How Industrious Won the Flex Office Race

The past few years have seen plenty of post-mortems on WeWork’s failings. Tequila-fueled benders, piles of Masa’s cash, Summer Camp, fat master leases… the list goes on.

But there has been far less interrogation of WeWork’s lower-key, under-the radar competitor, Industrious. Industrious has been a sneaky success story in a pockmarked landscape of venture-backed real estate operators, emerging from the graveyard of “co-working” a winner. Last month, Industrious announced its acquisition by longtime partner CBRE for $800 million, capping off a tumultuous chapter in the history of managed office.

Today’s letter will explore how Industrious succeeded where WeWork failed, looking at both obvious and less-obvious differences between the firms across capitalization, structure, brand, location strategy, and more.