Money matters

Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway on their drama about one of the world’s most valuable start-ups

- IAN MACEWAN

WECRASHED

Available: Friday 18 March Season: 1 Episodes: 8 (first three episodes from Friday 18 March, then weekly) Run time: 55 minutes NEW DRAMA

Billionaire Adam Neumann’s earliest business ventures and companies didn’t exactly set the world alight. But undaunted that his ideas for collapsible high heels for women and baby clothes with built-in knee pads didn’t bring him success, the self-styled ‘serial entrepreneur’ carried on. He eventually built a global company from scratch that was at one point valued at a staggering $47 billion, before the wheels started to come off.

The remarkable true story of Israel-born Adam, his wife Rebekah, and their roller-coaster ride developing and running the communal-workspace company WeWork is told in new Apple TV+ series WeCrashed, starring Hollywood favourites Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway.

Super-salesman

Co-founded in 2010 by Adam and his business partner Miguel McKelvey, WeWork leased empty office buildings and rented out desk space in them to fledgling companies and freelance workers on a flexible basis.

The company expanded rapidly across the US and Europe, and was soon seen as a ‘unicorn’, or highly desirable investment opportunity. And a huge factor behind its success was Adam’s ability to sell the concept to investors.