In the early hours of New Year's Day, Knotel CEO Amol Sarva sent a rambling message to friends and staff titled "Random Musings from 2019."

The email, seen by Business Insider, presented jumbled thoughts ranging from "African-American writers you have likely overlooked: WEB Dubois, James Baldwin, MLK" to a favorite bar in Davos, Switzerland.

"We tell people the truth in order to help them find a better way," Sarva wrote.

The serial entrepreneur, who is 43, cofounded flexible-office company Knotel in 2015. His previous ventures included a brain-stimulation company that raised $13 million and a since folded teamwork app. Sarva hasn't been shy about his ambitions to overtake rival WeWork.

Knotel found backers from largely outside the venture-capital industry. It reported raising $560 million over three years with an implied valuation of about $1.3 billion.

But as the coronavirus pandemic wallops the commercial real-estate industry, Knotel has stopped boasting.

A dozen current and former Knotel employees told Business Insider that the company was so focused on beating WeWork, it set itself up for significant financial stress before the pandemic even hit. Knotel declined to comment for this story.

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Office-rental startup Knotel bragged it was a nearly profitable anti-WeWork. Now lawsuits are stacking up. 12 insiders reveal what happened to the $400 million Knotel said it raised last year.