone, but when it

2094
02:02:12,200 --> 02:02:16,277
comes to you making content, you can
use a person's name and a person's family

2095
02:02:16,360 --> 02:02:19,557
and a person in a story that I know
you're not going to have the right story

2096
02:02:19,640 --> 02:02:24,637
cuz you guys never spoke to me.
So, factually wouldn't be correct.

2097
02:02:24,720 --> 02:02:28,277
We never got a response from Tim. I did
We did get a response from his lawyers

2098
02:02:28,360 --> 02:02:31,797
that read the following.
You're going to like this one.

2099
02:02:31,880 --> 02:02:35,320
We reviewed the series again.

2100
02:02:35,600 --> 02:02:39,637
Your claims will go to court.
You will litigate for 3 years and you

2101
02:02:39,720 --> 02:02:43,637
will lose. We're moving forward. You're
a public figure and you will lose. Not

2102
02:02:43,720 --> 02:02:47,760
you're wrong, or you're
this, or you're that.

2103
02:02:48,240 --> 02:02:53,517
Um So, that was that. So,
then we say, "Okay, to Jared Leto,

2104
02:02:53,600 --> 02:02:57,077
we say fine." And we meet him in Miami.

2105
02:02:57,160 --> 02:03:01,317
He walks into the house. Sure I met him
before. He's a little shorter than me.

2106
02:03:01,400 --> 02:03:04,837
Looks up, puts his hands
on my face like this.

2107
02:03:04,920 --> 02:03:07,637
And in a his version
of my accent, I think it's a

2108
02:03:07,720 --> 02:03:12,637
very good accent. A very good but very
good demeanor. And he And he had it.

2109
02:03:12,720 --> 02:03:15,517
And in a demeanor, in his version
of Adam Neumann, starts talking to me and

2110
02:03:15,600 --> 02:03:18,717
saying how he's been looking at me for 3
months, and this, and this, and I'm I'm

2111
02:03:18,800 --> 02:03:21,517
not familiar with Hollywood. I've never
met method actors. The whole thing for

2112
02:03:21,600 --> 02:03:24,117
me is a little bit outrageous.

2113
02:03:24,200 --> 02:03:27,077
And And And we just do this thing
for the next hour and a half. And then

2114
02:03:27,160 --> 02:03:29,477
Rebecca is there and stooping. Then at one
point, he looks at Rebecca, he goes,

2115
02:03:29,560 --> 02:03:32,957
"You know, there's this thing when you
and I are stooping." He goes, "Jared,

2116
02:03:33,040 --> 02:03:35,517
you and I are not stooping. It is a

2117
02:03:35,600 --> 02:03:37,917
television show. It is not the truth."

2118
02:03:38,000 --> 02:03:42,557
She's laughing, but it's It's a surreal
moment. You asked, "How does that feel?"

2119
02:03:42,640 --> 02:03:44,997
I'm looking in and he said, "I'm going
to have these prosthetics." And the guys

2120
02:03:45,080 --> 02:03:49,277
say, "How you going to Then he sits
at the table, the kids start walking in.

2121
02:03:49,360 --> 02:03:53,317
And they say, "Who is this?" And I said,
"This guy is going to play me in a

2122
02:03:53,400 --> 02:03:56,877
television show." And they go like,
"Well, wait, but he's shorter, but he

2123
02:03:56,960 --> 02:04:00,317
doesn't look like you, but this."
And every every kid has his own very smart

2124
02:04:00,400 --> 02:04:04,077
thing to say. This is in the midst
of Corona all of this is happening. And we

2125
02:04:04,160 --> 02:04:07,557
finish our 2 hours together.
And I walk Jared outside. He asked me if

2126
02:04:07,640 --> 02:04:11,317
we can have a picture together. Yeah,
I am there. Interesting thing for him,

2127
02:04:11,400 --> 02:04:15,437
which is I'm sure usually he's
the one that people take pictures with.

2128
02:04:15,520 --> 02:04:19,677
He looks at me, he goes, "Listen,
this was supposed to be a smear. You're

2129
02:04:19,760 --> 02:04:22,757
calling it a smear piece. This was
supposed to be a takedown. I know cuz I

2130
02:04:22,840 --> 02:04:26,477
read the script."
It's a shame we didn't meet before, cuz

2131
02:04:26,560 --> 02:04:29,477
I would have gone
and fought for the script.

2132
02:04:29,560 --> 02:04:34,597
But don't worry. I now know who you are,
and I'm going to play you the right

2133
02:04:34,680 --> 02:04:37,797
way." I said, "Who is that, Jared?"
He said, "Adam, I truth. I'm a method

2134
02:04:37,880 --> 02:04:42,117
actor, but there's the real Jared.
The real Jared loves music.

2135
02:04:42,200 --> 02:04:46,437
I love being on stage. I love being
a rock star. You're a rock star. I'm going

2136
02:04:46,520 --> 02:04:50,277
to play you like a rock star. I saw your
family. I saw your kids. You're a good

2137
02:04:50,360 --> 02:04:55,277
guy. What I was told was not accurate. I
wish I knew it before." He said it twice.

2138
02:04:55,360 --> 02:04:58,237
"But don't worry about it. You're going
to come out like a rock star. Just do me

2139
02:04:58,320 --> 02:05:01,357
a favor. Don't watch the show."

2140
02:05:01,440 --> 02:05:03,237
And you kept your word.
>> I said, "You got it."

2141
02:05:03,320 --> 02:05:04,557
>> Beautiful. I said, "You got it."

2142
02:05:04,640 --> 02:05:07,837
>> Beautiful. But let's let's let's really

2143
02:05:07,920 --> 02:05:09,717
go into this for a second.

2144
02:05:09,800 --> 02:05:15,077
How many times in life do we think,
"The IPO is supposed to be my big moment.

2145
02:05:15,160 --> 02:05:16,637
>> Yes. >> The moment I
was going to was going to

2146
02:05:16,720 --> 02:05:20,277
be amazing." Ends up being a total utter

2147
02:05:20,360 --> 02:05:23,077
catastrophe. Never even get to the IPO.

2148
02:05:23,160 --> 02:05:26,397
The television show coming out
was supposed to be this horrible moment.

2149
02:05:26,480 --> 02:05:30,877
Even my team, by the way, uh got very
stressed about that television show. Was

2150
02:05:30,960 --> 02:05:35,237
supposed to be that horrible moment
where it all goes down. And yet it comes

2151
02:05:35,320 --> 02:05:38,637
out and the day after it comes out, the

2152
02:05:38,720 --> 02:05:41,677
inbound starts. Entrepreneurs wanting

2153
02:05:41,760 --> 02:05:45,797
investments, partners wanting to partner,
employees, everything. It was

2154
02:05:45,880 --> 02:05:47,317
>> It's fascinating. >> floodgates.

2155
02:05:47,400 --> 02:05:48,837
>> I've never seen that happen before.

2156
02:05:48,920 --> 02:05:50,677
There's a very famous story in the Bible

2157
02:05:50,760 --> 02:05:53,717
about it. The Jews led by Moshe Moses

2158
02:05:53,800 --> 02:05:57,997
are coming out of Egypt. And the local
all the local nations are very afraid

2159
02:05:58,080 --> 02:06:01,357
they're going to come and there's this
Balak and Balaam, a king and a sorcerer.

2160
02:06:01,440 --> 02:06:04,517
He wants to curse the Jews. And the
sorcerer says to the king, "Look, the

2161
02:06:04,600 --> 02:06:07,717
Jews they have God. It's hard
to curse them. I I don't want

2162
02:06:07,800 --> 02:06:11,117
to do this." And it said the story
is longer, but he says, "I'll dream I'll

2163
02:06:11,200 --> 02:06:15,397
meditate about it." And in the dream,
God tells him, "Don't curse the Jews."

2164
02:06:15,480 --> 02:06:18,477
He wakes up in the morning and he says
to the king, "God spoke to me. Don't

2165
02:06:18,560 --> 02:06:23,077
curse the Jews." And even though he was
in he was working for the negative side,

2166
02:06:23,160 --> 02:06:25,957
even people who work for the negative
side have their own connection to the

2167
02:06:26,040 --> 02:06:28,397
universe. It takes power
to be on both sides.

2168
02:06:28,480 --> 02:06:32,077
And three times and eventually the king
forces him, pays him a fortune, forces

2169
02:06:32,160 --> 02:06:35,997
him to this. They go in a mountain and
he's starting to curse the Jews and the

2170
02:06:36,080 --> 02:06:39,837
blessings come out. And he's cursing
the Jews and the blessings come out.

2171
02:06:39,920 --> 02:06:44,437
Eventually at his last curse he
foresees Messiah and the entire

2172
02:06:44,520 --> 02:06:46,637
coming in the salvation of the world.

2173
02:06:46,720 --> 02:06:48,397
Crazy story. So that's where in the

2174
02:06:48,480 --> 02:06:49,757
Bible is where we hear stories like

2175
02:06:49,840 --> 02:06:53,717
this. I think the truth is the truth is

2176
02:06:53,800 --> 02:06:57,717
the truth. Yeah. I think if
I were to have done something

2177
02:06:57,800 --> 02:07:01,237
that was actually one of those
things that he said before

2178
02:07:01,320 --> 02:07:05,637
it would have ended differently. Yeah.
I think I was saved by actually my

2179
02:07:05,720 --> 02:07:09,837
relationship with Rebecca.
She kept me straight

2180
02:07:09,920 --> 02:07:13,317
honest loyal. Yeah.
We didn't keep our word

2181
02:07:13,400 --> 02:07:17,277
every time but we tried so hard to do
the best we could. Yeah. We kept our

2182
02:07:17,360 --> 02:07:21,677
commitments. We we did our version
of what we thought was right to do. Yeah.

2183
02:07:21,760 --> 02:07:25,997
And even though a lot of our close friends

2184
02:07:26,080 --> 02:07:29,277
used to say is to walk into a room I
had a thousand friends. Then in one day I

2185
02:07:29,360 --> 02:07:32,957
went down to five of them
were my family. Yeah. And

2186
02:07:33,040 --> 02:07:36,317
even that was a gift. The other The other
thing that's interesting about the

2187
02:07:36,400 --> 02:07:41,157
smears Rebecca was always smeared. Oh,
she got the worst of it. We didn't even

2188
02:07:41,240 --> 02:07:44,317
speak about that. >> that it
was as if they were saying she

2189
02:07:44,400 --> 02:07:45,997
was incompetent because she was a woman.

2190
02:07:46,080 --> 02:07:50,797
That's what it was all about which was
like is that the story in 2020? That the

2191
02:07:50,880 --> 02:07:52,877
because she's a woman she's incompetent?

2192
02:07:52,960 --> 02:07:56,197
That's what the smears were.
>> how many times I think when things like

2193
02:07:56,280 --> 02:07:58,997
this happen the women the woman gets

2194
02:07:59,080 --> 02:08:00,957
portrayed even worse. But anyway, let's

2195
02:08:01,040 --> 02:08:04,717
be clear. I was CEO and chairman. Yeah.

2196
02:08:04,800 --> 02:08:08,517
The 100% it wasn't Rebecca. But they

2197
02:08:08,600 --> 02:08:13,357
negated the fact of what she
brought to you which you recognized.

2198
02:08:13,440 --> 02:08:14,757
>> And and what she brought to the brand.

2199
02:08:14,840 --> 02:08:17,957
You know if if you just as a word
the brand that everybody knows we work

2200
02:08:18,040 --> 02:08:20,157
everybody knows we work Adam and Miguel.

2201
02:08:20,240 --> 02:08:24,277
Yeah. Was a hard working let's go build
office space where this logo with the

2202
02:08:24,360 --> 02:08:27,757
man with the hammer we started breaking
the Macintosh computer. You would have

2203
02:08:27,840 --> 02:08:31,917
loved it as Miguel did it as original
hammer breaking the original Macintosh

2204
02:08:32,000 --> 02:08:35,997
computer. A little bit of a I
think of a old Steve Jobs

2205
02:08:36,080 --> 02:08:39,157
that old commercial with
with the woman throwing.

2206
02:08:39,240 --> 02:08:43,117
Um when Rebekah walked into WeWork in the

2207
02:08:43,200 --> 02:08:47,477
first 90 days,
she created do what you love,

2208
02:08:47,560 --> 02:08:51,117
create your life's work, build
a world where people make a life

2209
02:08:51,200 --> 02:08:53,757
and not just a living. She gave it so

2210
02:08:53,840 --> 02:08:55,877
much intention and so much meaning that

2211
02:08:55,960 --> 02:08:59,237
then I ran with it like it was nobody's

2212
02:08:59,320 --> 02:09:02,237
business, but she brought, which is what

2213
02:09:02,320 --> 02:09:07,357
she always does, intention, meaning,
in other words, authenticity. For people

2214
02:09:07,440 --> 02:09:09,237
who know Rebekah, she does not lie.

2215
02:09:09,320 --> 02:09:12,317
Yeah. If she does something wrong, she
will tell you. All you need to do is ask

2216
02:09:12,400 --> 02:09:16,597
her. Tell me what
happens with the IPO. So,

2217
02:09:16,680 --> 02:09:19,877
you're not going to discuss, you're
taking the whole thing. They get it in.

2218
02:09:19,960 --> 02:09:21,917
Okay. Let's do it. So, let's do it.

