WeWork looked like a tech rocketship. The reality was real estate, lease risk, and a world-class story.

In this episode, Matt speaks with Alex Paessler, former senior exec at WeWork and founder of Vallist, a premium flexible workspace operator built on landlord partnerships (management agreements, not long lease liabilities).

Alex breaks down what it was like working in the WeWork machine: expansion pressure, why “scale at all costs” led to bad deals, how landlords were pushed into paying for fit-outs, and why the model got exposed when the market turned.

You’ll also hear where he thinks the office market is heading next: hybrid work, a “flight to quality”, landlords offering shorter, fully fitted space, and operators shifting toward hospitality-led tenant experience (concierge, booking tech, amenities) rather than pure lease arbitrage.

Timestamps:
0:00 Intro + why this matters now
2:21 How Alex got into serviced offices
5:10 Coworking economics: rent multiples + margin compression
7:25 Joining WeWork + launching Asia
11:54 “I knew it wouldn’t last” + scale pressure
18:17 Franchising to exit markets (China/India/LatAm)
25:27 Lease exits + landlord negotiations
37:29 Vallist model: management agreement vs lease risk
42:54 The future: hybrid, flexible space, flight to quality
46:20 Where to find Alex + Vallist

Follow Alex:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexpaessler/
Website: https://vallist.com/

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Connect with Matt Haycox, No BS Business Podcast Host & 8-Figure Entrepreneur.

I’m Matt Haycox, entrepreneur, investor, and your straight-talking guide to building a business that actually works. I’ve raised over £750M, built (and rebuilt) 8-figure companies, and learned the hard way what it really takes to win.

On No Bollocks with Matt Haycox, I cut through the bollocks to bring you raw conversations with 7–8 figure founders, investors, and experts who’ve been there, done it, and got the scars to prove it. No hype, no theory, just actionable strategies you can use today to start, grow, and scale your business.

Whether you’re stuck in your 9–5, building your side hustle, or trying to hit your first £100k month, this is your go-to podcast for entrepreneur tips, startup growth strategies, raising capital, building a personal brand, and avoiding the costly mistakes most founders make.

📩 Get Matt’s free business newsletter for weekly strategies, mindset shifts, and behind-the-scenes lessons → https://nobollockswithmatthaycox.beehiiv.com/subscribe

▶ Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/thematthaycox/
▶ YouTube – No Bollocks Podcast - YouTube
▶ LinkedIn – https://www.linkedi...

Most people lose negotiations before they even start, because they need the deal.

In this 7-minute No Bollocks business lesson, Matt breaks down the simplest negotiation truth: power comes from options. If you’ve got other investors, other suppliers, other deals, or another path to the outcome, you can negotiate calmly, set terms, and walk away when it’s wrong. If you don’t have options, you’ll accept anything, and you’ll call it “a compromise.”

This episode covers the walk-away rule, how to build leverage before the meeting, and why the best negotiators don’t rely on confidence, they rely on preparation, alternatives, and knowing their number.

Key takeaways:

• Why the person who wants it least usually wins
• How to build negotiating leverage with options (BATNA)
• The walk-away point every founder must set in advance
• Negotiating with bigger players: shift the value, not the ego
• Why you should due-diligence the person, not just the deal.

If this helped, follow the podcast and send this episode to one person who’s about to sign a bad deal.

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Connect with Matt Haycox, No BS Business Podcast Host & 8-Figure Entrepreneur.

I’m Matt Haycox, entrepreneur, investor, and your straight-talking guide to building a business that actually works. I’ve raised over £750M, built (and rebuilt) 8-figure companies, and learned the hard way what it really takes to win.

On No Bollocks with Matt Haycox, I cut through the bollocks to bring you raw conversations with 7–8 figure founders, investors, and experts who’ve been there, done it, and got the scars to prove it. No hype, no theory, just actionable strategies you can use today to start, grow, and scale your business.

Whether you’re stuck in your 9–5, building your side hustle, or trying to hit your first £100k month, this is your go-to podcast for entrepreneur tips, startup growth strategies, raising capital, building a personal brand, and avoiding the costly mistakes most founders make.

📩 Get Matt’s free business newsletter for weekly strategies, mindset shifts, and behind-the-scenes lessons → https://nobollockswithmatthaycox.beehiiv.com/subscribe

▶ Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/thematthaycox/
▶ YouTube – No Bollocks Podcast - YouTube
▶ LinkedIn – https://www.linkedi...

Most founders don’t fail because the product is bad, they fail because they run out of cash, lose focus, or can’t win distribution.

In this episode, Matt sits down with Nishant Sharma, founder of Rutland Square Spirits, to unpack the real story behind building a premium spirits brand from scratch: moving from India to Scotland with £500, hitting near-bankruptcy with £25 in the bank, suffering a near-fatal heart attack, then rebuilding through ruthless product focus (one SKU for 3 years), real-world sales (including selling bottles from a van), and strategic fundraising, including landing a Bollywood billionaire investor.

If you’re building a consumer brand, raising capital, or trying to scale without burning out, this is a masterclass in execution, distribution, valuation, and resilience.

Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
1:44 India → Scotland
6:04 Near-bankruptcy + heart attack
11:07 Whisky humbled him, gin saved it
13:11 Spirits economics
15:41 1 SKU for 3 years
16:42 Selling 1,000 bottles from a van
20:19 Fundraising
25:51 £30M valuation
27:50 Billionaire investor
34:48 Where to find Nish

Follow Nish:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nishantsharma08/
Website: https://rutlandsquare.com/

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Connect with Matt Haycox, No BS Business Podcast Host & 8-Figure Entrepreneur.

I’m Matt Haycox, entrepreneur, investor, and your straight-talking guide to building a business that actually works. I’ve raised over £750M, built (and rebuilt) 8-figure companies, and learned the hard way what it really takes to win.

On No Bollocks with Matt Haycox, I cut through the bollocks to bring you raw conversations with 7–8 figure founders, investors, and experts who’ve been there, done it, and got the scars to prove it. No hype, no theory, just actionable strategies you can use today to start, grow, and scale your business.

Whether you’re stuck in your 9–5, building your side hustle, or trying to hit your first £100k month, this is your go-to podcast for entrepreneur tips, startup growth strategies, raising capital, building a personal brand, and avoiding the costly mistakes most founders make.

📩 Get Matt’s free business newsletter for weekly strategies, mindset shifts, and behind-the-scenes lessons → https://nobollockswithmatthaycox.beehiiv.com/subscribe

▶ Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/thematthaycox/
▶ YouTube – No Bollocks Podcast - YouTube
▶ LinkedIn – https://www.linkedi...