Adam Neumann’s Latest Project Is a WeWork Competitor

Four months after a failed bid to buy back WeWork Inc., the coworking company he co-founded in 2010, Adam Neumann is introducing a competitor. The concept, dubbed Workflow, is to make a more adult version of his former brainchild. Like WeWork, it will offer office space on flexible terms to companies and individuals, though it will aim to create a calm atmosphere with fancy artwork and plush furniture, instead of providing kombucha and beer at offices filled by twentysomethings running amok.

Design sensibilities won’t be the only difference between Workflow and WeWork, which emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June. Neumann’s initial coworking company signed long-term leases with landlords, then relied on short-term leases for revenue, leaving it vulnerable to sudden drops in demand. Workflow is building offices in residential buildings it already owns or partnering with landlords to manage spaces it doesn’t.