2219
02:09:22,000 --> 02:09:25,677
Let's go for it. So, April
1st, money doesn't come in.

2220
02:09:25,760 --> 02:09:29,317
The whole world is under Corona. I'm
sure everybody that is listening to this

2221
02:09:29,400 --> 02:09:31,117
can remember where they were April 1st.

2222
02:09:31,200 --> 02:09:33,917
Even my kids realized the money wasn't
coming. They go, "Daddy, it's April's

2223
02:09:34,000 --> 02:09:36,997
Fools' Day. So, of course the money
was never going to come in." I'm like,

2224
02:09:37,080 --> 02:09:40,397
"Yeah, you guys are geniuses." We're
in Israel at the time cuz we always wanted

2225
02:09:40,480 --> 02:09:43,237
to try to live there
and this was our opportunity.

2226
02:09:43,320 --> 02:09:47,117
And suddenly a second
ago in the end of 2019

2227
02:09:47,200 --> 02:09:49,677
when we stepped down and the media
and all the craziness felt like we were

2228
02:09:49,760 --> 02:09:53,077
secluded and the whole world was open
and we were like locked up. Suddenly

2229
02:09:53,160 --> 02:09:54,797
everybody was sort of where we were.

2230
02:09:54,880 --> 02:09:57,517
Yeah. But we had 6 months head's up.

2231
02:09:57,600 --> 02:10:00,357
We're ready for We already We were
already in the bunker when that hit.

2232
02:10:00,440 --> 02:10:03,437
Yeah. Remember from the story, we did
have the original amount of money that

2233
02:10:03,520 --> 02:10:06,557
was given to us. We never got the bill,
but we got that original amount that

2234
02:10:06,640 --> 02:10:09,597
they bought from us to pay. We had a team.

2235
02:10:09,680 --> 02:10:12,957
And we just got to work. When everybody
else was busy understanding what

2236
02:10:13,040 --> 02:10:17,197
happening, I started we started learning
how to trade stock and and how to invest

2237
02:10:17,280 --> 02:10:20,357
in different ways and small businesses
and big businesses and early stage and

2238
02:10:20,440 --> 02:10:24,557
late stage. Even though we weren't using
a big pool of capital, we were hungry,

2239
02:10:24,640 --> 02:10:28,117
and we were ready and willing and with
a very open mind. And the world just

2240
02:10:28,200 --> 02:10:32,037
changed, but part of how I have
approached life like a child, okay,

2241
02:10:32,120 --> 02:10:35,117
today's a new day. Now there's Corona,
what does that mean? What's going to go

2242
02:10:35,200 --> 02:10:37,077
up now? What's going to go now?

2243
02:10:37,160 --> 02:10:42,037
So, as as as all
of that is occurring, this

2244
02:10:42,120 --> 02:10:46,077
is the beginning, the seeds were starting
to grow. What's going to set residential?

2245
02:10:46,160 --> 02:10:48,677
Residential's going to be interesting
cuz even if people stop going to the

2246
02:10:48,760 --> 02:10:50,877
office, the home is where the heart is.

2247
02:10:50,960 --> 02:10:54,997
So, park that aside.
The litigation starts because we want to

2248
02:10:55,080 --> 02:10:58,437
we want to uh to get paid
the 3 billion that was

2249
02:10:58,520 --> 02:11:01,237
promised not just to us for a third of it,
but the other 2 billion is all the

2250
02:11:01,320 --> 02:11:03,357
investors, all the employees, everybody.

2251
02:11:03,440 --> 02:11:06,517
And it was promised,
it was signed, it's contractual.

2252
02:11:06,600 --> 02:11:08,797
So, we start getting into litigation.

2253
02:11:08,880 --> 02:11:13,677
And as we get into litigation, we move
now from Israel back to the Hamptons. We

2254
02:11:13,760 --> 02:11:17,677
live in East Hampton, Andrew
Finkelstein is living right next to us.

2255
02:11:17,760 --> 02:11:19,597
Another interesting thing about him, so

2256
02:11:19,680 --> 02:11:23,237
many close friends that I had

2257
02:11:23,320 --> 02:11:27,157
disappeared when this happened. I do
think that's probably the saddest thing

2258
02:11:27,240 --> 02:11:30,077
of the whole thing. Yeah.
And some of them don't think they

2259
02:11:30,160 --> 02:11:33,877
disappeared, and I forgive.
So, I'm like I'm I'm over it.

2260
02:11:33,960 --> 02:11:38,077
But, you really get measured when
your friends are in their toughest moment.

2261
02:11:38,160 --> 02:11:40,717
And you don't get measured, by the way,
it's nice to send a text and to pick up

2262
02:11:40,800 --> 02:11:44,597
a phone call. >> Mhm. But Andrew
calls me and goes, "Hey Adam, you know

2263
02:11:44,680 --> 02:11:48,517
I'm a Hollywood agent, Corona, I can do
my work from anywhere. Do you want me to

2264
02:11:48,600 --> 02:11:49,957
come and live next to I'll rent a house.

2265
02:11:50,040 --> 02:11:52,797
It's nice to know you're going through
a tough time. We'll hang out, we'll do a

2266
02:11:52,880 --> 02:11:55,637
we'll do our own co-working space,
we'll make a WeWork out of the one of the

2267
02:11:55,720 --> 02:11:58,757
houses. >> Beautiful.
We'll do a beach house co-working,

2268
02:11:58,840 --> 02:12:02,237
our own WeWork, we'll have fun,
we'll work from the jacuzzi.

2269
02:12:02,320 --> 02:12:04,237
I said, "Sounds amazing, Andrew."

2270
02:12:04,320 --> 02:12:08,957
And uh and he moves in, so he's there with
us, and he's in the house next door, and

2271
02:12:09,040 --> 02:12:12,677
we're there. And we are

2272
02:12:12,760 --> 02:12:14,717
starting this litigation,

2273
02:12:14,800 --> 02:12:19,957
and it's not working. It's not working
because the contract wasn't perfect and

2274
02:12:20,040 --> 02:12:24,277
we didn't did it and we weren't there
and SoftBank is very powerful and they

2275
02:12:24,360 --> 02:12:26,837
don't want to pay and they did put
the money in the business and they control

2276
02:12:26,920 --> 02:12:30,277
the business now, so we
can't get any information.

2277
02:12:30,360 --> 02:12:35,517
And I am a person until this point
that has always negotiated with power and

2278
02:12:35,600 --> 02:12:38,717
leverage. I'm very good at momentum.

2279
02:12:38,800 --> 02:12:40,157
When I have the leverage and I have the

2280
02:12:40,240 --> 02:12:43,197
power, I'm very good at negotiate.

2281
02:12:43,280 --> 02:12:45,917
But now I have no leverage, no power.

2282
02:12:46,000 --> 02:12:48,277
I'm completely on the outside.

2283
02:12:48,360 --> 02:12:50,797
Nothing I can do. We're litigating.

2284
02:12:50,880 --> 02:12:54,037
The litigation doesn't look like
it's headed in the right direction

2285
02:12:54,120 --> 02:12:57,757
because of a variety of reasons,
but also because WeWork's not really

2286
02:12:57,840 --> 02:13:00,917
partnering with us cuz we're we're the
founder that was funded outside with the

2287
02:13:01,000 --> 02:13:05,157
start. And at this point, if you're
in WeWork, you believe 100% not 90 to all

2288
02:13:05,240 --> 02:13:07,997
the press that you read because that's
And I do think the world's different

2289
02:13:08,080 --> 02:13:09,597
today. I hope people today don't believe

2290
02:13:09,680 --> 02:13:11,277
everything they read, but this is still

2291
02:13:11,360 --> 02:13:15,077
2020. People are just wising up. And

2292
02:13:15,160 --> 02:13:19,077
I remember going and I was doing
these meditation sessions

2293
02:13:19,160 --> 02:13:20,997
of an hour each.

2294
02:13:21,080 --> 02:13:22,997
And I'm doing one of those. And as I'm

2295
02:13:23,080 --> 02:13:26,237
like very deep while listening to music,

2296
02:13:26,320 --> 02:13:28,277
I suddenly have this

2297
02:13:28,360 --> 02:13:31,197
again, moment of vision. This basically

2298
02:13:31,280 --> 02:13:35,357
what I see is that if a different person,
if I found someone who could get

2299
02:13:35,440 --> 02:13:38,957
excited about WeWork and would
want to take WeWork public,

2300
02:13:39,040 --> 02:13:42,597
SPACs for or at the time
so through a SPAC,

2301
02:13:42,680 --> 02:13:45,797
then must sign SoftBank and all people
fighting thing that three billion

2302
02:13:45,880 --> 02:13:48,957
wouldn't would want to take the company
public cuz they own the majority of it,

2303
02:13:49,040 --> 02:13:52,277
would settle the litigation
cuz no worth fighting it,

2304
02:13:52,360 --> 02:13:56,717
and would let the company go public. And
if all those things went out perfectly,

2305
02:13:56,800 --> 02:13:58,797
then everything would be resolved.

2306
02:13:58,880 --> 02:14:02,877
I come out of the meditation.
I call my dad, who I'm very close to. He's

2307
02:14:02,960 --> 02:14:06,437
actually right outside here hanging
out right now waiting for me.

2308
02:14:06,520 --> 02:14:08,557
He was surfing with me this morning.

2309
02:14:08,640 --> 02:14:12,357
And I say, "Dad, I have an idea.
I'll find a guy. He'll

2310
02:14:12,440 --> 02:14:15,717
say he wants to invest, we'll take
the company public, SoftBank will settle,

2311
02:14:15,800 --> 02:14:18,557
everybody will get paid, SoftBank will
make back their money, everybody will be

2312
02:14:18,640 --> 02:14:20,837
happy. It's all It's
all going to work out.

2313
02:14:20,920 --> 02:14:23,717
Cuz I don't know, that's too many
things that are going to work out.

2314
02:14:23,800 --> 02:14:26,997
And my dad and I argue, he does not
believe in God and I believe in God. I

2315
02:14:27,080 --> 02:14:29,877
said, "Dad, if this happens,
will you believe in God?"

2316
02:14:29,960 --> 02:14:33,197
Looking for an opportunity.
He goes, "No. I'd believe that I have a

2317
02:14:33,280 --> 02:14:38,077
very talented son." I say,
"Okay." He laughs cuz I said,

2318
02:14:38,160 --> 02:14:42,437
"Okay." I call you BS. I say,
"Give me two names of people that

2319
02:14:42,520 --> 02:14:46,317
might find WeWork exciting." They
give me two names. Meeting number one,

2320
02:14:46,400 --> 02:14:48,157
meeting number two. Second meeting, the

2321
02:14:48,240 --> 02:14:50,317
guy goes gaga.

2322
02:14:50,400 --> 02:14:53,757
He loves it. He He sends me back. He

2323
02:14:53,840 --> 02:14:57,437
ends up taking it public.
He knew Steve Steve Jobs when Steve Jobs

2324
02:14:57,520 --> 02:15:00,397
was this, he was part of the company back.
He knew this story, knew that

2325
02:15:00,480 --> 02:15:04,077
story. Had all these stories in his head
that fit this perfectly. But I was very

2326
02:15:04,160 --> 02:15:05,277
clear, I said, "Here's what I would do."

2327
02:15:05,360 --> 02:15:09,277
I gave a clear plan of how to make
WeWork profitable. Again, I still know

2328
02:15:09,360 --> 02:15:12,477
the levers to pull. Yeah. I told him
exactly what to do. I understand the

2329
02:15:12,560 --> 02:15:14,597
pieces on the board. We have no power.

2330
02:15:14,680 --> 02:15:18,397
We brought the guy to basically do
the SPAC, but we're litigating at the same

2331
02:15:18,480 --> 02:15:22,517
time. They're in control and they don't
want settle cuz they don't want to pay

2332
02:15:22,600 --> 02:15:25,037
anything. They don't want to pay
a billion, they don't want to pay.

2333
02:15:25,120 --> 02:15:28,237
We're going back and forth, back and
forth, and we try to give them this IPO,

2334
02:15:28,320 --> 02:15:30,437
but they don't know that they want to go
public, and they don't know they will do

2335
02:15:30,520 --> 02:15:32,837
well public cuz they're
not sure that anybody

2336
02:15:32,920 --> 02:15:36,157
the spark in WeWork is gone. So, they're
not sure that's going to solve their

2337
02:15:36,240 --> 02:15:38,717
problems, and the last thing they need
is another headache. So, they're going

2338
02:15:38,800 --> 02:15:42,837
public was good, but not enough to push
it over the edge. And part of what

2339
02:15:42,920 --> 02:15:46,477
happens when you do a litigation
is everybody does discovery,

2340
02:15:46,560 --> 02:15:48,757
everybody does all the different things,
and and you say, "Oh, we're going to say

2341
02:15:48,840 --> 02:15:50,797
all these things about you. You're going
to say all these things about this, and

2342
02:15:50,880 --> 02:15:53,517
this happened, that happened.
Your fault, our fault."

2343
02:15:53,600 --> 02:15:57,157
And we're getting very close to end the
contract's going to say this, contract's

2344
02:15:57,240 --> 02:16:02,477
going to say that. And we're
getting very close to a to a

2345
02:16:02,560 --> 02:16:05,957
litigation date.
To a to a court date. They're going to

2346
02:16:06,040 --> 02:16:09,077
court, and then you're going
to fight whose contract is right.

