Daily. Hey their business wars listeners. I'm David Brown every week on the show. We talk about the greatest rivalries in history manipulation and backstabbing or common as companies. Try to take each other down but what happens when a major company company collapses from the inside out the tech. Darling we work was the poster child for a new economy. We works founders wanted to revolutionize the way people work how they live how they sleep even how they raise their kids. It's charismatic founder. Adam Newman had an intoxicating vision for the company but it never we're matched up with reality from wondering the makers of business wars and dirty John Comes. We crashed a six part series about the rise and fall of we work work. It's a story of hope and Hubris. We crashed peels back. The layers on how Newman's culture personality shaped every square foot of we. You Work and how that same powerful personality destroyed it. You're about to hear a preview of the first episode of we crashed as you're listening. Be Sure to subscribe to. We crashed and other. Great wondering shows on Apple podcasts. Or wherever you're listening right now it was June twenty seventeen and the Barclay Center in Brooklyn was packed nearly every seat of the arena that was filled with thousands of group college graduates and their families. I'm looking at all the parents. I'm looking at balloons. I'm seeing horns people smiling. I think I had a smile on my face. Probably the whole time. While I'm at Francis was graduating second in his class which meant he had one of the best seats in the House that was on stage and it was just like wow. I'll be seated the next to you. Know some distinguished people the year before Senator Chuck Schumer had been the commencement speaker this year though was different because this year the the person giving the speech was also graduated. Just like Quan. Well Cumberland College. Class of twenty seventy soon as he walks onstage tall guy. Long hair slicked back. Look he's pulled out the roll out of his trunk and it's like all right. I gotTa dawn this little thing for this ceremony. But I think it'd be headed his way he'd be a t shirt written some fans. Adam Newman all six feet. Five inches of him had taken fifteen years from his first class to finally get his college degree here he was. We looked at it to see a black mortar boards and clasped his hands together in what looked like a gesture of prayer. It's my honor and privilege to graduate with all of you today with his billowing robe flowing black hair and arms outstretched Adam look more like a preacher than what he actually was the. CEO of a multi cheap billion dollars startup called we were an atom was here to spread the spirit of we who is definitely not a traditional commencement speech. The next revolution is going to be the we river loose and the we revolution it's going to be led by generation and the we generation does not discriminate between age race gender or religion Derek. Throwing their hands up their fist pump in people are standing up and train them on. You could think of somebody being the life of the party. You could think of him so as Kwame and the other students listened. Adam told them his story how he had. I moved to New York from Israel to get a degree college. I spent my first two years in Baru studying a little bit and partying locked but then a close friend. His came from Israel to visit. It looked at me and said is this while you left Israel. Is this why you left your family and your loved ones everyone who care about to go party in New York City. I was inspired by his words and his harsh criticism. I woke up the next morning and said it's time to start my first business adventure. Eventually Adam left Beirut behind his business career took off but he was here today he said because even after he'd become a billionaire all his grandma ever ever wanted was for him to finish college South Dynasty who paid for my full tuition. She really did want to graduate. She really did and she kept asking me every year. When you graduating when are you graduating and I said this you know we've done? I have a family we built us. We're doing well no. When are you graduating? I need to Oh hanging above my bed. It was a good story and Adam was a great storyteller. He commanded a presence on like any other. He definitely took everybody's attention so it was just very different a different kind of message. We are weak and if we worked together we cannot not be stopped we work the business Adam found it was more than just a company to him. Yes he wanted to become the world's first trillionaire there but he also truly believe that his company would fundamentally change not just how people work how they live how they raise children how they communicate with one. Another Adam believed he was on the brink of making history in a way you know he was because Adam Newman was about to preside over the largest largest fastest wipe out of shareholder value by a single company since Enron looking back. Maybe the most telling moment of the Ho- commencement speech was when when he shared a story about his first date with his wife. Rebecca went on the first date with me and within five minutes. Now I say five minutes to be nice but it surely it