Adam Neumann – Unknown Facts About WeWork Founder

Adam Neumann is the founder of the American real estate company WeWork, which offers fully furnished co working spaces to freelancers and entrepreneurs so they can pursue and fine tune their business ideas.  Taking his Company to the elusive territory of a unicorn was not an easy road, with Adam Neumann being in and out of the news for his wild adventures and he has had an interesting journey so far.

Let us have a look at some unknown facts about WeWork founder Adam Neumann.

1. Born in Israel

Adam Neumann was born in Israel and as a child, spent time on an Israeli kibbutz (gathering of a community) and went to school near the Gaza Strip.

2. Dyslexic

Adam Neumann was severely dyslexic as a child and could not write until he was in the third grade.

3. Spent time in the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF)

Israeli citizens have to spend three years in the IDF, as mandated by the government.  Adam Neumann served in the Navy for five years before being discharged at the rank of Captain.  After finishing his stint with the IDF, Neumann moved to New York City, enrolled in a community school and obtained his Masters in Business Administration.

4. Failed at business before founding WeWork

Adam Neumann started a business from his apartment called Krawlerz, a clothing line for infants.  The clothes, especially bottom wear, featured padding in the knee area to make crawling more comfortable for children.  The business failed to take off and Adam Neumann was left with the inventory due to lack of demand.

5. Made outrageous claims

Adam Neumann is known for his radical and impulsive thoughts.  During an interview with a magazine in New York, he expressed his interest to run for President of the United States of America.  He also once claimed he would run for the position of the Prime Minister of Israel and also expressed his desire to be the president of the world to match his ego.

6. Trademarked ‘We’ and sold it to WeWork

Adam Neumann opened a private company named The We Company and trademarked ‘We.’  WeWork, during that time, wanted to rebrand itself around the word ‘We’ and Adam Neumann was the CEO of WeWork at the time.  WeWork paid Adam Neumann six million dollars for trademark rights to use ‘We.’

Adam Neumann is a self made billionaire.  Though he is eccentric and has impulsive urges, he has always believed in the idea of a community and built his offerings around the same, in the hopes he would be able to help young individuals find and pursue their passion.

Read more about the story of WeWork here:WeWork The Story Of The Real Estate Unicorn Startup