2347
02:16:09,160 --> 02:16:13,397
And very close to it, after we all
basically everybody threatens everybody

2348
02:16:13,480 --> 02:16:17,197
with everything, we agree on a settlement.

2349
02:16:17,280 --> 02:16:21,077
And the settlement is this complicated
thing where the money will get paid in 6

2350
02:16:21,160 --> 02:16:24,157
months. First, the company will
go public, then this and all these

2351
02:16:24,240 --> 02:16:27,277
different things, and then the money
will get paid after. And this is 4 days

2352
02:16:27,360 --> 02:16:31,357
before Rebecca gives birth. And I had
a lawyer at the time who ran his own

2353
02:16:31,440 --> 02:16:32,757
firms, and his name was Eric Schiffer.

2354
02:16:32,840 --> 02:16:38,117
Now, he's a partner with me.
And he and I agreed to a settlement.

2355
02:16:38,200 --> 02:16:41,637
It's all happening on Zoom, cuz this is
Corona, so this whole things happening

2356
02:16:41,720 --> 02:16:44,877
on Zoom. Their lawyers, our lawyers,
and they spend 10 times as much as we're

2357
02:16:44,960 --> 02:16:47,197
spending. They have
the biggest lawyer in the world.

2358
02:16:47,280 --> 02:16:51,117
And Andrew Finkelstein, our Hollywood
friend, is sitting right behind the

2359
02:16:51,200 --> 02:16:53,877
screen. And for 3 weeks
as this negotiation is

2360
02:16:53,960 --> 02:16:57,757
going, he does not work. He's just doing
that. And then I go, they say, "Andrew,

2361
02:16:57,840 --> 02:17:01,397
you need to work." He said, "I'm in
Hollywood. The biggest show in the world

2362
02:17:01,480 --> 02:17:04,877
is happening right now in front of my
face, and I'm not missing a beat." Let

2363
02:17:04,960 --> 02:17:08,717
me be. Wow. Corona, remember,
no acting, no nothing's happening.

2364
02:17:08,800 --> 02:17:11,797
He's there, and once in a while, when
he feels there's something important to

2365
02:17:11,880 --> 02:17:14,037
say, he writes it on a piece of paper.

2366
02:17:14,120 --> 02:17:19,037
He shows it to me above the screen.
I read, I listen. Again, who do you trust?

2367
02:17:19,120 --> 02:17:21,877
Puts it down. We're negotiating,
negotiating, and at some point they're

2368
02:17:21,960 --> 02:17:24,677
like, "We're going to pay. We're going
to do this. We're going to do that. And

2369
02:17:24,760 --> 02:17:27,597
and but we're going
to pay you in 6 months."

2370
02:17:27,680 --> 02:17:30,277
I say, "It's not It's not
It's not going to work."

2371
02:17:30,360 --> 02:17:33,437
And he said this. I said, "Look, even
Marcelo, even if I wanted to, you know,

2372
02:17:33,520 --> 02:17:36,557
I can't go back to Rebecca and make
decisions like this together. I can't

2373
02:17:36,640 --> 02:17:39,477
tell her in 6 months. She's It's not
going to work." He goes, "Call Rebecca,

2374
02:17:39,560 --> 02:17:43,277
and I want to talk to her." She's 4 days
before giving birth. We call that stage,

2375
02:17:43,360 --> 02:17:46,437
with six kids, we've seen it
a few times, couch commander.

2376
02:17:46,520 --> 02:17:50,317
That's when she's on the couch,
and orders are given, couch commander.

2377
02:17:50,400 --> 02:17:53,000
And

2378
02:17:53,880 --> 02:17:57,837
I tell I I I tell I So, I get up to to
call her in, cuz that's what he said,

2379
02:17:57,920 --> 02:18:01,357
and then we all know each other. And
Andrew picks up the paper, "If you call

2380
02:18:01,440 --> 02:18:05,877
her in, we will all be
in court next week. You fix it.

2381
02:18:05,960 --> 02:18:10,957
I I read it. I sit back down. I said,
"You know what, Marcel? On second thought,

2382
02:18:11,040 --> 02:18:13,837
let's figure this out. Let's just agree
how are we going to be protected?" And

2383
02:18:13,920 --> 02:18:16,917
we basically work out the deal that's
going to be done, but we get paid in 6

2384
02:18:17,000 --> 02:18:20,717
months after the IPO, after this, after
that, with all these babies and us. Not

2385
02:18:20,800 --> 02:18:23,877
just us, all the employees.
But it's the best we could get. We

2386
02:18:23,960 --> 02:18:27,277
couldn't get a better settlement,
and if I don't settle, there's no IPO. And

2387
02:18:27,360 --> 02:18:28,557
again, I tried to do what I think is

2388
02:18:28,640 --> 02:18:30,637
best for everybody. And I felt taking it

2389
02:18:30,720 --> 02:18:34,357
public if I get the chance. We agree?

2390
02:18:34,440 --> 02:18:38,077
I go to Rebecca to tell her
the great success that we did.

2391
02:18:38,160 --> 02:18:42,117
She goes, "No." So, what do you mean?
What do you mean, no?

2392
02:18:42,200 --> 02:18:45,517
She said, "For 10 years you're running
this business, never have I told you

2393
02:18:45,600 --> 02:18:49,797
once what to do. This is how much
the narrative is wrong. Once."

2394
02:18:49,880 --> 02:18:53,957
She's very respectful. She can give
advice. She would not tell me what to

2395
02:18:54,040 --> 02:18:55,597
do. She respects this is my business.

2396
02:18:55,680 --> 02:18:59,157
She supports it. It's our business
in equity holding, but she's very

2397
02:18:59,240 --> 02:19:02,957
respectful. I'm very respectful of her
businesses. But they didn't pay us. We

2398
02:19:03,040 --> 02:19:06,397
had a contract. We didn't get paid.
One time you do it to us, we learn the

2399
02:19:06,480 --> 02:19:10,637
mistake. Second time, why are we
agreeing as a settlement for all of us?

2400
02:19:10,720 --> 02:19:14,317
Not just for us, for the employees,
for to get paid in a year and a half.

2401
02:19:14,400 --> 02:19:17,997
Please, go back and said, "No deal. I'll
see you in court." Said, "No, you don't

2402
02:19:18,080 --> 02:19:21,437
understand. The IPO will blow up
the whole thing." Said, "No, they'll fold.

2403
02:19:21,520 --> 02:19:25,077
They're bluffing."
They're acting like a bully.

2404
02:19:25,160 --> 02:19:29,477
And my father was a bully. And there's
only one way to deal with a bully.

2405
02:19:29,560 --> 02:19:33,117
Gun to their head. They're bluffing.

2406
02:19:33,200 --> 02:19:37,717
I'm like and I'm this is after I'm like
this is an emotional roller coaster. I

2407
02:19:37,800 --> 02:19:41,197
go with Andrew and I to get Andrew's
with me. He's like, "Oh, I thought we

2408
02:19:41,280 --> 02:19:44,997
had it." I'm like, "Oh, I thought we had
it." We're done. Then Eric Seiler calls

2409
02:19:45,080 --> 02:19:49,677
me. Very famous phone
call in our Fortnite lore.

2410
02:19:49,760 --> 02:19:51,557
Goes, "Adam, I just learned something."

2411
02:19:51,640 --> 02:19:54,957
I said, "What is it, Mr. Seiler?"
Again, he owns his own firm.

2412
02:19:55,040 --> 02:19:57,997
"I don't work for you. I work for Rebecca.

2413
02:19:58,080 --> 02:19:59,957
I said, "How did you learn that?"

2414
02:20:00,040 --> 02:20:02,797
He goes, "Well, she called me
and completely disagrees with my legal

2415
02:20:02,880 --> 02:20:06,317
strategy and told me they were
going to court, not settling.

2416
02:20:06,400 --> 02:20:09,477
It's different from what you and I agreed.
Therefore, I work for her, not

2417
02:20:09,560 --> 02:20:13,717
for you." I said, "Well,

2418
02:20:13,800 --> 02:20:18,117
I feel like I work for her because I know
that all my blessings come from my wife."

2419
02:20:18,200 --> 02:20:22,277
>> Yeah. And if she feels strongly about
something, I support her. I There's no

2420
02:20:22,360 --> 02:20:25,197
question she has better intuition than me.

2421
02:20:25,280 --> 02:20:28,717
So, I support her. You support me. Then

2422
02:20:28,800 --> 02:20:31,037
yes, we're going to go with her way."

2423
02:20:31,120 --> 02:20:34,037
He goes, "Okay then, just wanted
to clarify that." I said, "What do you

2424
02:20:34,120 --> 02:20:37,557
think's going to happen?" He goes, "I
don't know. This is uncharted territory.

2425
02:20:37,640 --> 02:20:41,397
I would I would accept." I said,
"Well, what if they do? What if

2426
02:20:41,480 --> 02:20:43,717
she's right and they do?" He goes,
"You don't understand. They gave all these

2427
02:20:43,800 --> 02:20:47,077
promises." I said, "Eric, we just
litigated for a year about all these

2428
02:20:47,160 --> 02:20:50,557
promises about a contract. What's
a promise? They did the money's in the

2429
02:20:50,640 --> 02:20:53,600
bank, or it's not."

2430
02:20:53,720 --> 02:20:58,237
So, he goes, "Okay. Let's get on the call.

2431
02:20:58,320 --> 02:21:00,557
It's going to be a very bad Zoom."

2432
02:21:00,640 --> 02:21:03,397
We get on the Zoom with the litigators,
with the this, with the that. They have

2433
02:21:03,480 --> 02:21:06,517
their general counsel,
some scary individuals.

2434
02:21:06,600 --> 02:21:10,677
I basically say, "Look, guys, it's not
me anymore. It's It's It's really It's

2435
02:21:10,760 --> 02:21:14,397
me and Rebecca. We make choices together.

2436
02:21:14,480 --> 02:21:19,160
We have a scheduled
C-section Friday, 9:00 a.m.

2437
02:21:19,480 --> 02:21:24,677
Which is also the first the day of Purim

2438
02:21:24,760 --> 02:21:26,037
holiday.

2439
02:21:26,120 --> 02:21:29,077
If the money is not in the bank at 8:30,

2440
02:21:29,160 --> 02:21:33,677
all of it, we'll see you in court.
And even though court is in 8 days, the

2441
02:21:33,760 --> 02:21:37,677
court date, which is the bris of my new
son that's going to be born, I will miss

2442
02:21:37,760 --> 02:21:40,997
the bris, or I will do it in the
courtroom. But, I will see you in

2443
02:21:41,080 --> 02:21:45,997
court." Boom! Explosions.
Ba ba. Screaming. Da

2444
02:21:46,080 --> 02:21:49,637
da da. Andrew behind the scenes
is like this. Tragedy.

2445
02:21:49,720 --> 02:21:52,477
Done. Done. Before you're
watching the movie, you

2446
02:21:52,560 --> 02:21:53,797
and I be like, that's it. It's gone.

2447
02:21:53,880 --> 02:21:57,677
We're saying in court. Next scene,
court. With the bris happening outside

2448
02:21:57,760 --> 02:22:01,837
of the court with the rabbi,
with the mohel.

2449
02:22:01,920 --> 02:22:04,197
4 hours later, Marcelo calls me.

2450
02:22:04,280 --> 02:22:07,237
He's on the walker.
He's on the walker with the video. He's

2451
02:22:07,320 --> 02:22:10,797
saying, "Going Adam,
please call Rebecca in."

2452
02:22:10,880 --> 02:22:13,357
So, I said, "Okay, Marcelo."
Call Rebecca. It's just Marcelo, no

2453
02:22:13,440 --> 02:22:17,837
litigators, no one else.
And she said something beautiful. Said,

2454
02:22:17,920 --> 02:22:22,237
"Rebecca and Adam, I want
to apologize to both of you.

2455
02:22:22,320 --> 02:22:24,877
You guys were 10 years ahead of your time.

2456
02:22:24,960 --> 02:22:29,717
It could be that if you had the keys
to this car when you needed the keys to

2457
02:22:29,800 --> 02:22:32,557
the car, and we would have
been in a different place.

2458
02:22:32,640 --> 02:22:35,477
It is what it is. We are where we are now.

2459
02:22:35,560 --> 02:22:39,517
The money will be in your account 30
minutes before your planned C-section.

2460
02:22:39,600 --> 02:22:42,997
I have my word, but separate from it,
you will see it. You do not need to go

2461
02:22:43,080 --> 02:22:47,037
forward with the litigation.
Let's be partners. I'm going to bring in

2462
02:22:47,120 --> 02:22:50,037
a CEO. I'm going to choose
to do things my way.

2463
02:22:50,120 --> 02:22:54,277
I know to call you if I need to.
I respect you. You respect me. Let's move

2464
02:22:54,360 --> 02:22:57,117
like that." I say,
"Thank you, Marcelo." I look at

2465
02:22:57,200 --> 02:22:59,557
Rebecca. She goes, "All good?" I said,
"You're not worried?" I said, "I'm not

2466
02:22:59,640 --> 02:23:01,877
worried. This is We're all good."

2467
02:23:01,960 --> 02:23:06,077
I say, "Thank you." At 4:30 a.m.,
don't ask me how I didn't

2468
02:23:06,160 --> 02:23:09,997
know money could transfer.
4:30 a.m., it hits the account.

