In the big picture, we see WeLive as a huge opportunity, as big as WeWork, for sure.
— Miguel McKelvey
If I had to name my superpower, it's probably empathy.
Rather than trying to fit a prescribed need for office sizes, we try to go with the flow of the building as much as possible.
When the idea of ‘We' came in, it started as a ‘WeBlank: WeWork, WeLive, WeSleep, WeEat.' That was the premise at the very start.
It's so uncommon to have a place where no one can call you.
Even companies with big resources were not creating spaces supportive of their teams. We see that in creating those types of spaces, there is an amazing human potential for excitement and happiness. Especially among companies trying to serve a younger, more innovative workforce.
The difference between me and a lot of other people is I can feel the effect of light, space, furniture, height, scale, distance, all these micro-environments affect me in a strong way.
If you can figure out a way for people at all different stages of life to believe that they're all meaningful to each other, then yes, WeLive can work anywhere.
Hospitality is about trying to support multiple functions in one space.
We know the number of conference rooms and phone booths that make a building successful.
We need to pay attention to the whole space - every room, chair and table - so it feels uplifting and inspiring.
We had a bunch of ‘we's - a fitness concept, a restaurant concept. The first business plan we had included all of them.
There's no such thing as ‘making it.'
It's a dream come true to think that opportunities flow from personal connections.
More and more people are getting turned out of their corporations and laid off. As more people leave that behind, they're tapping into their own skill sets and talents and doing something for themselves.
There is always someone who is going to look for the cracks.
In the U.S., people are habitual about drinking coffee in the morning. In China, many are drinking coffee in the afternoon.
To me, just to be surrounded by others, even without a common purpose, is great fulfillment.
We're not really in the real-estate space so much as we are the community-building space.
When we imagine a future for both WeWork and WeLive and the other things that we're doing, it really is about unlocking people.
Religion is no longer a connection point for most people. Our communities were built on coming together in physical locations once a week or twice a week. These institutions have dissipated.
I often spend the majority of my time thinking and writing down notes.
When you have no idea what to do or how to do it, you just need to see and absorb as much as you possibly can and just fill your vocabulary and your brain with as much as humanly possible.
Our mission is to support people in their life's path or career path, as they define it, and really, to help people succeed in whatever way they choose to. That's what we started from.
Look, I'm 41 with a six-year-old son, and even though I live in a building with a million kids, he doesn't have one friend there because there's no context for making that happen. I think there's a huge market for a connected building where I could broadcast to other parents that I want to set up a playdate for my child.
You can only stay up all night so many times.
People really want different things depending on who they are.
I'd eat bowls of soft-serve ice cream until I felt sick.
When we started WeWork it really was thought of holistically.
What draws us to a city like San Francisco is the same thing that draws entrepreneurs, startups, and freelancers to WeWork: it's the creative atmosphere, the technical sophistication, and the strong sense of community.
We think we can play a small part in the evolution of culture.
The copycats are interesting because some of them branded themselves as ‘WeWork of China,' which helped establish us before we were there.
I still want an entrepreneurial culture to exist forever.
The reality is we are all about servicing people and helping them achieve their dream, follow their journey and define their own success. When that is 100% authentic that flows through everything we do and translates.
You should be happy to spend ten to twelve hours a day wherever you work.
Trends start and then explode very quickly, and pretty soon it's everywhere, including McDonalds.
Our aspiration is to be a holistic support system or lifestyle solution for people who are interested in being open and connected.
When you go to a normal architecture firm they aren't going to be innovative in terms of their systems. They're not going to be thinking of the whole lifespan of this project, or how do we document every single light bulb, or every product, so that when a chair breaks in a conference room, we can replace it right away.
When we first started we felt something changing in terms of work, and we felt it was a global shift. People were taking control of their future, not just in terms of making money. They wanted to control their own destiny.
One thing that people in Miami seem to be good at is partying.
The vision for WeWork has always been about community. It's been about working together to accomplish things greater than what we can accomplish on our own.
We're really focused on being 'of no time.' We studied the idea of timelessness, looking at what designs in history have become timeless.
In New York, you have thousands of buildings that have never been renovated, that have horrible designs, that are really cramped and terrible.
There's a trend for people wanting more meaning in their work and pursuing something in the day-to-day that is valuable rather than working as a means to the end.
What will make you energized and motivated, to be awesome today? Is it an awesome shower in the morning, is it a great breakfast, is it a beautiful view? Or is it all of those things together.
I like to be next to the center of attention.
We're not competing against other people who have similar ideas but we're competing against ideas of work in general. There are still traditional office spaces that are not friendly to human beings that are not designed for connection and collaboration.
Our growth has been very fast but in every place we've gone, we've achieved great success.
I don't think we are trying too hard. WE is inclusive from the beginning. That's the whole point. We've always been, ‘everyone is welcome.' There is no velvet rope, no barrier to entry.
When you're in the moments of greatest stress, those are the most memorable.
