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☆ Compass is in a precarious position. It's worth a fraction of its IPO valuation, it's never turned a profit, and employees say the former centerpiece of the business — its vaunted tech tools for agent
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Daniel Geiger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

Reffkin (left) and Compass cofounder Ori Allon. Tech had been central to Compass' original missionFor years, Compass executives, including Reffkin, credited the company's tech with its meteoric rise in the residential-real-estate business. Though Compass' tech team still has 700 people, many more than any rival brokerage, the September layoffs seemed to initiate what insiders expect to be continuing cuts to the unit. "Robert is like Steve Jobs but without the insight," the veteran engineer who left Compass earlier this year said. Reffkin (left) and Allon ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.

☆ Vista Equity Partners is exploring a deal to take Compass private, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-05 | by ( Ben Bergman | Alex Nicoll | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Vista Equity Partners is exploring taking the real-estate brokerage private, sources say. A Compass rep said "no private-equity firm has contacted Compass expressing any interest in taking the company private." Vista Equity Partners is exploring a deal to take the residential real-estate brokerage Compass private, according to three people familiar with the discussions. The chief technology officer Joseph Sirosh, who left Microsoft to run Compass' tech operations, was let go shortly after the call. Vista has taken numerous tech companies private this year, including an $8.4 billion deal for the tax-software company Avalara and a $16.4 billion deal for Citrix.

☆ SoftBank plans at least 30% staff cuts to Vision Fund, source confirms
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Masayoshi Son, CEO of SoftBank, has been weighing up various options for chipmaker Arm after Nvidia walked away from buying the company. SoftBank is planning to cut at least 30% of staff at its ambitious investment arm, the Vision Fund, a source confirmed to CNBC's Deirdre Bosa. At least 150 out of 500 Vision Fund workers will be impacted by the cuts, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the news on Thursday. SoftBank Founder Masayoshi Son had foreshadowed cost cutting and a more conservative investment approach this summer after the company posted a $21.6 billion quarterly loss for the Vision Fund. Still, he said at the time, Vision Fund headcount may need to be "reduced dramatically" with "cost reduction" needed across units.

☆ The company trying to buy Trump's Truth Social has changed its HQ address from a WeWork to a mailbox at a UPS Store
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The company trying to buy Trump's Truth Social has changed its HQ address to a UPS mailbox. Digital World Acquisition previously had its HQ address listed as a WeWork building in Miami. The blank-check company's proposed deal with Truth Social has been plagued by setbacks. A buyout deal between Digital World and Truth Social was first announced in October 2021, and was originally set to close in September 2022. Digital World did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, made outside of regular working hours.

☆ I lost my job as a manager at The Wing when the feminist co-working space shut down permanently. Here's what the last days were like and the red flags I saw leading up to the closure.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Rosie Bradbury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Feminist coworking space The Wing shut down last month and all its staff were let go. A former staffer told Insider about how it felt to be on the call where she found out and of her feelings of shock and confusion. A spokesperson for IWG told Insider: "There was a clear process in place to handle what would have been a difficult time for employees." We were told The Wing would shut down at the end of August, at the same time as everybody else. Editor's Note: A spokesperson for IWG told Insider: "There was a clear process in place to handle what would have been a difficult time for employees."

☆ Adam Neumann Handing Over Part of Property Holdings to Fund Startup
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-13 | by ( Konrad Putzier | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Adam Neumann, former CEO of WeWork, has bought stakes in thousands of apartments since leaving the company he co-founded. Adam Neumann ’s new rental-apartment startup recently received a $350 million investment from venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. That big check came with an unusual catch. Mr. Neumann, the co-founder and former chief executive of WeWork Inc., agreed to effectively hand over part of his vast real-estate holdings in return for the money, according to people familiar with the matter.

☆ Science has figured out why Silicon Valley keeps forking over millions to charismatic screw-ups like WeWork founder Adam Neumann
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-07 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

And in and around Silicon Valley, they're the informational coin of the realm. Silicon Valley, after all, prides itself on being an ultrarational place for data-driven decisions, made by people with the brains and intestinal fortitude to identify disruptive winners. But the more solid research puts the lie to the idea of Silicon Valley as a utopia of empiricism. Its unfettered belief in freewheeling, big-ticket plays, in fact, is what sets Silicon Valley apart from other tech ecosystems. To the movers and shakers of Silicon Valley, a startup isn't merely a business.

☆ Inflation and hybrid work 'skyrocketed' demand for flexible workspace, WeWork says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-06 | by ( Goh Chiew Tong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Global inflationary pressures are pushing companies to be "more nimble" with their corporate real estate portfolios, according to WeWork. "That ... has put the need for companies to look at flexibility in managing and thinking about their workspace," said Samit Chopra, the coworking company's international president and COO. "Which is of course, guided by a revolution in the entire work culture and the hybrid work phenomenon that has taken place over the last few months." Speaking to CNBC's "Street Signs Asia" on Tuesday, Chopra said that as companies try to bring at-home employees back into the workspace, they are focused on building engagement and a "collaborative culture." "What that has done … is it has skyrocketed the demand for flexible workspace for us across the world.

