Mr. WeWork Starts Another Real Estate Company
Summary
Andreessen Horowitzthe same kingmaker venture capital firm that was early to bank on heavy-hitters like Facebook, AirBnb, Twitter, NFT platform OpenSea, Clubhouse, and so many othershas invested $350 million in Flow, according a report from the New York Times. The large investment means that Flow is valued at more than $1 billion before the start up has even started up.Adam is a visionary leader who revolutionized the second largest asset class in the world commercial real estate by bringing community and brand to an industry in which neither existed before, wrote Marc Andreessen in a firm blogpost announcing the investment.We understand how difficult it is to build something like this and we love seeing repeat-founders build on past successes by growing from lessons learned. But some hints of the companys focus could be found in the Andreessen Horowitz blog.The post summarizes the problems of increasingly unaffordable mortgages, renters spending money without getting anything in return, lack of investment in community, and the ways in which the c ovid-19 pandemic has shifted societal views on remote work and where people choose to live. And yet virtually no aspect of the modern housing market is ready for these changes, wrote Andreessen.Fun fact: Though the billionaire investor has often publicly positioned himself as all-in on more development as a way to combat rising housing costs, Andreessen has personally (and rather aggressively) petitioned his own city council to deny multi-family rezoning.Neumann, meanwhile, has bought up more than 3,000 apartments in Atlanta, Nashville, Fort Lauderdale, and Miamiwhich will be part of the startup, according to the NYT. Flow will reportedly directly run those 3,000 units and also offer its services to other developments.So, it sounds like Mr. WeWork has come up with the ideas of planned communities and property management.