# WeWork: Miguel McKelvey

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2017-06-19
- Length: 47m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-06-19-wework-miguel-mckelvey

## Summary

Miguel McKelvey, co-founder of WeWork, recounts the company's origins with Adam Neumann, starting from their time at the architecture firm Jordan Parnas Digital Architecture working on American Apparel retail rollouts. He details the pivot from their first venture, Green Desk, which was sold to a landlord, to the creation of WeWork, including the manual labor of gut-renovating their first SoHo space. McKelvey explains how they secured early funding from an Orthodox Jewish investor who valued their vision, and discusses the cultural shift toward integrated work-life environments that drove WeWork's rapid scaling to a $16 billion valuation.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-06-19-wework-miguel-mckelvey#t=0) Introduction: Miguel McKelvey and WeWork
- [3:16](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-06-19-wework-miguel-mckelvey#t=196) McKelvey's Background and Move to New York
- [7:10](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-06-19-wework-miguel-mckelvey#t=430) Working at Jordan Parnas Digital Architecture and American Apparel
- [14:31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-06-19-wework-miguel-mckelvey#t=871) Meeting Adam Neumann and the Green Desk Idea
- [22:52](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-06-19-wework-miguel-mckelvey#t=1372) Building the First Green Desk Space and Selling It
- [29:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-06-19-wework-miguel-mckelvey#t=1758) Creating WeWork and Renovating the First SoHo Location
- [36:35](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-06-19-wework-miguel-mckelvey#t=2195) Securing Early Investment and Scaling the Business
- [40:24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-06-19-wework-miguel-mckelvey#t=2424) WeWork's Valuation and Future Vision

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)

## Most relevant to

founders before launch, companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- WeWork (company)
- Green Desk (company)
- American Apparel (company)
- Jordan Parnas Digital Architecture (company)
- U.S. Bank (company)
- Craigslist (other)

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- [339 - Beyond the Dieline ep 1 with Tom Seymour and Jessica Kwon from Moka Energy!](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2026-02-05-339-beyond-the-dieline-ep-1-with-tom-seymour-and-jessica-kwon-from-moka-energy) (People of Packaging)
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