TORONTO ¨C Co-working wasn¡¯t new when WeWork Cos. came along, but the office-sharing company made it cool, enticing millennials and entrepreneurs with amenities like hip furniture, beer on tap and puppy parties.
Now, after a botched initial public offering, the ouster of founder Adam Neumann and a $9.5 billion bailout from SoftBank Group Corp., the startup faces an uncertain future as it tries to mount a turnaround with its brand tainted by weeks of financial turmoil.
¡°There was a cool factor that has blown up into bits,¡± said Eric Schiffer, chairman of Reputation Management Consultants, a crisis public relations firm. ¡°The debacle that occurred under Adam Neumann¡¯s management is highly damaging to WeWork.¡±
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