WeWork raised $5.6 billion in 3 months — here's how the co-working giant became the most valuable startup in New York City

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WeWork, a startup that leases trendy, millennial-friendly office space to startups and Fortune 500 companies, just became the sixth most valuable startup in the world.

It's been raining money all year long at WeWork. The company has raised over $8 billion in funding to date — with $5.6 billion flowing in since July — at a $20 billion valuation. It's the third biggest startup by valuation in the US after Uber and Airbnb, and the largest in New York City.

And still, no one can seem to agree if the co-working giant can justify its sky-high valuation.

Take a look at how an architect and a serial entrepreneur set out on a mission to reinvent the office and, in the process, built a global brand that's worth $20 billion.

WeWork founders Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey met — where else? — at the office.

Neumann came to New York City in 2001, fresh off his service in the Israeli military. He started a company called Krawlers, which sold clothes with padded knees for crawling babies.

"We were working in the same building as my co-founder Miguel McKelvey, a lead architect at a small firm," Neumann told Business Insider's Maya Kosoff in 2015.

"At the time, I was misguided and putting my energy into all the wrong places," he added.

Neumann also had an interest in real-estate. While working in the gentrifying neighborhood of Dumbo, he fell in love with a vacant warehouse on Water Street.

In an interview with Fast Company, Neumann recalled approaching the landlord and asking for the building. The landlord said, "You're in baby clothes. What do you know about real estate?"

Neumann shot right back: "Your building is empty. What do you know about real estate?"

He and his new friend McKelvey struck a deal to start a real-estate business there: Green Desk.

In 2008, Green Desk became an early incarnation of WeWork. The company offered sustainable co-working spaces featuring recycled furniture, free-trade coffee, and green office supplies.

Source: Forbes

Customers, called "members," could rent a desk or a private office month to month. Neumann and McKelvey made money by charging more for those spaces than their lease payments.

Green Desk offered most things individuals and small companies needed: fully furnished offices, conference rooms, high-speed internet access, utilities, printing, and a stocked kitchen.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider