Two of WeWork’s core values are Grateful and Together. As 2015 draws to a close, there’s no better time for us to reflect on these two key pillars of our identity.
This year has been filled with global expansion, continued growth in the U.S., and meaningful learning experiences. It’s because of our community, though, that we’ve found more strength than ever in the power of “We.”
“We” nearly tripled in size this year—growing from roughly 16,000 to over 40,000 members. We’re incredibly proud that our community today represents amazing, diverse, supportive and creative minds from around the globe. We opened 40 new WeWork locations all over the world, including spaces in brand new markets: Austin, Amsterdam, Berkeley, Chicago, Miami, Portland, Herzliya, and Be’er Sheva, in addition to expansion into Brooklyn in New York City. Through our Commons membership, we’ve been able to empower creators in cities like Warsaw, Baton Rouge, Seongnam, and Sao Paulo. Next year, our community will grow to Atlanta, Denver, Mexico City, Montreal, Philadelphia, and more.
The number of companies in our community more than doubled from over 4,000 at the end of 2014 to the now over 9,000 businesses that call WeWork their home. These companies have been paramount to our growth and success. Their energy, creativity, and ambition is palpable and it fuels everything we do.
We supported our community members with valuable new services that include low-rate payment processing through Chase, student-loan refinancing through Common Bond, and accounting and tax services through Bond St. and InDinero, respectively.
We are always looking for ways to elevate our members, and we leveraged more opportunities than ever in 2015.
We ran an inaugural #FoundedByWomen campaign on our online magazine, a month-long celebration focused on female founders that culminated in a powerful panel discussion with six members. We featured six additional member stories from around the world and across different industries on a billboard in the heart of Times Square.
And in May, we sent 19 member companies from multiple cities to pitch their businesses in front of top VCs and press at TechCrunch’s Disrupt conference in New York.
We’ve always considered ourselves members of the community, and we have been fortunate to welcome extraordinary new people to the WeWork team this year. As a company, we’ve quadrupled in size and now have over 1,000 employees in total, including the addition of the Case Inc. team—a firm that specializes in building information and technology—who have already helped us create smarter, more efficient physical and digital experiences for our members.
Culture is crucial to us, and we’re proud that we were able to scale our business while also preserving our entrepreneurial spirit.
We’re both humbled and inspired by what we were able to achieve together this year, and we are ready to move forward to the next level of growth as stewards for the new way of working and living. Thank you to all who’ve made 2015 such a memorable and fulfilling year. As we venture into 2016, we’re committed to strengthening our community and supporting our members so they can continue to create their life’s work.
