WeWork rival Industrious raises $80 million
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Co-working startup Industrious has raised $80 million in new funding led by Riverwood Capital and Fifth Wall Ventures.
Bottom line: Industrious and its investors aren't worried about competing with WeWork, despite the latter's global footprint and recent backing from SoftBank.
“The name of the game right now is growing the pie,” says Industrious co-founder and CEO Jamie Hodari, who adds that co-working offices still represent a tiny fraction of commercial real estate.
Additionally, Hodari describes WeWork as a mass product, while his company is providing a premium product for a different type of customers (though WeWork has also been signing up large tenants like Microsoft in the last couple of years). Examples of Industrious perks can include nursing rooms, fitness centers, and concierges.
“While billions of dollars of SoftBank money is extremely helpful, one thing that SoftBank doesn’t control is the assets themselves,” says Fifth Wall Ventures partner Brad Greiwe, whose firm’s investors include some of the largest real estate companies.
- Other investors include Alrai, Outlook, Rabina Properties, Schechter Private Capital, and Wells Fargo Strategic Capital.
