If the Shoe Fits: the Worst Idea Ever
by Miki SaxonA Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read all If the Shoe Fits posts here
I admit to a long-time and deep fascination with innovation, startups and the people who drive them
Although many of the new apps and services provide no value to me personally, in most case I can understand their allure to those of a different mindset.
But now and then I read/hear about an idea I consider the height of stupidity, but that doesn’t mean it won’t succeed.
Right now, co-living spaces are at the top of my stupid list.
Live-work spaces aren’t new. HP started in a garage. Two decades ago they were a major force in the creation of what became SOMA in San Francisco. And home offices are everywhere.
But co-working spaces as envisioned by startups like WeWork are not only stupid, they are dangerous.
Crystal City WeLive location [Washington DC], the company will ultimately be renting out 360-square-foot “micro apartments,” which sit on top of WeWork’s co-working spaces. WeWork will offer more than 250 micro-apartments at that location, along with amenities like bike parking, an herb garden, and a library.
The idea is to eliminate the need to go outside your immediate environment.
It’s Silicon Valley efficiency taken to the extreme: you give up a normal work-life balance to eliminate your commute and live with all the amenities you need nearby. If you already hire people to take care of your other chores for you — you use Uber to drive you around and Wash.io to do your laundry — why not take it a step further and take care of your living arrangements through a startup too?
Residents not only give up any kind of work-life balance, they give up much of their connection to the real world and, more importantly, to their customers.
They will work/live/relax/socialize with people like themselves.
While losing contact with the extended world is bad, the potential for personal damage is catastrophic.
Shrinking the already tiny startup world will exacerbate the damage done by its ultra-competitiveness and worsen the rates of anxiety, depression and suicide already prevalent within it.
Image credit: HikingArtist