2469
02:23:10,080 --> 02:23:12,757
9:00 a.m., we're in the birthing room.

2470
02:23:12,840 --> 02:23:18,117
Our sixth son, Moses, is born.
Amazing story. That is the true story.

2471
02:23:18,200 --> 02:23:19,437
>> Wow. That's what actually happened.

2472
02:23:19,520 --> 02:23:21,637
>> That's amazing.
The fact that they chose

2473
02:23:21,720 --> 02:23:24,437
to make her the villain cuz it's easy.

2474
02:23:24,520 --> 02:23:27,637
Yeah. >> By the way, it shows
you a lot about society. Yeah.

2475
02:23:27,720 --> 02:23:32,237
But not only is it not true,
it's Whenever people hear something I've

2476
02:23:32,320 --> 02:23:35,757
learned, when you hear two stories,
there's a small group saying one story

2477
02:23:35,840 --> 02:23:38,357
and a large group agreeing,

2478
02:23:38,440 --> 02:23:43,757
listen to that small group and really
take your time listening. Yeah.

2479
02:23:43,840 --> 02:23:46,517
Beautiful. This will be
the last piece, and then I

2480
02:23:46,600 --> 02:23:49,757
think we can, uh, Move on. We can

2481
02:23:49,840 --> 02:23:52,037
part ways with WeWork once and for all.

2482
02:23:52,120 --> 02:23:56,277
A year into this with this CEO,
I see that they're not managing right.

2483
02:23:56,360 --> 02:23:58,357
Stock starts dropping. It's a year in.

2484
02:23:58,440 --> 02:24:01,717
We're like, "Oh my god, they're doing
all the Not one thing that we would have

2485
02:24:01,800 --> 02:24:04,997
suggested." I call a few people, say,
"Hey, if we put We have money at this

2486
02:24:05,080 --> 02:24:07,517
stage again." They said, "Hey, if I put
a big check, will you guys come in with

2487
02:24:07,600 --> 02:24:11,757
me?" Immediately, one day, commitments
to a billion. Now, it's not that they

2488
02:24:11,840 --> 02:24:14,757
did We didn't send the documents.
We didn't do it, but it was so quick that

2489
02:24:14,840 --> 02:24:17,757
it would have come. We would have raised
more if we needed it. Cuz I told people

2490
02:24:17,840 --> 02:24:20,837
exactly what I was going to do.
And again, Corona was happening. Buildings

2491
02:24:20,920 --> 02:24:25,277
were empty. It was very clear at least
to us what the right thing would be to

2492
02:24:25,360 --> 02:24:28,557
create a movement back to to to deal
with the situation cuz these moments of

2493
02:24:28,640 --> 02:24:33,077
change for creatives who are in their
field, those are the biggest moments.

2494
02:24:33,160 --> 02:24:36,757
Mhm. This was my market. This was office.
This was a change. It wasn't the

2495
02:24:36,840 --> 02:24:39,877
end of office. It was time for a new
office. And I called the CEO. I was

2496
02:24:39,960 --> 02:24:43,757
like, "Look, we have a soft commitments
for a billion, and but we're ready to

2497
02:24:43,840 --> 02:24:46,917
go. I want to share with you the strategy.
I want to say this. We will

2498
02:24:47,000 --> 02:24:49,437
invest into the company. We will buy in.

2499
02:24:49,520 --> 02:24:52,717
We want to support. We just want to make
sure we have the same this." We want to

2500
02:24:52,800 --> 02:24:55,797
share it with you, and we want to help
you. Let's make this company successful.

2501
02:24:55,880 --> 02:24:57,757
Corona should be the win, not the loss.

2502
02:24:57,840 --> 02:25:03,077
Schedules it all with us. Our investors,
top guys, on the plane. We're all on our

2503
02:25:03,160 --> 02:25:06,837
way to go. Sends me a text,
"I'm sorry, Adam.

2504
02:25:06,920 --> 02:25:10,157
Whatever reason, it's a pass. I will
pass." Cancel the meeting. Cancel the

2505
02:25:10,240 --> 02:25:13,517
meeting. Never takes it. Wow. Drives the

2506
02:25:13,600 --> 02:25:16,837
company all the way to bankruptcy.

2507
02:25:16,920 --> 02:25:20,317
We were ready to put our money. Yeah.
We brought new money, and we brought a new

2508
02:25:20,400 --> 02:25:23,237
plan. Now, I'm not telling
you that it would have worked.

2509
02:25:23,320 --> 02:25:26,517
>> No, you All I know. Can't know.
All I'm telling you it would have been

2510
02:25:26,600 --> 02:25:27,757
different. I'm just telling you what

2511
02:25:27,840 --> 02:25:30,597
happened. Yes.

2512
02:25:30,680 --> 02:25:34,077
Yeah. And that was that. That's wild.

2513
02:25:34,160 --> 02:25:37,717
Okay. What is Flow?

2514
02:25:37,800 --> 02:25:39,797
So, you asked how it's all connected.

2515
02:25:39,880 --> 02:25:43,717
Yeah. As all of this is happening, Marc
Andreessen is us. Called the first time,

2516
02:25:43,800 --> 02:25:46,797
we missed the fact.
Called the second time.

2517
02:25:46,880 --> 02:25:49,597
Then an article in The Wall Street
Journal comes up saying that Adam

2518
02:25:49,680 --> 02:25:52,957
Neumann's family office has purchased
over a billion dollars worth of real

2519
02:25:53,040 --> 02:25:55,357
estate in South Florida. We're living in

2520
02:25:55,440 --> 02:25:58,757
We've moved to Miami at this stage. And

2521
02:25:58,840 --> 02:26:02,477
he calls Mark and he says, "Hey Adam,
I thought" cuz every time the end of every

2522
02:26:02,560 --> 02:26:04,997
call said, "If you're going
to do something, let's talk."

2523
02:26:05,080 --> 02:26:06,797
Said, "I thought we said that we're
going to talk if you're doing

2524
02:26:06,880 --> 02:26:09,277
something." I said, "Yeah, of course
we are." Said, "You're honestly doing

2525
02:26:09,360 --> 02:26:12,117
something. You bought a lot of real
estate." Said, "No, Mark, that's just

2526
02:26:12,200 --> 02:26:16,397
real estate." Cuz no, it's not. It's
your idea for the future of living. It's

2527
02:26:16,480 --> 02:26:20,477
a new brand. It's WeLive, but better.

2528
02:26:20,560 --> 02:26:25,197
I say, "Well, honestly speaking,
yes, I've been having the thoughts."

2529
02:26:25,280 --> 02:26:28,717
And I but it's not that. Said, "Do you
have an idea?" Said, "I do." Said, "Are

2530
02:26:28,800 --> 02:26:31,557
you clear about how you're going to do
it?" Said, "I don't care about how it

2531
02:26:31,640 --> 02:26:33,677
starts." Said, "Do you have a name?"

2532
02:26:33,760 --> 02:26:36,357
Said, "I don't." Said,
"Do you want to talk about it?"

2533
02:26:36,440 --> 02:26:42,157
Said, "Whenever you want."
And we're going to really connected. And

2534
02:26:42,240 --> 02:26:44,557
I said, "Let's talk about it."
Said, "Okay."

2535
02:26:44,640 --> 02:26:47,837
And we sort of leave it in the air.
I still don't follow up. So, the

2536
02:26:47,920 --> 02:26:50,757
settlement is February 2021.

2537
02:26:50,840 --> 02:26:52,677
We are starting to purchase real estate

2538
02:26:52,760 --> 02:26:57,797
and do all these different things.
Show is going to come out March 2023.

2539
02:26:57,880 --> 02:27:00,477
And March 2022. >> Right, the next year.

2540
02:27:00,560 --> 02:27:03,037
>> a year. It's quick. One year. And and

2541
02:27:03,120 --> 02:27:08,397
the team is starting to stress out that
the show is going to come out to smear

2542
02:27:08,480 --> 02:27:11,117
our name, ruin everything.
>> And we just spent the past two years

2543
02:27:11,200 --> 02:27:15,397
fixing everything one step after the
other. They're freaking out. Until then,

2544
02:27:15,480 --> 02:27:16,397
we didn't care. There was a belief.

2545
02:27:16,480 --> 02:27:19,037
There's a team. >> I remember
speaking to you then, and I

2546
02:27:19,120 --> 02:27:24,197
remember how uh how much anxiety there
was around this thing that you have no

2547
02:27:24,280 --> 02:27:26,637
control over. Do you remember
what do you thought was

2548
02:27:26,720 --> 02:27:30,677
going to happen? No. You said you had
two ideas. One, you said you should

2549
02:27:30,760 --> 02:27:33,237
write a book and it should come out
the next day with the true story.

2550
02:27:33,320 --> 02:27:35,237
>> Oh, that's interesting.
>> But then we wouldn't have been able to

2551
02:27:35,320 --> 02:27:38,077
do this today. So, it's good I didn't
listen. But it would have worked. Yeah.

2552
02:27:38,160 --> 02:27:39,317
He said you should own your narrative.

2553
02:27:39,400 --> 02:27:42,557
The bottom line of what you told me is,
"Adam, your narrative was taken away.

2554
02:27:42,640 --> 02:27:47,197
You should own it." I didn't fully
understand back then what you meant.

2555
02:27:47,280 --> 02:27:50,397
The other thing he said is,
"I don't know how.

2556
02:27:50,480 --> 02:27:54,637
I have a weird feeling that because
you've never done anything actually wrong,

2557
02:27:54,720 --> 02:27:57,037
people are going to not interpret it
the way they're intending to it." And he

2558
02:27:57,120 --> 02:27:59,797
said, "Don't hold He said, "I can't
explain to you how that's logical cuz I

2559
02:27:59,880 --> 02:28:03,597
know it's a takedown."
I said, "I don't know."

2560
02:28:03,680 --> 02:28:07,557
And so the team is now very worried cuz we

2561
02:28:07,640 --> 02:28:11,517
have worked one foot after the other
to to build ourselves from the beginning

2562
02:28:11,600 --> 02:28:13,797
business-wise and reputation-wise.

2563
02:28:13,880 --> 02:28:17,117
A lot of people believe this false story
suddenly. And again, I'm walking into a

2564
02:28:17,200 --> 02:28:20,077
room every time needing
to explain what really happened.

2565
02:28:20,160 --> 02:28:25,717
And they're worried. And so it's going
to come out and that's a horrible thing.

2566
02:28:25,800 --> 02:28:28,797
Oh, we have Marc Andreessen that's been
calling us. I'm an hour before the call

2567
02:28:28,880 --> 02:28:31,037
with Marc. I really have nothing to say.

2568
02:28:31,120 --> 02:28:36,157
Yeah. And this is back to that same story.

2569
02:28:36,240 --> 02:28:38,957
I called my partner Ilan. I was like,
"Ilan, I'm canceling the call." He goes,

2570
02:28:39,040 --> 02:28:41,357
"No, you're not." I was like, "I'm
canceling the call." He goes, "Why? Marc

2571
02:28:41,440 --> 02:28:44,317
was excited about the call. He said,
"Finally you're talking." And like,

2572
02:28:44,400 --> 02:28:46,357
"Marc's excited. Don't cancel."

2573
02:28:46,440 --> 02:28:49,437
I said, "Well, I don't have anything
to say." He said, "Yes, you do. You have a

2574
02:28:49,520 --> 02:28:53,557
vision in your head. It doesn't have
a name. It's a new business. You have the

2575
02:28:53,640 --> 02:28:56,797
vision of the future of how
people are going to live.

2576
02:28:56,880 --> 02:28:59,917
Tell him that." I said,
"I'm not clear about it yet."

2577
02:29:00,000 --> 02:29:03,397
He said He said, "Adam, I'm your partner.
It's hiding inside of you.

2578
02:29:03,480 --> 02:29:08,237
Yeah. It's your perfect founder market
fit for this thing. It's always been

2579
02:29:08,320 --> 02:29:10,757
there. It's your original idea.
Your original idea was no WeWork. Your

2580
02:29:10,840 --> 02:29:13,477
original idea was called concept
living when you're in college.

2581
02:29:13,560 --> 02:29:16,637
It's your original idea. It's from the
kibbutz. It's how people live. It's the

2582
02:29:16,720 --> 02:29:19,277
future of living. Tell him that."

2583
02:29:19,360 --> 02:29:22,437
I said, "Ilan, I'm not I'm not ready to
say it. He's the biggest investor in the

2584
02:29:22,520 --> 02:29:26,597
world. I don't want to half thought idea.
I really want to articulate it clear."

2585
02:29:26,680 --> 02:29:30,277
He goes, "No problem. Tell him
you'd love to do it face-to-face.