☆ Tencent raids its pantry ahead of lean tech times
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, Aug 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Tencent (0700.HK) is preparing for tough times ahead. The Chinese giant plans to offload all or a chunk of its $24 billion stake in food delivery group Meituan (3690.HK), Reuters reported read more , citing sources. The eight-year old investment has proven lucrative: annualised total returns were nearly 20% since Meituan's 2018 Hong Kong debut, versus negative 6% for the Hang Seng Index. Nevertheless, a stock overhang — Tencent owns some 17% — sent its shares down 10% on the news. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ WeWork cofounder Adam Neumann is back on the billionaires list. Here's how the ousted CEO has spent his fortune, from real estate to start ups.
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-17 | by ( Katie Warren | Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Adam Neumann (left) with spouse Rebekah Neumann (right). Theo Wargo/Getty ImagesOne of the first businesses Neumann started was Krawlers, which sold baby clothes with knee pads. "At the time, I was misguided and putting my energy into all the wrong places," Neumann told Business Insider in 2016. After Neumann met his wife Rebekah, they lived in an East Village studio, an "apartment smaller than this office," Neumann told Business Insider. Neumann would go on to set his sights on bigger and better real estate once WeWork became successful.

☆ The career rise, fall, and return of Adam Neumann, the controversial WeWork cofounder who is back with another real-estate startup
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-16 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

The IPO filing gave the public its best view yet at the company's money-losing financials: notably, $1.6 billion in losses on $1.8 billion in revenue in 2018. The following year that loss increased to $890 million on $886 million in revenue. And for the full year 2018, WeWork lost $1.6 billion on $1.8 billion in revenue. For the first six months of 2019, the firm posted a loss of $690 million on $1.5 billion in revenue. We Co. will be the most highly valued startup to go public since Uber in May."

☆ Why tech workers are quitting great jobs at companies like Google to fight climate change
▼ + stars: | 2022-07-26 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

"What bigger problem is there to solve for our generation than climate change?" Not only is climate change an existential-level threat to humanity, it is especially dangerous for the poorest communities around the world. "Eventually, it just got to the point where I couldn't justify to myself why I'm still doing something that isn't climate," Kirpichov told CNBC. "It turns out that there are just so many people who are in the same boat," Kirpichov told CNBC. We know Southeast Asia is going to get hit really hard with climate change.

☆ Wine scammers — Quitting to hike Everest — LA’s most expensive apartment
▼ + stars: | 2021-09-17 | by ( Jordan Parker Erb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

This week, we're taking you to Mount Everest, giving you a tour of Los Angeles' most expensive apartment, and showing you how high-end wineries are fighting back against scammers. As some have dove into their passion projects, other die-hard athletes are quitting their jobs to climb Mount Everest or hike the Appalachian Trail. Peter Dazeley/Getty ImagesExperts estimate that about 20% of wine sold worldwide is fake — so high-end wineries are going to great lengths to fend off new-age scammers. See how high-end wineries are fighting back against scammers. We spoke with O'Neill, who took us through her daily routine during fashion week, working 7 a.m. to midnight leading up to her show.

În anul 2019, Moldova a produs 60,5 de mii de tone de carne, potrivit Biroului Național de Statistică (BNS). Companiile de producere a cărnii sunt vizitate regulat de comisii internaționale care verifică procesul, pentru a stabili compatibilitatea unui produs cu standardele europene. „Deocamdată, nu satisfacem cerințele necesare pentru exportul în Uniunea Europeană, atât de carne, cât și de ouă și lapte”, remarcă Iuliana. Soluții: carne în „eprubetă”Pentru a reduce consumul mult prea mare de carne, în 2012, autoritățile din Argentina au lansat o mișcare care încurajează oamenii să renunțe la carne o dată pe săptămână. În 2018, rețeaua globală de imobiliare WeWork a introdus o tactică pentru a susține consumul mai mic de carne în interiorul companiei.

Persons: Artur Gorea Iuliana, Artur Gorea, Artur, Aberdeen Angus, El, Mariana Rufa, Iuliana Cantaragiu, Iuliana, Veterinară, Alexandru Novițchi, Peștereanu, Mihaela, Iuliana Cataragiu, Miguel McKelvey Organizations: Uniunii Europene, Ministerul, Uniunea Europeană, WeWork Locations: Budăi, Telenești, România, Aberdeen, Moldova, Orhei, Republica Moldova, Rusia, Ucraina, Moldovei, UE, Republicii Moldova, SUA, Rogob, Argentina, Canada, Belgia, Australia, Olanda, Memphis, America

can be worth the high annual fees thanks to annual statement credits for airline incidental fees, Uber rides, and more. In some cases, it can be worth paying a high annual fee for a rewards card. But not every credit card annual fee is easy to justify — especially if you can't use all the benefits. There are plenty of cards with perks worth significantly more than the annual fee, but the key is to take a hard look at the benefits at evaluate how many of them you'll actually use. If you're not sure an annual fee is worth it, you do have several great rewards credit card options with no annual fees.

☆ 2 gaming veterans raised $1 million from Amazon and Google to make games you can only play by voice
▼ + stars: | 2019-07-23 | by ( Shona Ghosh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Two gaming veterans have raised €1 million ($1.1 million) for Doppio, a new games studio that builds role-play games you play with your voice. CEO Jeferson Valadares says voice games have become more economically feasible now that it's possible to buy items through Alexa skills. The way people play games is evolving, with most of the major tech companies assuming gaming will go the way of films and Netflix and building out their own game streaming platforms. Doppio's first game is "The Vortex," which you can play on the Amazon Alexa (by asking "Alexa, open The Vortex") or with Google Assistant on your phone. The Vortex, Valadares said, is similar to old-school text-based games, or MUDs, that were popular in the 80s and 90s.

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