What's next at WeWork, a secret superpower in the cloud wars, and inside Refinery29

Hello!

We're still picking through the wreckage left behind from WeWork's IPO debacle here at Business Insider. 

First off, Julie Bort and Meghan Morris talked to 20 current and former WeWork employees, executives, and business partners, and unveiled fresh details on life at the company under former CEO Adam Neumann. They reported on an atmosphere in which boundaries between work and play did not exist. You can read their story here:

• Sex, tequila, and a tiger: Employees inside Adam Neumann's WeWork talk about the nonstop party to attain a $100 billion dream and the messy reality that tanked it

(If you're interested in how Meghan and Julie went about reporting this story, you can read this Q&A with Meghan.)

WeWork's methods in delivering outsized growth under Neumann are now facing fresh scrutiny. Troy Wolverton, Meghan, and Alex Nicoll reported that in some cases, WeWork offered deep discounts to convince existing customers to move in to its new locations as it went on a growth binge:

• WeWork opened 400 locations in 3 years. In some cases, it used deep discounts to convince existing customers to relocate to help fill them.

Following the excesses of the Neumann era, WeWork's two new co-CEOs, Artie Minson and Sebastian Gunningham, are trying to clamp down on costs. Meghan teamed up with Becky Peterson to report that WeWork's planning on shedding up to a quarter of its staff:

• WeWork is planning to lay off thousands — up to 25% of its employees — as its new CEOs focus on the core business

Meanwhile, there's a broader question of whether WeWork's failed IPO somehow marks the top. Venture capitalists like Bill Gurley and Fred Wilson have weighed in from Silicon Valley. As Marley Jay reports, the view from Wall Street is less favorable:

• Morgan Stanley says WeWork's failed IPO marks the end of an era for unprofitable unicorns — and explains why it leaves the market's tech kingpins vulnerable

And then there's the question of what's next for Neumann himself. Dakin Campbell reported Friday that Neumann is in talks with banks about getting new terms on a credit line:

• Wall Street gave Adam Neumann up to $500 million he was going to pay back after WeWork's IPO. Now that the offering is pulled, banks are scrambling to hammer out a solution.

What have we missed? Let me know.

-- Matt

Moving markets

Ashley Rodriguez reported Friday on exclusive data which suggests Netflix's international growth has bounced back, a story that triggered a spike in Netflix's stock price. The data has a solid track record: Ashley previously reported that in the second quarter the data suggested that Netflix was faltering overseas, just before the streaming giant announced it underperformed on subscriber growth in all regions internationally.

Earlier in the week, Bradley Saacks and Casey Sullivan had the scoop on Silicon Valley cybersecurity company FireEye hiring Goldman Sachs for a potential sale. That too sent FireEye's stock surging.

Prime members had exclusive access to these market moving stories. 

Reminder

We're hosting an event focused on the future of transportation in San Francisco on Tuesday, October 22. IGNITION: Transportation will feature speakers like Zoox cofounder Jesse Levinson, Waymo chief external officer Tekedra N. Mawakana, and JetBlue Technology Ventures president Bonny Simi.

The event is complimentary. You can get more information on the event and apply to attend right here. 

Finance and Investing

Here are the top bankers raising money, putting together deals, and raking in millions in the global cannabis industry

Cannabis companies have been going public, merging, and acquiring competitors in a race for a competitive edge as cannabis legalization continues to sweep the globe.

Merrill Lynch hiked starting salaries for trainee advisers by $10,000 and has taken on 1,700 newbies so far this year. We have the details.

Bank of America's Merrill Lynch Wealth Management has sweetened starting salaries for trainee financial advisers, hired 1,700 newbies so far this year, and deployed performance managers around the country to coach them.

Dan Fuss is revered as 'the Warren Buffett of bonds.' He walked us through the investing approach that's delivered market-beating returns and turbocharged his 61-year career.

It is often said that the bond market is smarter than the stock market.

Tech, Media, Telecoms

Fantasy-sports site DraftKings is looking to raise new funding at a $2 billion valuation in march toward IPO

The fantasy-sports site DraftKings is raising hundreds of millions of dollars in fresh funds in a new round that could value the company at as much as $2 billion, two people familiar with the matter told Business Insider.

VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger explains how the 'traumatic' decision to work with Amazon Web Services led to it becoming a secret superpower in the cloud wars

Technically speaking, Pat Gelsinger retired in 2009.

How Refinery29 bootstrapped for 8 years, caught fire, and raised $133 million — only to end up selling to another struggling startup, Vice Media, for mostly stock

Once a quarter, Justin Stefano and Philippe von Borries would gather Refinery29's staff to celebrate victories and share the goals of their women's lifestyle media company.

Healthcare, Retail, Transportation

A wave of private-equity cash has poured into doctors' practices. We got an inside look at how the largest medical group in the US is weighing the benefits and pitfalls.

For investors like private-equity firms, medicine is an increasingly lucrative target. The trend has aroused concerns among doctors, who worry that it is affecting patient care.

Why $45 billion pharma giant Roche is teaming up with a buzzy health-insurance startup to find new treatments for diseases

When it comes to data, Genentech has its eyes out for all types.

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