Adam Neumann

In this recent episode of The Ben & Marc Show, a16z co-founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz sit down with Adam Neumann—founder of WeWork and now Flow—to unpack one of the most unlikely comeback storie s in tech. What began as a personal reckoning after a very public fall has become a bold new vision for how we live and belong. Flow isn’t just a real estate company—it’s an operating system for community, built on first-principles software, design, and soul. Joined by a16z General Partner Erik Torenberg, the group goes deep on: Why Adam’s childhood shaped his obsession with community Adam’s fall from WeWork—and how he found a new path to redemption How Flow is re-architecting real estate from scratch Why loneliness is the greatest design challenge of our time With reflections on dyslexia, the American dream, and the thin line between failure and greatness, this is a candid and wide-ranging conversation about redemption, vision, and building something that matters in this world. We hope you enjoy this deeply human conversation about the future of living. Timecodes 00:00 Introduction  00:51 Adam's Early Life and Family Background 07:56 Military Service and Discipline 10:08 Transition to the US and Education 14:43 Entrepreneurial Journey Begins 17:49 The Concept of Flow and Vision 20:28 Meeting and Partnership Formation 25:22 Overcoming Challenges and Resilience 28:30 The Isolation Phenomenon 30:03 Navigating Post-Crisis Relationships 31:50 Real Estate Strategies During COVID 33:47 The Genesis of a New Venture 36:47 Lessons from WeWork 38:49 Building Flow: The Vision 41:44 The Importance of Alignment 51:23 Technological Innovations in Real Estate 55:44 Revolutionizing Real Estate Software and Flexible Living Solutions 56:28 Challenges and Innovations in Multifamily Housing Rental Markets 58:40 Global Housing Crisis and Solutions 01:06:10 Expanding to Saudi Arabia 01:08:49 Success in Saudi Arabia 01:12:43 Real Estate Funds and Future Plans 01:19:10: Why Is This an Opportunity?  01:20:45 Impact of COVID on Living and Working 01:26:14 Future Potential of Housing and Living Resources:  Read Marc's blog post about Flow: https://a16z.com/announcement/flow/ Marc on X: https://x.com/pmarca  Marc’s Substack: https://pmarca.substack.com/  Ben on X: https://x.com/bhorowitz  Erik on X: https://x.com/eriktorenberg  Erik's Substack: https://eriktorenberg.substack.com/ Stay Updated:  Let us know what you think: https://ratethispodcast.com/a16z Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/ Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Adam Neumann

Founder

Flow

On this episode of The Ben & Marc Show, a16z co-founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz sit down with Adam Neumann—founder of WeWork and now, Flow—to unpack one of the most unlikely comeback stories in tech. What began as a personal reckoning after a very public fall has become a bold new vision for how we live and belong. Flow isn’t just a real estate company—it’s an operating system for community, built on first-principles software, design, and soul.  Joined by a16z General Partner Erik Torenberg, the group goes deep on:  - Why Adam’s childhood shaped his obsession with community  - Adam’s fall from WeWork—and how he found a new path to redemption  - How Flow is re-architecting real estate from scratch  - Why loneliness is the greatest design challenge of our time  With reflections on dyslexia, the American dream, and the thin line between failure and greatness, this is a candid and wide-ranging conversation about redemption, vision, and building something that matters in this world. We hope you enjoy this deeply human conversation about the future of living.  Timecodes  00:00 Introduction  00:51 Adam's Early Life and Family Background  07:56 Military Service and Discipline  10:08 Transition to the US and Education  14:43 Entrepreneurial Journey Begins  17:49 The Concept of Flow and Vision  20:28 Meeting and Partnership Formation  25:22 Overcoming Challenges and Resilience  28:30 The Isolation Phenomenon  30:03 Navigating Post-Crisis Relationships  31:50 Real Estate Strategies During COVID  33:47 The Genesis of a New Venture  36:47 Lessons from WeWork  38:49 Building Flow: The Vision  41:44 The Importance of Alignment  51:23 Technological Innovations in Real Estate  55:44 Revolutionizing Real Estate Software and Flexible Living Solutions  56:28 Challenges and Innovations in Multifamily Housing Rental Markets  58:40 Global Housing Crisis and Solutions  01:06:10 Expanding to Saudi Arabia  01:08:49 Success in Saudi Arabia  01:12:43 Real Estate Funds and Future Plans  01:19:10: Why Is This an Opportunity?  01:20:45 Impact of COVID on Living and Working  01:26:14 Future Potential of Housing and Living  Resources:  Read Marc's blog post about Flow: https://a16z.com/announcement/flow/ Marc on X: https://x.com/pmarca  Marc’s Substack: https://pmarca.substack.com/  Ben on X: https://x.com/bhorowitz  Erik on X: https://x.com/eriktorenberg  Erik's Substack: https://eriktorenberg.substack.com/  Stay Updated:  Find us on X: https://x.com/a16z  Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z  This information is for general educational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy, hold, or sell any investment or financial product. Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described in this podcast are not representative of all a16z investments and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results. A list of investments made by a16z is available at https://a16z.com/investment-list/. All investments involve risk, including the possible loss of capital. Past performance is no guarantee of future results and the opinions presented cannot be viewed as an indicator of future performance. Before making decisions with legal, tax, or accounting effects, you should consult appropriate professionals. Information is from sources deemed reliable on the date of publication, but a16z does not guarantee its accuracy. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Adam Neumann

Founder

Flow

Back in August, after a16z announced our investment into Adam Neumann’s new company, Flow, it felt like almost everyone – whether it was other VCs, founders, or journalists – had something to say. But the one person that you didn’t hear from was Adam himself. In this never-before shared footage from a16z’s American Dynamism Summit in Washington DC, Adam Neumann sits down with Marc Andreessen and David Ulevitch, to discuss the opportunities that have emerged from post-pandemic shifts in both work and home, and what Flow is doing to capitalize. Find the full library of American Dynamism Summit recordings at a16z.com/ad-summit. Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction 01:40 - Getting back in the arena  09:03 - The opportunity in housing  16:19 - Lessons from WeWork  19:13 - Work & home post-pandemic  27:34 - Moving to the cloud  34:23 - Office serendipity  37:51 - Building Flow  43:51 - Cities as startups Resources: Flow’s website: https://www.flow.life/ American Dynamism recordings: https://a16z.com/ad-summit   Stay Updated:  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/ Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Adam Neumann

Founder

Flow