2586
02:29:30,360 --> 02:29:32,717
He's going to invite you. It's going
to take a second. We're going to get a

2587
02:29:32,800 --> 02:29:36,677
second to get our act together. We'll
do it then. Call is about to come. I'm

2588
02:29:36,760 --> 02:29:40,237
sweating. I can't believe why I'm
sweating. This is after the all this

2589
02:29:40,320 --> 02:29:43,917
stuff. What Why am I again acting like
I'm a 32-year-old? What am I stressed

2590
02:29:44,000 --> 02:29:47,717
about? We own all this stuff.
We're doing. We're building. We're

2591
02:29:47,800 --> 02:29:51,877
my family. I've learned a lot. I'm in a
much better place. I feel happier. What

2592
02:29:51,960 --> 02:29:55,717
am I How am I stressed again like I'm
invest like I'm pitching to an investor

2593
02:29:55,800 --> 02:29:59,197
at age 28. >> Yeah.
At the exact same time that I have

2594
02:29:59,280 --> 02:30:04,637
that thought, my second feeling is like,
"Wow, I like this. I miss this. This is

2595
02:30:04,720 --> 02:30:05,957
how it feels to be in the ring."

2596
02:30:06,040 --> 02:30:10,157
>> Yeah. >> I feel alive.
I get on the call and very honestly I

2597
02:30:10,240 --> 02:30:13,797
say I have I say what I say. I say I
want to do it face-to-face. Talk for a

2598
02:30:13,880 --> 02:30:16,517
minute about other stuff said,
"Would be my pleasure."

2599
02:30:16,600 --> 02:30:18,637
A week later he invites me.

2600
02:30:18,720 --> 02:30:23,757
We go to Malibu.
Four weeks later we sit down.

2601
02:30:23,840 --> 02:30:25,957
And the whole way >> Is this the
first time you're meeting him in

2602
02:30:26,040 --> 02:30:28,597
>> First time meeting face-to-face.
Never met before. Didn't know he was that

2603
02:30:28,680 --> 02:30:30,557
tall? Yeah. He's tall guy. Very tall.

2604
02:30:30,640 --> 02:30:34,957
>> Taller than me? Yeah. Him,
his head of his crypto fund Chris

2605
02:30:35,040 --> 02:30:39,677
Dixon, and another tall guy.
All of them first time. We're in Malibu.

2606
02:30:39,760 --> 02:30:44,037
We walk in. And

2607
02:30:44,120 --> 02:30:48,637
we start talking. It's high-level. Da da
da da da. Everybody sits down. And Mark

2608
02:30:48,720 --> 02:30:53,317
like starts saying, "So, Adam, we're all
here. We'd like to hear." Yeah. I say,

2609
02:30:53,400 --> 02:30:56,797
"Mark, I would like to talk about WeWork
first and my lessons learned." He said,

2610
02:30:56,880 --> 02:30:59,077
"You don't need to." I said,
"I understand. I would really

2611
02:30:59,160 --> 02:31:01,437
like to." He goes, "Adam, let's be clear.

2612
02:31:01,520 --> 02:31:05,997
We called you here because we know that we
think has happened. Assume that we've

2613
02:31:06,080 --> 02:31:09,677
spoken to most people that have ever
worked with you. Definitely to an

2614
02:31:09,760 --> 02:31:13,517
engineer that has ever worked with
you and all of your board members.

2615
02:31:13,600 --> 02:31:16,637
Let's talk about the future of living."

2616
02:31:16,720 --> 02:31:19,557
I say, "Mark, I really appreciate it.

2617
02:31:19,640 --> 02:31:21,437
I've never spoken to you about this.

2618
02:31:21,520 --> 02:31:24,957
Especially if you know so much about it,
maybe I can learn one more thing. I know

2619
02:31:25,040 --> 02:31:27,917
I learned a lot, but maybe there's one
more lesson hiding there. Yeah. I want

2620
02:31:28,000 --> 02:31:31,397
to talk about it.
And this for those people who know Mark,

2621
02:31:31,480 --> 02:31:34,717
he'll say twice, but if you let him loose,
he's going to go and there is no

2622
02:31:34,800 --> 02:31:37,997
filter and it's going to be some of
the smartest things you've ever heard in

2623
02:31:38,080 --> 02:31:43,037
your life. Yeah. He almost does
a version of this. He said, "Okay, Adam,

2624
02:31:43,120 --> 02:31:46,117
let's go." And we go
for it and for the next hour

2625
02:31:46,200 --> 02:31:51,397
and a half, not only do I share what I
share, I learn at least five new things

2626
02:31:51,480 --> 02:31:54,277
about it. The craziest
one being he goes, "Hey,

2627
02:31:54,360 --> 02:31:57,717
when you took the money from Benchmark,
did you ever check how many founders

2628
02:31:57,800 --> 02:32:02,037
they ever ousted?" I said,
"No." He goes, "Interesting.

2629
02:32:02,120 --> 02:32:05,677
Jack Dorsey, uh Travis Kalanick."
And then he names

2630
02:32:05,760 --> 02:32:08,557
five other ones. He goes, "They're
known for it. So, it's not that they said

2631
02:32:08,640 --> 02:32:11,437
they're great investors, but this has
happened there many times. Did you even

2632
02:32:11,520 --> 02:32:13,797
know that?" I said, "No, I didn't."

2633
02:32:13,880 --> 02:32:16,357
He goes, "Okay, so we learned one
thing about you. You did not do your

2634
02:32:16,440 --> 02:32:18,317
homework." Yeah. I said, "No, I did not.

2635
02:32:18,400 --> 02:32:21,157
I trusted." Yeah. He goes, "Okay."

2636
02:32:21,240 --> 02:32:25,837
We then talked for the next 3 hours
then we talk about the future of living.

2637
02:32:25,920 --> 02:32:28,317
He said, "Adam, what would you want to
solve if you solve What do you think the

2638
02:32:28,400 --> 02:32:33,517
two biggest problems?" I said, "Loneliness
and ownership." He goes, "Great. How are

2639
02:32:33,600 --> 02:32:36,557
we going to solve that?"
And then we talked about how I think

2640
02:32:36,640 --> 02:32:40,797
we're going to solve that.
And at the end he goes, "So,

2641
02:32:40,880 --> 02:32:44,077
what do you think about considering you
partners?" Cuz by this point I'm funding

2642
02:32:44,160 --> 02:32:47,237
the business 100% on my own. I don't
want partners. I don't need partners.

2643
02:32:47,320 --> 02:32:49,357
I'm traumatized. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

2644
02:32:49,440 --> 02:32:52,357
I said, "I genuinely didn't think about
it." He goes, "Well, how about you do

2645
02:32:52,440 --> 02:32:55,437
your homework and call a lot
of people who we've been

2646
02:32:55,520 --> 02:32:59,997
investors of cuz we've already
called a lot of people that know you.

2647
02:33:00,080 --> 02:33:03,757
See what you think."
And basically for the next 6 months we

2648
02:33:03,840 --> 02:33:07,997
get to know each other, but as we're
getting to know each other, we shape The

2649
02:33:08,080 --> 02:33:10,797
business already existed. There were
buildings already bought a small tech

2650
02:33:10,880 --> 02:33:14,837
company that we were using. There were
things that were occurring already.

2651
02:33:14,920 --> 02:33:19,077
But oh, we shape it
even bigger. And Mark is

2652
02:33:19,160 --> 02:33:20,717
playing a very active role and every

2653
02:33:20,800 --> 02:33:23,037
time I think big, he thinks bigger. But

2654
02:33:23,120 --> 02:33:27,757
not the way Masa thought
bigger, grow faster.

2655
02:33:27,840 --> 02:33:30,557
The way think longer.

2656
02:33:30,640 --> 02:33:33,877
Build a better product. Take your time.

2657
02:33:33,960 --> 02:33:37,797
Yeah. Don't worry about profitability
not because you're chasing revenue.

2658
02:33:37,880 --> 02:33:39,277
Don't worry about profitability because

2659
02:33:39,360 --> 02:33:42,757
if we can actually challenge loneliness

2660
02:33:42,840 --> 02:33:46,557
and ownership in a real way,
we're going to have a world-changing

2661
02:33:46,640 --> 02:33:49,957
business. Yeah. And Mark
says to me, and I am here

2662
02:33:50,040 --> 02:33:53,797
to build the big one. Yeah. Not the middle
one. So it's again that energy of

2663
02:33:53,880 --> 02:33:57,237
wow, here's someone thinking as big
or bigger than me. Mhm. But he's not

2664
02:33:57,320 --> 02:34:00,517
telling me go crazy. He's teaching me
and he's teaching me history. Said great

2665
02:34:00,600 --> 02:34:02,717
tech teams are small, they're not big.

2666
02:34:02,800 --> 02:34:05,957
Starts naming every single great tech
product that was built and how it was

2667
02:34:06,040 --> 02:34:08,597
built. And as we do
this partnership and Ben

2668
02:34:08,680 --> 02:34:11,757
Horowitz is starting to jump in, but
the first board meeting was only Mark and

2669
02:34:11,840 --> 02:34:13,757
starting the second Ben joins.

2670
02:34:13,840 --> 02:34:17,517
The one thing we agreed in advance
is when it comes to technology,

2671
02:34:17,600 --> 02:34:19,277
they will help choose the leaders.

2672
02:34:19,360 --> 02:34:24,477
Great. Amazing. They will help choose the
leaders and on our board meetings, we're

2673
02:34:24,560 --> 02:34:26,957
going to spend time talking about
the whole business, but we're really going

2674
02:34:27,040 --> 02:34:30,597
to spend time talking about tech.
Cuz when it comes to building a brand, a

2675
02:34:30,680 --> 02:34:34,077
global movement or real estate,
they truly trust me. Comes to building

2676
02:34:34,160 --> 02:34:38,037
technology, they wanted me to truly
trust them. Great. Now even though my

2677
02:34:38,120 --> 02:34:42,517
investors before were
tech investors, not once

2678
02:34:42,600 --> 02:34:47,237
did they give any advice. No.
I love this. I'm like, Great. And then

2679
02:34:47,320 --> 02:34:50,517
Mark has the aha moment that even
takes it to the next level.

2680
02:34:50,600 --> 02:34:53,597
Said how much money looked at all of
my real estate portfolio. He said choose

2681
02:34:53,680 --> 02:34:56,437
the best. Tell me how much equity it is.

2682
02:34:56,520 --> 02:35:00,797
And that's how we're going to invest.
So I put 350 million in the form of equity

2683
02:35:00,880 --> 02:35:04,157
of real estate, not debt, not value
of real estate, just the equity.

2684
02:35:04,240 --> 02:35:08,597
And they put 350 million cash.
We both had skin in the game. The one rule

2685
02:35:08,680 --> 02:35:11,797
between the two of us they told us
that I don't want to align with you. Even

2686
02:35:11,880 --> 02:35:14,637
though you weren't actually misaligned
with your investors cuz you didn't do

2687
02:35:14,720 --> 02:35:17,837
anything wrong, Yeah. not only was there
the perception of misalignment, you

2688
02:35:17,920 --> 02:35:21,917
found yourself misaligned. Let's make
a rule. When you buy, we buy. When you

2689
02:35:22,000 --> 02:35:25,877
sell, we you sell. We're together.
I said, great rule. Great rule. Can't wait

2690
02:35:25,960 --> 02:35:29,717
to be with you aligned. And just to

2691
02:35:29,800 --> 02:35:33,037
lend this point home and then we'll
take it to what it is that we've been

2692
02:35:33,120 --> 02:35:35,797
building. It's time to find a CTO.

2693
02:35:35,880 --> 02:35:38,677
Something people don't know about Flow,
Flow spends more money on technology

2694
02:35:38,760 --> 02:35:40,357
than anything else, not on real estate.

2695
02:35:40,440 --> 02:35:44,917
Really? We'll explain a second why.
So, it's time to find a CTO.

2696
02:35:45,000 --> 02:35:48,157
And we go on this 6-month journey
of interviewing the best on the planet cuz

2697
02:35:48,240 --> 02:35:52,157
we're not going to make that mistake
again. We get to four final candidates.

2698
02:35:52,240 --> 02:35:55,877
And I choose my final one and then
I introduce all four to Ben.

2699
02:35:55,960 --> 02:36:00,197
And Ben Horowitz was an amazing CEO
himself, but also a coach of CEOs. He's

2700
02:36:00,280 --> 02:36:04,677
a great recruiter and hirer, seen it all,
done it home. And Ben interviews, I

2701
02:36:04,760 --> 02:36:07,637
interview. Ben calls me.
He goes, "Hey Adam, I

2702
02:36:07,720 --> 02:36:10,797
finished my four interviews. I know my
pick." I said, "Great." He goes, "First,

2703
02:36:10,880 --> 02:36:14,037
I'm going to tell you who you picked."
I said, "Let's go, Ben." Cuz you picked

2704
02:36:14,120 --> 02:36:18,037
the Amazon guy. I said, "Yes, I did."
He goes, "Great pick. He has the

2705
02:36:18,120 --> 02:36:23,157
experience. He's a great guy. He worked in
a great company. He checks all the boxes."

2706
02:36:23,240 --> 02:36:27,677
He's not your guy. I said, "Why, Ben?"
Cuz your guy's the WhatsApp guy.

2707
02:36:27,760 --> 02:36:30,117
I said, "Why is my guy is the WhatsApp
guy?" Cuz I'm going to tell you

2708
02:36:30,200 --> 02:36:32,957
something. His name is Scott.
I'm going to tell you something about

2709
02:36:33,040 --> 02:36:35,477
Scott that Scott doesn't
know about himself.

