WeWork’s latest comeback bet fits inside a phone booth

In today’s CEO Daily: Diane Brady reports on a new product from a slimmed-down WeWork.

The big leadership story: An AI push didn’t spare Intuit from the SaaSpocalypse.

The markets: Mostly down as optimism for a Iran peace deal fades.

Plus: All the news and watercooler chat from Fortune.

Good morning. I’ve long been fascinated with companies that fail, often spectacularly, only to be reborn in a smaller but profitable form. Remember when Lego slapped its name on so much stuff that it almost went bankrupt? Companies like General Motors, Delta Air Lines, Starbucks, Apple, and Ford all had to pare back and refocus to get healthy. A more recent example: WeWork.

It’s launching a private office pod today that’s emblematic of a more focused and asset-light direction for the brand. Normally, I’d pass on getting an ‘exclusive’ on a product launch. But that changed when I saw ‘WeWork Go’ emblazoned on the side of what looks like a transparent phone booth, the company’s first new product since July 2022, when WeWork was still trading for around $5 on the New York Stock Exchange. 

Of course, you’ll remember that the coworking company once had a $47 billion valuation and cult-like CEO in Adam Neumann who promised to “elevate the world’s consciousness.” That iteration of WeWork became a bankrupt cautionary tale with $18 billion in debt in 2023, when Neumann was ousted. (He later tried unsuccessfully to buy the company back.) It’s now a private firm with a penny stock that trades for........

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