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A comment on WeWork Backs Down on Employee Noncompete Requirements. Parent comment

Re:WeWork Backs Down on Employee Noncompete Requirements by wpietri on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @03:15PM (#18018255)
In a private Slack with a thousand or so industry people, I've seen "WeWork is a cult" mentioned more than once.

That isn't particularly surprising to me. Not because of anything specific to WeWork, but just because of general tech industry dynamics. Job advertisements want people who are "passionate", who "believe", who want to "change the word". We have had decades of "holy wars" and quasi-religious behavior, starting with editor choice [1] and OS [2], going up to the present moment [3][4].

It's pretty common for exposes of tech companies to talk about cult-like behavior. E.g., Dan Lyons on Hubspot [5] or John Carreyou on Theranos [6]. I don't think all startups are this way, or even most of them. But the seeds of cult-ish behavior are clearly commonplace. E.g., charismatic leaders, a group dedicated to a non-mainstream vision, people spending a lot of intense time together, hazy boundaries, top-down power structures, and a lot of young, impressionable people.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Editor_war

[2] https://tidbits.com/1995/06/26/computings-holy-war/

[3] https://www.recode.net/2018/5/30/17386068/brad-garlinghouse-...

[4] https://www.recode.net/2017/12/6/16680816/elon-musk-spacex-t...

[5] https://www.amazon.com/Disrupted-My-Misadventure-Start-Up-Bu...

[6] https://reason.com/blog/2018/06/07/theranos-elizabeth-holmes...

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Re:WeWork Backs Down on Employee Noncompete Requirements by umeshunni on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @03:20PM (#18018293)
We're talking about WeWork here, not a tech company.
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Re:WeWork Backs Down on Employee Noncompete Requirements by kanelbullar on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @03:26PM (#18018341)
WeWork is, in no small part, a tech company.
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Re:WeWork Backs Down on Employee Noncompete Requirements by hobofan on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @03:39PM (#18018458)
In what non-small part?

They have a barely functioning mobile app and portal, but that's about it. Even the IT (which I wouldn't even count towards them being a tech company) seemed ridiculously broken at the locations I've been staying in the past.

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Re:WeWork Backs Down on Employee Noncompete Requirements by kanelbullar on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @03:48PM (#18018529)
In what non-small part?

Their business is built on the deployment of custom (if not particularly sexy) office technology and quite simply could not exist without it. There's also another certain very significant tech company they outright acquired to enhance their overall operations and portfolio.

So - they're not a traditional tech-only company; but a tech company quite definitely.

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Re:WeWork Backs Down on Employee Noncompete Requirements by gaius on Wednesday September 19, 2018 @03:28AM (#18022434)
the deployment of custom (if not particularly sexy) office technology and quite simply could not exist without it.

In that sense every company is a tech company. Like if McDonalds “deploys” custom deep fryers are they a tech company too?

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Re:WeWork Backs Down on Employee Noncompete Requirements by ehvatum on Wednesday September 19, 2018 @05:46PM (#18027955)
Yes, but not one that would have a keynote address by Deepak Chopra wherein chicken McNuggets of wisdom are delivered...
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Re:WeWork Backs Down on Employee Noncompete Requirements by poulsbohemian on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @05:39PM (#18019385)
My own experience was that the printers never worked, the billing had errors, their mail and visitor notifications never worked... so while I agree they fashion themselves as a tech company, they were really bad at it.
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Re:WeWork Backs Down on Employee Noncompete Requirements by kanelbullar on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @06:13PM (#18019675)
Oh sure, their stuff only kinda works -- like the products of a great many tech companies. But at the end of the day -- well enough to have people lining outside the door. And they can't seem to stake out new buildings fast enough to keep up with the demand.

A successful tech company, through and through.

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Re:WeWork Backs Down on Employee Noncompete Requirements by poulsbohemian on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @07:19PM (#18020173)
It's an interesting gedankenexperiment... we were with them for 18-24 months (I don't remember now...)... it was just an ok experience, and at a premium price. I don't imagine I would use them again. So do they continue to thrive, or does the veneer eventually fade and they are stuck holding some very expensive leases?
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Re:WeWork Backs Down on Employee Noncompete Requirements by village-idiot on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @11:22PM (#18021438)
It seems that WeWork is interested in the cultural trappings of big tech, even though it isn’t tech at all.
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Re:WeWork Backs Down on Employee Noncompete Requirements by notyourday on Wednesday September 19, 2018 @01:01PM (#18025677)
WeWork is a real estate holding company masquarading as a tech company because anything that is described won't fly in any real estate holding company.
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