2710
02:36:35,560 --> 02:36:39,437
Scott is extremely smart.
Scott had to architect a very

2711
02:36:39,520 --> 02:36:43,277
complicated situation WhatsApp and dealt
with billions and billions of users and

2712
02:36:43,360 --> 02:36:46,957
huge numbers that you're you have never
imagined the numbers that he dealt. And

2713
02:36:47,040 --> 02:36:49,437
we know about his engineering team and
how he cleaned it up and how he did the

2714
02:36:49,520 --> 02:36:52,997
architecture and there's a lot of really
good things that we did our diligence on.

2715
02:36:53,080 --> 02:36:56,717
But Scott has one quality that builds
excellent tech teams that you need. I

2716
02:36:56,800 --> 02:36:59,877
said, "What is that?" He said, "When
someone says something stupid next to

2717
02:36:59,960 --> 02:37:03,157
Scott, Scott does this with his face.

2718
02:37:03,240 --> 02:37:06,517
He can't help it.
He doesn't even know he does it."

2719
02:37:06,600 --> 02:37:09,917
I get it. And Ben, that's important
for our tech team? He goes, "It's the most

2720
02:37:10,000 --> 02:37:13,397
important." I said, "Why?" Cuz I'm going
to tell you a secret about tech teams

2721
02:37:13,480 --> 02:37:15,717
and why small tech teams are great. One

2722
02:37:15,800 --> 02:37:18,477
bad apple ruins the whole thing.

2723
02:37:18,560 --> 02:37:23,797
We always manage to the lowest basis,
not to the highest. He can't help it.

2724
02:37:23,880 --> 02:37:27,397
Even if you won't be able to tell them
you're fired, they will see on his face

2725
02:37:27,480 --> 02:37:31,597
that he thinks they are not great and
they will go find another job. But this

2726
02:37:31,680 --> 02:37:35,637
for Flow? Yeah. Flow's tech team needs
to be world class cuz Flow's trying to

2727
02:37:35,720 --> 02:37:39,277
solve very large problems.
And it's going to take time to build

2728
02:37:39,360 --> 02:37:42,397
what you're going to build. And we have
to make sure the core is correct because

2729
02:37:42,480 --> 02:37:46,277
if our foundation is not there, we won't
be able to deliver on this big mission.

2730
02:37:46,360 --> 02:37:48,557
>> Amazing. He's your guy.

2731
02:37:48,640 --> 02:37:51,597
Again, old Adam might have argued. Yeah.

2732
02:37:51,680 --> 02:37:55,797
New Adam chose his partners because of
what they know and what he doesn't know.

2733
02:37:55,880 --> 02:37:58,957
>> And what they bring. Yeah.
I don't know if Ben thought this was

2734
02:37:59,040 --> 02:38:02,397
going to be an argument or not. I said,
"Great. Yes." Yeah. He was like, "That's

2735
02:38:02,480 --> 02:38:04,077
it?" I said, "Of course that's it.

2736
02:38:04,160 --> 02:38:06,357
That's why That's why we're partners.

2737
02:38:06,440 --> 02:38:09,397
I know you know more than me
and obviously I didn't do a good job last

2738
02:38:09,480 --> 02:38:13,397
time on this topic.
Bring it on." Yeah. And we recruit

2739
02:38:13,480 --> 02:38:16,277
Scott. Yeah. How many

2740
02:38:16,360 --> 02:38:18,717
uh CTOs did you hire in the past?

2741
02:38:18,800 --> 02:38:22,237
>> Six. And how many
has he hired in the past?

2742
02:38:22,320 --> 02:38:26,117
He's hired so many entrepreneurs, by
the way, who act as CTOs at the beginning

2743
02:38:26,200 --> 02:38:29,757
right in pure tech companies
or more than just a tech company.

2744
02:38:29,840 --> 02:38:32,997
In pure tech companies, you are the

2745
02:38:33,080 --> 02:38:36,797
uh many times the founder is the CTO at
the beginning. And then they all have to

2746
02:38:36,880 --> 02:38:40,237
hire CTOs. Yeah. So he has over
a thousand companies. So he's done He's

2747
02:38:40,320 --> 02:38:43,397
done this over a thousand times
this way or that way sometimes directly,

2748
02:38:43,480 --> 02:38:45,877
sometimes indirectly.
So No questions asked.

2749
02:38:45,960 --> 02:38:49,197
>> level of experience that

2750
02:38:49,280 --> 02:38:51,517
feels good trusting. It's also this

2751
02:38:51,600 --> 02:38:56,397
connects to our past.
At WeWork, because we were trying,

2752
02:38:56,480 --> 02:38:59,997
especially now that we know the story,
at some point to start chasing revenue.

2753
02:39:00,080 --> 02:39:04,117
Yeah. We were trying to build
systems that can count and manage.

2754
02:39:04,200 --> 02:39:09,117
At Flow, from the first day, our mission
was oneness. One is for a person in

2755
02:39:09,200 --> 02:39:12,637
themselves, person
in their community, and a person

2756
02:39:12,720 --> 02:39:14,437
in the natural world.

2757
02:39:14,520 --> 02:39:16,557
To achieve that, you need to build

2758
02:39:16,640 --> 02:39:20,597
technology. Now, we talk a lot about AI

2759
02:39:20,680 --> 02:39:25,197
to think instead of humans. At Flow,
we talk about AI to empower humans to be

2760
02:39:25,280 --> 02:39:26,637
the best version of themselves.

2761
02:39:26,720 --> 02:39:30,237
>> Beautiful. To create spaces that
empower humans to be the best version of

2762
02:39:30,320 --> 02:39:31,917
themselves.

2763
02:39:32,000 --> 02:39:34,197
Our technology does not need to think

2764
02:39:34,280 --> 02:39:37,597
for us. It needs to make everything so

2765
02:39:37,680 --> 02:39:40,837
smooth and make things work so

2766
02:39:40,920 --> 02:39:45,757
organically that we can be part
of something greater than ourselves.

2767
02:39:45,840 --> 02:39:50,077
And that's why our CTO was such
an important pick. So, now he starts and

2768
02:39:50,160 --> 02:39:53,637
it's 3 weeks into the job.
And Adam says, "Hey Adam,

2769
02:39:53,720 --> 02:39:57,517
I have good news and bad news.
The good news is I have an idea of the

2770
02:39:57,600 --> 02:40:01,597
architecture that would build what we
need to build to deliver on your vision,

2771
02:40:01,680 --> 02:40:03,917
solving loneliness of solving ownership

2772
02:40:04,000 --> 02:40:06,277
and solving loneliness and on creating

2773
02:40:06,360 --> 02:40:09,357
this energy of oneness or togetherness."

2774
02:40:09,440 --> 02:40:12,717
The bad news is current real estate

2775
02:40:12,800 --> 02:40:17,237
technology is built on databases

2776
02:40:17,320 --> 02:40:21,277
and does not put the resident or the
member first. Puts a lot of other things

2777
02:40:21,360 --> 02:40:25,837
first, but not that. We're going to have
to build it from scratch. All of it.

2778
02:40:25,920 --> 02:40:29,397
Back to the WeWork days, I was told
by many CTOs I need to build from scratch.

2779
02:40:29,480 --> 02:40:32,677
I build all the time from scratch and I
had nothing or very little to show for

2780
02:40:32,760 --> 02:40:35,357
it. Yeah. So, he goes,
"I'm not sure I'm ready for

2781
02:40:35,440 --> 02:40:39,157
this adventure. But, you're in luck.
I have a board meeting next week. I truly

2782
02:40:39,240 --> 02:40:42,637
trust my partners. If you're
ready to walk in and present

2783
02:40:42,720 --> 02:40:46,797
how you're going to build real estate
from scratch architecture, be my guest.

2784
02:40:46,880 --> 02:40:50,197
I'm just telling you this might be
a short partnership for the two of us and

2785
02:40:50,280 --> 02:40:54,277
I really started to like you. It's only
been 3 weeks, but I like the energy."

2786
02:40:54,360 --> 02:40:56,437
He goes, "I'll take my chances."

2787
02:40:56,520 --> 02:40:59,357
And he goes, "That's why I'm here."
He goes, "By the way, I'm here to fulfill

2788
02:40:59,440 --> 02:41:01,197
your vision." He said, "I want
to explain to you something that I'm going

2789
02:41:01,280 --> 02:41:04,197
to tell them. Your vision
is going to change so many

2790
02:41:04,280 --> 02:41:07,797
times that if I don't give you
an extremely flexible system that's truly

2791
02:41:07,880 --> 02:41:10,877
rethinking everything, I won't be able
to keep up with you. I might at the

2792
02:41:10,960 --> 02:41:14,317
beginning, but one day you're going
to ask for something I can't do.

2793
02:41:14,400 --> 02:41:17,837
I'm going to preempt it. But,
it's going to be tough for you

2794
02:41:17,920 --> 02:41:20,637
because then I'm going to tell you I
need a year for you not to bother me.

2795
02:41:20,720 --> 02:41:23,957
And all the little things that our CTOs
might have built for you, nice apps and

2796
02:41:24,040 --> 02:41:27,517
front facing and all that gimmicks,
you won't going to have any gimmicks.

2797
02:41:27,600 --> 02:41:30,677
And when I'm done with what I'm doing,
you're going to have a powerful system

2798
02:41:30,760 --> 02:41:35,077
that can basically tackle
on the future of how we live.

2799
02:41:35,160 --> 02:41:39,197
He goes into the board meeting,
and you should have been there. They go

2800
02:41:39,280 --> 02:41:44,037
at it for 3 hours. I don't have a lot
to say because it's not my field.

2801
02:41:44,120 --> 02:41:48,797
Mark then Mark is very strong
in architecture. Ben is very strong in use

2802
02:41:48,880 --> 02:41:52,957
cases and how it's used and they
just go. And after 3 hours,

2803
02:41:53,040 --> 02:41:56,437
they say, "We agree."

2804
02:41:56,520 --> 02:41:59,997
Then go out to dinner,
and they we are they argue between

2805
02:42:00,080 --> 02:42:04,237
between themselves for another
2 hours about it. Big decision.

2806
02:42:04,320 --> 02:42:08,517
It's a very big turn and the guy
just started. It's a lot of trust.

2807
02:42:08,600 --> 02:42:12,437
And at the end of it, Ben is like,
"Adam, I'm good." I said, "Why?" Because

2808
02:42:12,520 --> 02:42:16,517
cuz Mark is good. We've been
working together for 30 years.

2809
02:42:16,600 --> 02:42:21,277
And I love this, by the way.
For me, this is no problem.

2810
02:42:21,360 --> 02:42:24,477
We've been working together for 30 years
and I know when to trust my partner.

2811
02:42:24,560 --> 02:42:28,117
He's good, I'm good. It's like,
"You guys are good, I'm good."

2812
02:42:28,200 --> 02:42:33,517
And we start this journey of rethinking
how the architecture for and I say

2813
02:42:33,600 --> 02:42:36,077
architecture, I mean
the digital architecture

2814
02:42:36,160 --> 02:42:40,877
in a way that will allow us
to put the resident, the member

2815
02:42:40,960 --> 02:42:44,677
>> digital architecture so important in
housing? I don't understand. So, without

2816
02:42:44,760 --> 02:42:47,437
giving away all of our secrets, I'll
explain to you how it's built. Think of

2817
02:42:47,520 --> 02:42:49,797
it as a database that's built data on

2818
02:42:49,880 --> 02:42:54,477
data on data on data.
And now you want to put AI on top of it.

2819
02:42:54,560 --> 02:42:56,757
You're really getting the top layer.

2820
02:42:56,840 --> 02:43:00,077
You're not actually understanding
everything. And if you want to leverage

2821
02:43:00,160 --> 02:43:03,757
technology in a way that truly
understands everything,

2822
02:43:03,840 --> 02:43:08,357
you have to re-architect how the data
is stored from the beginning. From the

2823
02:43:08,440 --> 02:43:11,917
beginning. You have to actually rethink
it. And this is where we got luckier

2824
02:43:12,000 --> 02:43:15,117
than smart. This is 2 and 1/2 years ago.

2825
02:43:15,200 --> 02:43:18,917
Blockchain is in place.
AI is in place, not the way it is today,

2826
02:43:19,000 --> 02:43:23,077
but it's all starting. So, everything
is built taking in mind the newest way of

2827
02:43:23,160 --> 02:43:27,437
doing things. It's the edge of the edge
of how to build things. And I told you

2828
02:43:27,520 --> 02:43:30,957
that we're going to have a board meeting
in 2 days. We're going to present for

2829
02:43:31,040 --> 02:43:33,757
the first time how not only it all comes

2830
02:43:33,840 --> 02:43:38,117
together theoretically, but how
it's working and how it's starting to

2831
02:43:38,200 --> 02:43:41,797
deliver. And it's going to only
work better from here, but we see the

2832
02:43:41,880 --> 02:43:43,157
results. And how do we see the results?

2833
02:43:43,240 --> 02:43:46,637
In much more profitable buildings,
but we're also seeing much happier

2834
02:43:46,720 --> 02:43:50,437
residents, much more connected. How many
buildings are there now? So, Flow now

2835
02:43:50,520 --> 02:43:54,637
has nine buildings, four in the US
and five in Saudi Arabia. Mhm.

2836
02:43:54,720 --> 02:43:57,197
And we're doing it by tackling the

2837
02:43:57,280 --> 02:44:01,917
technology, the brand, what it represent,
and the experience. And we're

2838
02:44:02,000 --> 02:44:03,917
really doing it one thought at the time.

