WeWork expanded into 39 countries, grew revenue to billions, and reached a $47 billion valuation in early 2019. Yet the business model became harder to sustain with every new market entered. By November 2023, the company filed for bankruptcy protection despite generating $3.2 billion in annual revenue. This case examines how expansion can create exposure rather than leverage when fixed costs scale faster than flexible revenue, and what it suggests for companies evaluating international growth strategy. The article reviews the structural tension between long-term lease obligations and short-term customer commitments, why geographic reach multiplied rather than resolved this mismatch, and the implications for businesses where expansion carries fixed-cost risk.

Hopin went from Europe's fastest-growing startup to liquidation in under three years. But this wasn't just bad luck — it was a failure of market expansion strategy. We examine how Hopin mistook crisis-driven demand for a durable market, and what growing businesses can learn from its collapse.