Evaluating only The Wing’s profile at its peak — without knowing the outcome — the model ranked Unit economics as the #1 likely cause. Documented cause: Founder chaos.
Key Events Timeline
FOUNDING
The Wing founded
CEO CHANGE
Leadership crisis or CEO change
SHUTDOWN
Slow Death: The Wing ceases operations
Full Analysis
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Documented cause
The Wing built a network of women-only coworking and social club spaces across the US and UK, raising $117.5M from investors including WeWork and Sequoia. The company grew to 11 locations and was valued at ~$400M. CEO Audrey Gelman resigned in June 2020 amid worker protests over the treatment of non-white employees and a response to the Black Lives Matter movement. COVID had already forced all locations to close. The company attempted a reopening but could not recover economically and announced its wind-down in May 2022.
Lesson
“A high-fixed-cost physical network is devastated by a demand shock. Maintain 12+ months of reserves and never rely on a single investor who is also your real estate partner.”