2839
02:44:04,000 --> 02:44:08,117
Yeah. And again, the big difference from
the past, we're not rushing. Yeah. We're

2840
02:44:08,200 --> 02:44:13,117
going after the right product.
And we're doing it in a way

2841
02:44:13,200 --> 02:44:17,077
that's truly going to make you,
the user, feel like you're having this

2842
02:44:17,160 --> 02:44:19,757
experience that's truly unique.

2843
02:44:19,840 --> 02:44:23,397
And when we talked about this 2 year
years ago, we said mind, body, and soul,

2844
02:44:23,480 --> 02:44:27,477
and how it all comes together. People
maybe had a little tough time. Everybody

2845
02:44:27,560 --> 02:44:29,517
wants to feel like they're in flow.

2846
02:44:29,600 --> 02:44:31,517
Everybody understand what flow state is

2847
02:44:31,600 --> 02:44:34,597
for them. Everybody is is

2848
02:44:34,680 --> 02:44:36,677
connecting to it, and the buildings are

2849
02:44:36,760 --> 02:44:40,157
really starting to show. Each time that

2850
02:44:40,240 --> 02:44:44,957
you have a new building, do you learn
new things about what works and what

2851
02:44:45,040 --> 02:44:47,317
doesn't work? >> What a great
question. We just launched

2852
02:44:47,400 --> 02:44:51,157
a new building in Brickell, Miami. 632

2853
02:44:51,240 --> 02:44:54,797
apartments, very large,
Brand new, completely empty.

2854
02:44:54,880 --> 02:44:58,077
And Flo is not just able to run buildings.
Flo is now developing the

2855
02:44:58,160 --> 02:45:01,437
beginning of small neighborhoods. So,
it's a single building, but there are

2856
02:45:01,520 --> 02:45:03,877
three more plots at 6.2 acres, which for

2857
02:45:03,960 --> 02:45:05,997
Miami is a very large plot. To build

2858
02:45:06,080 --> 02:45:11,997
over 2,200 apartments with office space,
with retail, with a school that we're

2859
02:45:12,080 --> 02:45:15,437
considering >> community.
>> community. And as you start thinking

2860
02:45:15,520 --> 02:45:17,837
about it as a community, you start
saying, "Well, what does a community

2861
02:45:17,920 --> 02:45:20,837
need?" You're only limited to just
a single building. You say, "What are

2862
02:45:20,920 --> 02:45:23,917
obvious things about community? What
would they need? A barber shop, it needs

2863
02:45:24,000 --> 02:45:27,117
a nail salon, it needs But then it
needs this film community, needs a coffee

2864
02:45:27,200 --> 02:45:30,557
shop." And you start adding all these
things that make it tremendous sense.

2865
02:45:30,640 --> 02:45:34,477
And what else does community? Community
loves music. Community loves food.

2866
02:45:34,560 --> 02:45:37,637
Community loves art. And you start
thinking of all those things bringing

2867
02:45:37,720 --> 02:45:41,077
together, and before you know it, we get
to not just experience all these things,

2868
02:45:41,160 --> 02:45:44,037
but experiment them. So, I'll give you
an example. Do you know how many times

2869
02:45:44,120 --> 02:45:48,237
you've driven by empty construction
sites that are fenced up? Yeah.

2870
02:45:48,320 --> 02:45:50,797
So, we had three of those cuz we
have one finished building and three

2871
02:45:50,880 --> 02:45:53,917
construction sites. We take one of them.

2872
02:45:54,000 --> 02:45:58,317
And uh this was Rebecca's idea,
actually. And we plant We put sand to

2873
02:45:58,400 --> 02:46:00,197
make it like a beach. We put palm trees.

2874
02:46:00,280 --> 02:46:04,157
We put a little uh you know,
the the indigenous uh

2875
02:46:04,240 --> 02:46:06,117
structures that they
love to create in Miami.

2876
02:46:06,200 --> 02:46:08,077
>> Yeah. Yeah,
like a tiki hut, but a large

2877
02:46:08,160 --> 02:46:10,437
one. That's kind of a floor. We're like,
"We're going to do music here three

2878
02:46:10,520 --> 02:46:13,277
times a week. And here's two food trucks.
And we're going to open it up

2879
02:46:13,360 --> 02:46:16,357
for the public." >> Beautiful,
like a park. Like a park.

2880
02:46:16,440 --> 02:46:19,837
Costs very little to do. But for the next
2 years, instead of having an empty

2881
02:46:19,920 --> 02:46:23,317
construction site, you give to the
community. This one is on the river. We

2882
02:46:23,400 --> 02:46:25,517
say, "Hey, what about a farmers market?"

2883
02:46:25,600 --> 02:46:27,797
We launch a farmers market. Great.

2884
02:46:27,880 --> 02:46:31,437
>> We have this amazing woman, her name
is Shelly. Do you remember Jelena's? Yeah.

2885
02:46:31,520 --> 02:46:33,637
She used to be the CEO of Jelena's.

2886
02:46:33,720 --> 02:46:37,317
She has you If you remember Jelena's,
you know what she does. The best. She

2887
02:46:37,400 --> 02:46:40,557
the best food, and from what I hear
from a lot of people, the best experience.

2888
02:46:40,640 --> 02:46:41,877
>> Yeah. She brings it all together.

2889
02:46:41,960 --> 02:46:45,317
>> Yeah. So, we say to Shelly, all we have
to say is we want a farmers market with

2890
02:46:45,400 --> 02:46:48,797
intention. It's like an AI.
You just give it a prompt.

2891
02:46:48,880 --> 02:46:53,077
You come to the farmers market,
every booth has a story. This mother, this

2892
02:46:53,160 --> 02:46:57,237
daughter, this local, this and they're
all so inspired. Now, people start

2893
02:46:57,320 --> 02:47:00,517
walking it and they're so inspired.
And now you're giving to your local

2894
02:47:00,600 --> 02:47:03,637
community, but what you're really
doing is you're also attracting a lot of

2895
02:47:03,720 --> 02:47:07,237
people and you're starting to tell
the flow story. And it actually starts and

2896
02:47:07,320 --> 02:47:09,877
at the beginning but we can't get a lot
of people there cuz no one's ever heard

2897
02:47:09,960 --> 02:47:14,557
of this farmers market. So, we start
a yoga class and we launch a runs club.

2898
02:47:14,640 --> 02:47:17,917
And we launch a walking club cuz some
people prefer walking than running. And

2899
02:47:18,000 --> 02:47:20,717
before you know it, there are over
a thousand people coming. There was one, I

2900
02:47:20,800 --> 02:47:24,677
didn't see the last one cuz I was here
with you. There was one yesterday.

2901
02:47:24,760 --> 02:47:29,077
And it's every week. And the more
exciting the environment is downstairs,

2902
02:47:29,160 --> 02:47:33,277
the more it affects the upstairs.
And people start coming in. And now all

2903
02:47:33,360 --> 02:47:36,557
these tours are coming.
And because we're leveraging and then we

2904
02:47:36,640 --> 02:47:40,877
write a sign on the building,
what if it all goes right?

2905
02:47:40,960 --> 02:47:44,477
And 2 weeks ago someone goes on their
boat on the river and takes a video.

2906
02:47:44,560 --> 02:47:46,277
What if it all goes right?

2907
02:47:46,360 --> 02:47:49,157
This is a woman with 13,000 followers.

2908
02:47:49,240 --> 02:47:52,837
She gets 22 and a half million views.

2909
02:47:52,920 --> 02:47:56,797
She went viral. And she writes,
"Sometimes it only takes

2910
02:47:56,880 --> 02:48:00,757
one sentence to lift you up." She must
have not been the only person. It was

2911
02:48:00,840 --> 02:48:05,557
shared over 1.8 million times. It was
huge numbers. All it said is what if it

2912
02:48:05,640 --> 02:48:09,357
what if it all goes right, but it
was on a building. Yeah. Landlords don't

2913
02:48:09,440 --> 02:48:14,397
usually say things. No.
And what do you think by the way came up

2914
02:48:14,480 --> 02:48:18,277
with that sentence? The person
who people like to make a villain.

2915
02:48:18,360 --> 02:48:21,557
Of course. Classic Rebecca.
Classic. Because it's

2916
02:48:21,640 --> 02:48:23,957
so I said where did you come up with
that sentence? I said where did you come

2917
02:48:24,040 --> 02:48:26,077
up with that sentence? She said it's you.

2918
02:48:26,160 --> 02:48:28,557
You think it's always going to come
no matter what happened to you in your

2919
02:48:28,640 --> 02:48:32,677
life, you found a way to think what if
it all goes right. Yeah. You stand for

2920
02:48:32,760 --> 02:48:36,397
it. So, I put it on the building. She
has a way of building brands that is so

2921
02:48:36,480 --> 02:48:40,717
authentic. Yeah. I am now understanding
there's so much depth there by the way.

2922
02:48:40,800 --> 02:48:43,637
She does 3 hours a week.
The rest is all us.

2923
02:48:43,720 --> 02:48:45,037
Because we don't need more than that.

2924
02:48:45,120 --> 02:48:47,597
>> Yeah. And she doesn't need to get She
gave us more than that, we couldn't keep

2925
02:48:47,680 --> 02:48:52,477
up. And she's full-time mom. And just
launched a school and is doing all these

2926
02:48:52,560 --> 02:48:55,557
different things that she's doing. Yes,
full-time mom, just launched a school.

2927
02:48:55,640 --> 02:48:58,917
She's doing a lot. Yeah.
She's She's tackling the world the way

2928
02:48:59,000 --> 02:49:01,277
she sees it in a way to make a difference.

2929
02:49:01,360 --> 02:49:05,077
But you suddenly have this flow building.
It has a farmers market. It

2930
02:49:05,160 --> 02:49:09,557
has a park. Everybody's coming in. Tours
are flying in. We don't know what to do

2931
02:49:09,640 --> 02:49:13,317
with them. And because of our same
architecture, that digital architecture

2932
02:49:13,400 --> 02:49:16,997
we spoke about, it works very well
connecting to social media. We can count

2933
02:49:17,080 --> 02:49:20,197
and measure every lead that comes in.
We can start pulling a lever. We can do a

2934
02:49:20,280 --> 02:49:24,237
million things that other landlords
can't do. We start pulling that lever in

2935
02:49:24,320 --> 02:49:27,837
that new building and it's
filling up so fast. First of

2936
02:49:27,920 --> 02:49:31,797
all, that I've now taken floor I'm I'm
I'm slowing down for a second cuz when

2937
02:49:31,880 --> 02:49:34,717
something is working that well, you got
to take a second, take a breath and say,

2938
02:49:34,800 --> 02:49:39,077
"Wait, maybe it's priced wrong.
Maybe But it's filling up at least at five

2939
02:49:39,160 --> 02:49:42,517
times the speed of the market.
It traditionally would take 18 months to

2940
02:49:42,600 --> 02:49:45,797
fill up a building of a building
with 400 apartments. That's the market

2941
02:49:45,880 --> 02:49:49,957
number. This building has 632 apartments.
It will fill up in 6 months.

2942
02:49:50,040 --> 02:49:54,477
Wow. And that's just the beginning. Then
to maintain it, it will be main- It will

2943
02:49:54,560 --> 02:49:57,477
be We're going to use AI to keep it
maintained. We have a team to do that

2944
02:49:57,560 --> 02:50:01,117
cuz it's very creative, leveraging a lot
of tools. But afterwards, to maintain

2945
02:50:01,200 --> 02:50:03,277
it, you'll do it with a lot less people.

2946
02:50:03,360 --> 02:50:06,197
And the other thing that we've
done in this community,

2947
02:50:06,280 --> 02:50:09,957
another lesson from the past, we have
ambassadors that live there. Each one of

2948
02:50:10,040 --> 02:50:12,157
them chooses a topic that they love.

2949
02:50:12,240 --> 02:50:15,797
They host events. They make
it all happen. We just empower

2950
02:50:15,880 --> 02:50:19,597
them through the app, through the tech
to be able to do. Once a month, each one

2951
02:50:19,680 --> 02:50:22,797
of them, five of them, so once a month,
so that's five events a month.

2952
02:50:22,880 --> 02:50:26,117
Then the trainers are from the building,
the yoga instructors are from the

2953
02:50:26,200 --> 02:50:28,717
building, the meditation
is from the building.

2954
02:50:28,800 --> 02:50:31,237
And people are really reacting well to

2955
02:50:31,320 --> 02:50:34,397
it. Beautiful. Tell me, since you and

2956
02:50:34,480 --> 02:50:39,357
Rebecca started your spiritual journey
together, how it has grown. Spoke about

2957
02:50:39,440 --> 02:50:43,717
Shabbat a little bit.
When my boys were born,

2958
02:50:43,800 --> 02:50:47,637
we had an experience with a rabbi that
wouldn't want to get that wasn't willing

2959
02:50:47,720 --> 02:50:51,157
to get paid. He did the bris,
and he wouldn't take

2960
02:50:51,240 --> 02:50:55,517
the money. His name is Rabbi Heller,
and he's a very special person. And no

2961
02:50:55,600 --> 02:50:58,917
matter how much we chased him,
he wouldn't take the money. Until I I I

2962
02:50:59,000 --> 02:51:01,357
sort of didn't believe. I was like,
"Rebecca, this guy is just playing a

2963
02:51:01,440 --> 02:51:04,237
show. I'll I'll force
him to take the money."

