The a16z Show · Wednesday, July 8, 2026
Adam Neumann recounted his experience with 'Concept Living,' an idea for a new way of living in apartment buildings that he presented at a college entrepreneurship competition. Despite the concept's failure to advance in the competition, Neumann learned valuable lessons about industry scope and realism from a dean.
“And we presented this concept living and everyone except for us made it to the second stage of the competition.”
“My team was very disappointed in me because I led us into a horrible. And I marched into the dean of business office, I knew for other reasons. And I said to him, I get it, I missed it. We're not going to go to the next stage, you got to tell me why.”
“And he said, Adam, the industry is too big. You're too young and this is unrealistic.”