He raised billions. Then he lost sight of what he was building, on a 36-block walk.

Adam Neumann. Co-founder of WeWork.

On The Diary of a CEO, released September 28, he described a day in late 2016.

The night before, his board had agreed on a plan. Raise $300 to $400 million. Slow growth. Turn a profit. Go public.

The next day, Masayoshi Son of SoftBank visited. The conversation moved into his car.

By the end of the ride, Son had offered $4.2 billion. Terms on an iPad. Both signed.

Neumann got out around 54th Street and walked back to headquarters on 18th.

The valuation. His ownership. His personal wealth.

With every step, he says, his ego grew.

By the time he reached the office, he had forgotten what the company was about. It had become about the money.

We talk a lot about what failure does to a founder.

We talk far less about what success does.

For years, nobody believes in you. Then one of the world's biggest investors writes a cheque. It is easy to believe your judgment was validated too.

Someone asks about cash flow. You think they lack ambition.

Someone questions the plan. You think they do not understand the vision.

Slowly, the people willing to challenge you go quiet.

Two decades of building companies taught me to take this danger seriously.

The money in a company can grow faster than the founder's ability to handle it.

After your biggest win, were your decisions getting better, or were you just more certain of them?

Krishna Lakamsani | Serial Entrepreneur | Investor | I write at the intersection of AI, capital, and the future of the human job market,
sharing my life lessons, reflections, and honest takes from the founder-investor's seat.