Adam Neumann: This is How You Build Iconic Companies
The a16z Show16 Kesä 2025

Adam Neumann: This is How You Build Iconic Companies

In this recent episode of The Ben & Marc Show, a16z co-founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz sit down with Adam Neumann—founder of WeWork and now Flow—to unpack one of the most unlikely comeback storie s in tech.

What began as a personal reckoning after a very public fall has become a bold new vision for how we live and belong. Flow isn’t just a real estate company—it’s an operating system for community, built on first-principles software, design, and soul.

Joined by a16z General Partner Erik Torenberg, the group goes deep on:

  • Why Adam’s childhood shaped his obsession with community
  • Adam’s fall from WeWork—and how he found a new path to redemption
  • How Flow is re-architecting real estate from scratch
  • Why loneliness is the greatest design challenge of our time

With reflections on dyslexia, the American dream, and the thin line between failure and greatness, this is a candid and wide-ranging conversation about redemption, vision, and building something that matters in this world. We hope you enjoy this deeply human conversation about the future of living.

Timecodes

00:00 Introduction

00:51 Adam's Early Life and Family Background

07:56 Military Service and Discipline

10:08 Transition to the US and Education

14:43 Entrepreneurial Journey Begins

17:49 The Concept of Flow and Vision

20:28 Meeting and Partnership Formation

25:22 Overcoming Challenges and Resilience

28:30 The Isolation Phenomenon

30:03 Navigating Post-Crisis Relationships

31:50 Real Estate Strategies During COVID

33:47 The Genesis of a New Venture

36:47 Lessons from WeWork

38:49 Building Flow: The Vision

41:44 The Importance of Alignment

51:23 Technological Innovations in Real Estate

55:44 Revolutionizing Real Estate Software and Flexible Living Solutions

56:28 Challenges and Innovations in Multifamily Housing Rental Markets

58:40 Global Housing Crisis and Solutions

01:06:10 Expanding to Saudi Arabia

01:08:49 Success in Saudi Arabia

01:12:43 Real Estate Funds and Future Plans

01:19:10: Why Is This an Opportunity?

01:20:45 Impact of COVID on Living and Working

01:26:14 Future Potential of Housing and Living

Resources:

Read Marc's blog post about Flow: https://a16z.com/announcement/flow/

Marc on X: https://x.com/pmarca

Marc’s Substack: https://pmarca.substack.com/

Ben on X: https://x.com/bhorowitz

Erik on X: https://x.com/eriktorenberg

Erik's Substack: https://eriktorenberg.substack.com/

Stay Updated:

Let us know what you think: https://ratethispodcast.com/a16z

Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z

Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z

Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/

Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg

Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

Stay Updated:

Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube

Find a16z on X

Find a16z on LinkedIn

Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify

Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts

Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg

Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jaksot(1000)

a16z Podcast: Barbarians at the Gate -- How to Think About Enterprise Security Today

a16z Podcast: Barbarians at the Gate -- How to Think About Enterprise Security Today

Enterprises large and small run their applications and infrastructure at a whole new level of agility and speed. But unfortunately, security doesn’t like speed. “The faster you go, the harder it is to...

7 Touko 201525min

a16z Podcast: Making Sense of Big Data, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning

a16z Podcast: Making Sense of Big Data, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning

"Machine learning is to big data as human learning is to life experience," says Christopher Nguyen, the co-founder and CEO of big data intelligence company Adatao. Sure, but then, what IS big data? (e...

1 Touko 201527min

a16z Podcast: Software and Overcoming the Randomness of Birthplace

a16z Podcast: Software and Overcoming the Randomness of Birthplace

If your income can flow from any place on the globe, and you can earn your money on the Internet, the question for individuals and startup teams alike increasingly is: where do I go? In the tech indus...

30 Huhti 201535min

a16z Podcast: Getting Security Right Isn’t as Hard as You Think (But the Effort Never Ends)

a16z Podcast: Getting Security Right Isn’t as Hard as You Think (But the Effort Never Ends)

The paradox of security is we pretty much know what we are supposed to do most of the time -- but we don’t do it. If you examine all the recent high profile attacks, somebody in the organization knew ...

29 Huhti 201528min

a16z Podcast: Government, Startups, & Innovation -- with U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter

a16z Podcast: Government, Startups, & Innovation -- with U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter

Silicon Valley and the U.S. Department of Defense have had a long history of partnership -- including the government funding R&D that was commercialized by major companies and is now used by people ev...

25 Huhti 201515min

a16z Podcast: How One Startup Went from Being Banned by Regulators to Being Open for Business

a16z Podcast: How One Startup Went from Being Banned by Regulators to Being Open for Business

When (now) two-year-old startup Zenefits was banned in Utah because it offered its HR management software for free, CEO and co-founder Parker Conrad felt upset, anxious, and scared. Especially because...

24 Huhti 201517min

a16z Podcast: The Five Stages of Bitcoin -- Disdain, Dismissal, Curiosity, Oh F**k!, and Acceptance

a16z Podcast: The Five Stages of Bitcoin -- Disdain, Dismissal, Curiosity, Oh F**k!, and Acceptance

Bitcoin has not been easy for Wall Street and other traditional financial centers to wrap their collective heads around, let alone take seriously. But that has changed recently, argue authors Michael ...

23 Huhti 201522min

a16z Podcast: How Hacks Happen (Let’s Just Say Mistakes Have Been Made)

a16z Podcast: How Hacks Happen (Let’s Just Say Mistakes Have Been Made)

It seems like we hear about corporate (not to mention consumer) hacks in the news every week. Is this something new, or just a continuation of old patterns and we just happen to be hearing about it mo...

18 Huhti 201528min

Suosittua kategoriassa Liike-elämä ja talous

sijotuskasti
mimmit-sijoittaa
psykopodiaa-podcast
rss-rahapodi
rss-rahamania
hyva-paha-johtaminen
inderespodi
ostan-asuntoja-podcast
rss-lahtijat
rahapuhetta
rss-sisalto-kuntoon
herrasmieshakkerit
taloudellinen-mielenrauha
oppimisen-psykologia
rss-porssipuhetta
rss-bisnesta-bebeja
rss-yrittajan-mielenmatka
rss-kohti-unelmia
rss-seuraava-potilas
rss-40-ajatusta-aanesta