2964
02:51:04,320 --> 02:51:07,477
And I go to his house thinking there's
some trick up his sleeve or something,

2965
02:51:07,560 --> 02:51:10,917
and I see a very humble house.
And a very humble man.

2966
02:51:11,000 --> 02:51:15,037
An amazing wife, and amazing kids. I was
so inspired and impressed that I said to

2967
02:51:15,120 --> 02:51:17,757
Rebecca, "We got to find a different
He's not going to take the money. It's a

2968
02:51:17,840 --> 02:51:20,677
no is a no." Let's do something else.

2969
02:51:20,760 --> 02:51:24,557
And he encourages us to practice
more on our own practice.

2970
02:51:24,640 --> 02:51:29,237
Starting by the Friday night and this and
then he encourages us to try Shabbat one

2971
02:51:29,320 --> 02:51:33,037
time. And he asked for it.

2972
02:51:33,120 --> 02:51:34,717
>> What are the rules of Shabbat?

2973
02:51:34,800 --> 02:51:38,477
The rules of Shabbat, forget
this the religious rules. Let's

2974
02:51:38,560 --> 02:51:40,397
do the spiritual rules.

2975
02:51:40,480 --> 02:51:42,277
The rule is that you take one day a

2976
02:51:42,360 --> 02:51:46,237
week, and you disconnect from 24 hours

2977
02:51:46,320 --> 02:51:48,997
from the external world, and you connect

2978
02:51:49,080 --> 02:51:51,397
to the internal world. Yourself, your

2979
02:51:51,480 --> 02:51:56,757
wife, your kids, your close friends.
No technology, no cooking, no working. You

2980
02:51:56,840 --> 02:51:59,437
don't talk about business. No matter
what, no talking about business on

2981
02:51:59,520 --> 02:52:02,837
Shabbat. Best ideas, by the way,
for business come on Shabbat.

2982
02:52:02,920 --> 02:52:05,357
Don't talk about it, but it's the time.

2983
02:52:05,440 --> 02:52:08,357
And it's it's a rule that existed 3,000

2984
02:52:08,440 --> 02:52:12,877
years ago. That's when it comes from.
As relevant as it was then.

2985
02:52:12,960 --> 02:52:15,917
I think it's never been more relevant
than today. And I tell this to people

2986
02:52:16,000 --> 02:52:17,797
all the time. Forget the religious part.

2987
02:52:17,880 --> 02:52:23,157
Take your phone and put it in the cookie
jar. Up there. Close it. And take 24

2988
02:52:23,240 --> 02:52:26,677
hours. And I say, "Here's what you're
going to experience for the about Notice

2989
02:52:26,760 --> 02:52:29,277
how many times for the first 3 hours
you're going to put your hand in your

2990
02:52:29,360 --> 02:52:33,557
pocket to grab that phone." Which
means you're addicted. Yeah. notice it.

2991
02:52:33,640 --> 02:52:36,557
But then make it through the night
and go into the next day. And I said, "I

2992
02:52:36,640 --> 02:52:39,317
don't care if you do it on Saturday
or Sunday, choose your day." You know, the

2993
02:52:39,400 --> 02:52:42,437
Pope that passed away, he used to call
it technology Shabbat. He would preach

2994
02:52:42,520 --> 02:52:46,357
it. He'd say, "Technology Shabbat,
technology Shabbat." And the next day be

2995
02:52:46,440 --> 02:52:49,397
disconnected from the phone. Drive,
do everything else you want to do. Just

2996
02:52:49,480 --> 02:52:52,757
don't use your phone.
Make your plans in advance so it works.

2997
02:52:52,840 --> 02:52:56,277
Tell me afterwards if you had a better
week. If you had a better week, do it

2998
02:52:56,360 --> 02:53:00,717
again. Yeah. I recommend
to anybody that I meet, try

2999
02:53:00,800 --> 02:53:04,277
disconnecting from your phone for 24
hours. When it's hard for the first 5

3000
02:53:04,360 --> 02:53:06,397
hours, be honest about it. You're

3001
02:53:06,480 --> 02:53:10,237
addicted. You can You're allowed to read

3002
02:53:10,320 --> 02:53:13,997
a book. You're encouraged to read a book.
Encouraged to read a book. So

3003
02:53:14,080 --> 02:53:18,237
again, in my practice, you would also
pray and you pray Friday night, you pray

3004
02:53:18,320 --> 02:53:21,957
on Saturday. But I'm putting myself
on the side for a second and I'm saying

3005
02:53:22,040 --> 02:53:25,677
anybody who tries this,
when you disconnect from your phone,

3006
02:53:25,760 --> 02:53:29,757
you're giving a gift to your giving
a gift to your kids. You're disconnected.

3007
02:53:29,840 --> 02:53:33,197
You're disconnected, but you're all much
connected to each other. Especially for

3008
02:53:33,280 --> 02:53:34,877
people who work very hard. Yes.

3009
02:53:34,960 --> 02:53:36,877
>> Imagine the gift
of 24 hours. Before you

3010
02:53:36,960 --> 02:53:40,037
know it, they're going to be 18, they're
going to be out of the house, and you

3011
02:53:40,120 --> 02:53:43,837
missed this beautiful thing. It's
beautiful. When we do it, we don't touch

3012
02:53:43,920 --> 02:53:47,517
anything. Would you say of the different
things you've done that was one of the

3013
02:53:47,600 --> 02:53:51,677
life-changing decisions?
I would say without a doubt that the

3014
02:53:51,760 --> 02:53:55,317
biggest move that I've made
spiritually is keeping Shabbat.

3015
02:53:55,400 --> 02:54:00,037
On those days, the biggest channeling
of ideas for Rebecca and I happen at 8:00

3016
02:54:00,120 --> 02:54:02,797
a.m. Saturday morning.
And remember, we don't

3017
02:54:02,880 --> 02:54:06,517
write also cuz we don't this, so we just
remember them. But the action happens

3018
02:54:06,600 --> 02:54:11,317
Saturday morning. And then
we also host sometimes uh we

3019
02:54:11,400 --> 02:54:14,917
host a Shabbat where everybody
comes together and reads the Torah.

3020
02:54:15,000 --> 02:54:18,357
We host a Shabbat. So then we're hosting
other people and we're bringing them

3021
02:54:18,440 --> 02:54:21,477
together and then everybody
shares this experience.

3022
02:54:21,560 --> 02:54:25,357
And uh and we sit in a circle and we
talk before the Torah reading about this

3023
02:54:25,440 --> 02:54:29,317
week's portion. And we uh we
share how is it relevant to

3024
02:54:29,400 --> 02:54:33,117
our everyday life. But sometimes we
just take the Saturday off and we don't

3025
02:54:33,200 --> 02:54:36,677
participate in that and we're just
with our kids and our friends. Beautiful.

3026
02:54:36,760 --> 02:54:40,037
There's something happening now. I don't
know if you know about it called the

3027
02:54:40,120 --> 02:54:42,517
quiet revolution.
Have you heard this phrase?

3028
02:54:42,600 --> 02:54:44,997
>> Tell me about it. Young people are

3029
02:54:45,080 --> 02:54:47,677
interested in going to church.

3030
02:54:47,760 --> 02:54:52,157
For years and years and years
the people who went to church were

3031
02:54:52,240 --> 02:54:55,197
getting older and older and the amount
of people was declining, declining,

3032
02:54:55,280 --> 02:54:58,037
declining and something happened in the

3033
02:54:58,120 --> 02:55:00,477
last few years where young people are

3034
02:55:00,560 --> 02:55:02,957
interested in going to church

3035
02:55:03,040 --> 02:55:05,837
more Bibles are being sold.

3036
02:55:05,920 --> 02:55:09,317
Something's happening. 100%

3037
02:55:09,400 --> 02:55:11,677
It's everywhere you go. By the way,

3038
02:55:11,760 --> 02:55:14,077
something's happening right now.

3039
02:55:14,160 --> 02:55:16,797
Kawhi likes this discussion. Yeah. Yes,

3040
02:55:16,880 --> 02:55:18,997
people are more open.

3041
02:55:19,080 --> 02:55:21,837
People are ready for it. It's natural.

3042
02:55:21,920 --> 02:55:25,517
I think more and more people here,
here's what I really think. Yeah. As

3043
02:55:25,600 --> 02:55:29,917
technology is going to make us more and
more digitally connected, we're going to

3044
02:55:30,000 --> 02:55:32,277
feel more and more disconnected.

3045
02:55:32,360 --> 02:55:36,597
The more disconnected that we feel
the more we're going to crave a real

3046
02:55:36,680 --> 02:55:40,837
connection. A real connection will never
come by buying another car or buying

3047
02:55:40,920 --> 02:55:43,677
another house or owning
another material good.

3048
02:55:43,760 --> 02:55:45,917
A real connection comes from the inside.

3049
02:55:46,000 --> 02:55:51,117
Yes. A person who has unity from
the inside has unity to the outside.

3050
02:55:51,200 --> 02:55:53,997
Beautiful. Give us a prayer to add.

3051
02:55:54,080 --> 02:55:57,397
When God's going to give us a moment,
I'm going to finish it. But give it a

3052
02:55:57,480 --> 02:56:00,797
sec give God a second.
I think he's giving us a moment.

3053
02:56:00,880 --> 02:56:03,037
I feel the moment. >> I think it's now.

3054
02:56:03,120 --> 02:56:06,837
Here's what I think.
We're connected to this week's portion.

3055
02:56:06,920 --> 02:56:09,157
Yes. We all have something that we're

3056
02:56:09,240 --> 02:56:11,197
slaves to. That's We all have an

3057
02:56:11,280 --> 02:56:16,717
addiction to anger, to ego, to power,
to whatever it is, idol worship that we

3058
02:56:16,800 --> 02:56:19,997
have. We all have an Egypt. We all need to

3059
02:56:20,080 --> 02:56:23,237
leave that Egypt, come out of it.

3060
02:56:23,320 --> 02:56:26,797
When we come out of that Egypt,
we all face the Red Sea.

3061
02:56:26,880 --> 02:56:30,757
When we see that Red Sea, we only have
the courage to walk into it so far that

3062
02:56:30,840 --> 02:56:33,477
we drown. Only when we're
willing to drown, will

3063
02:56:33,560 --> 02:56:37,317
the Red Sea be split
or go to our next level.

3064
02:56:37,400 --> 02:56:40,517
When I go to our next level, we see the
Red Sea split. Suddenly we're like, "Oh,

3065
02:56:40,600 --> 02:56:45,157
everything is okay." Then we forget.
The moment we forget, we step into the

3066
02:56:45,240 --> 02:56:47,437
desert. We all have to walk through our

3067
02:56:47,520 --> 02:56:50,197
version of deserts. That desert is with

3068
02:56:50,280 --> 02:56:54,277
us, us, and God. No one else. The only

3069
02:56:54,360 --> 02:56:57,837
decision we get to have is how long
we're going to journey through that

3070
02:56:57,920 --> 02:57:02,117
desert. Are we going to journey for 14
days, like the children of Israel was

3071
02:57:02,200 --> 02:57:06,397
supposed to, or we're going to journey
for 40 years because we're not learning

3072
02:57:06,480 --> 02:57:10,477
our lesson? Our choice is not are we
going to get into the desert or not.

3073
02:57:10,560 --> 02:57:12,557
It's how long will we be in it. That is

3074
02:57:12,640 --> 02:57:18,077
And once we go out of that desert,
we all have our version of the promised

3075
02:57:18,160 --> 02:57:21,077
land. And if we have the courage to look

3076
02:57:21,160 --> 02:57:26,157
inside, see our own correction, our own
limitation, look at it clearly and say,

3077
02:57:26,240 --> 02:57:29,397
"I see you, and I'm going to get over it.
I'm going to learn. I'm going to

3078
02:57:29,480 --> 02:57:32,997
grow. I'm going to understand that life
is not about falling down, it's about

3079
02:57:33,080 --> 02:57:36,557
how I'm going to get up. I'm going
to fall a thousand times so I can get up a

3080
02:57:36,640 --> 02:57:40,477
thousand and one times." And in
that last time when I get up, and I'm

3081
02:57:40,560 --> 02:57:45,517
actually ready to go to my next
level, I'm going to wish for you,

3082
02:57:45,600 --> 02:57:48,757
for me, and for everybody
who are listening,

3083
02:57:48,840 --> 02:57:52,077
please, may we have the courage to go to

3084
02:57:52,160 --> 02:57:54,317
our next level because we know that the

3085
02:57:54,400 --> 02:57:57,317
promised land is waiting right after it.

3086
02:57:57,400 --> 02:58:01,797
And may we not be afraid when the whole
world is saying this or that about us.

3087
02:58:01,880 --> 02:58:05,997
Who cares? It's about what you think,
what your wife thinks, what your kids

3088
02:58:06,080 --> 02:58:07,957
think, and what the universe thinks.

3089
02:58:08,040 --> 02:58:10,197
Yes. Amen.

3090
02:58:10,280 --> 02:58:15,320
Thank you. Thank you, Asaf. Thank you.

3091
02:58:17,560 --> 02:58:20,080
>> temperature

3092
02:58:22,600 --> 02:58:25,200
temperature

3093
02:58:27,560 --> 02:58:30,160
temperature