WeWork (or any flexible space provider like Regus etc) provides a way for companies to avoid large ($) and long fixed lease commitments by taking shorter term flexible commitments, and they pay a premium for that.
Why would a company do that? Well, the same reason companies pay by the minute for cloud servers - to more accurately match their demand for office space/server resources.
When the economy tanks or other uncertainties face a company, the first thing to get the chop are big long leases for new office space with upfront capital investment on fitouts. So, a prudent CFO is LESS likely to sign a traditional lease and instead go to wework for a year-to-year commitment while they ride out the economic turmoil.
In addition, if the CFO or management see potential layoffs coming, they are even more likely to take up flexible space so when layoffs happen, they can also shed the office space.
I think during a downturn in the economy is when flexible office shines as a prudent option for businesses.
The press seems to focus on the free coffee/beer to position flexible office as a premium or luxury product and use the flawed logic that when the economy falters, a “luxury” coworking space will be the first thing that gets cut from a company’s budget.
I have created a free site containing extracts from OpenStreetMap data. Unlike the metro extracts sites (Geofabrik, Mapzen), my goal is to extract specific datasets such as buildings, schools, hospitals, fast food restaurants etc from OSM rather than standard map/gis data.
My overall goal is to make the extracts available, and then to encourage people who use them and get value to actively update OSM to improve the quality of the data they are interested in. By doing this, the overall quality and coverage of data in OSM should (in theory) be improved.
Wanted to say I am having this exact problem right now. I ended up solving it using Campaign Monitor and zapier to get signups into Highrise CRM. I will look at using your system next time - any chance you've thought about making the data available in a structured way, such as csv/json either in the email or attached?
If you want high-impact stuff, why not go to Singapore and get involved with one of the many #fintech incubators or accelerators. Some large banks like DBS and insurers like AIA/MetLife are creating these programs to work on wellness, big data, health, financial innovation (payments, remittances, bitcoin etc). The businesses provide the problems/issues and guidance while you can work on the tech side of solving the issue.
Just my 2c, not knowing exactly how feasible this is for you.
I think the US is overplaying their influence on HK. People in HK regularly protest (on the street, even) against Beijing's apparent interference in local politics or social matters such as education and elections. At the end of the day HK is part of China and this how they act towards Beijing. I don't think the US can waltz in to HK and apply their special brand of moral pressure for HK to 'do the right thing'...
I don't think HK cares that much about US relations. They can defer to China to help get their way if they need it for trade related matters. I don't think they will want to be seen as caving to US pressure here.
If HK's poor air quality is caused by locally-produced pollution why does the air quality in HK significantly improve during Mainland Chinese National Holidays (when factories in Southern China shut down but HK's so called pollution-generators like public transport, shipping and power stations remain operating as per normal)?
I agree that roadside pollution levels especially in Causeway Bay and Mongkok are most likely caused by local transport, but the clear-air and high visibility during Golden weeks and CNY suggest significant contributions from north of the border.
In short, it doesn't. Mainland holidays that are also HK holidays see reduced pollution levels, however mainland only holidays do not coincide with significantly lower levels of air pollutants.
http://www.corenetglobal.org/mycorenetglobal/tcontent.aspx?I...
Startups/Companies looking at the corporate/office occupier market, i.e. WeWork, VTS, etc