Georgetown University Law Center Scholarship @ GEORGETOWN LAW 2021 Corporate Adolescence: Why Did “We” Not Work? Donald C. Langevoort Georgetown University Law Center,
[email protected] Hillary A. Sale Georgetown University Law Center,
[email protected] This paper can be downloaded free of charge from: https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/facpub/2343 https://ssrn.com/abstract=3762718 This open-access article is brought to you by the Georgetown Law Library. Posted with permission of the author. Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/facpub Part of the Business Organizations Law Commons Corporate Adolescence: Why Did “We” Not Work? Donald C. Langevoort & Hillary A. Sale* In academic and public commentary, entrepreneurial finance is usually portrayed as a quintessential American success story, an institutional structure whereby expert venture capitalists with strong reputational incentives channel much-needed equity to deserving entrepreneurs, then subject them to intense monitoring to assure they stay on the path to hoped-for success in the form of an initial public offering or public company acquisition.1 Thus, it is jarring that in recent years there have been so many troubles, from gross embarrassments to allegations of outright criminality, at companies like Uber, Theranos, and our subject here, WeWork. These dramas are often portrayed in terms of the predictable sins of youthfulness: reckless, disruptive, risk-taking behaviors that come from the volatile interaction of a charismatic young leader and a cult(ure) of STEM-smart followers who buy into the dream.2 * The authors thank Olivia Brown, Samantha Glazer, Hollie Chenault, Claire Creighton, Jing Xu, and Michael Marcus for their research, insights, and good humor.