If you work out of a WeWork space, you know it’s a place where you have the opportunity to meet amazing and interesting people. On any given day, you could meet an architect designing a new skyscraper or a developer working on the next Twitter or Facebook. Sometimes, you will meet someone who just moved into a new office and wants to make new friends. Sometimes, you will be lucky enough to meet someone as amazing as Dave Capucilli. Sadly, Dave passed away on December 1, 2013.
It’s people like Dave that makes WeWork a very special place to work out of. Whenever I give tours of WeWork to friends, I always tell them that while WeWork is great place to network and make new friends, you must not be shy to introduce yourself to someone while getting your coffee or waiting at the printer. You never know who you are going to meet.
With Dave, I remember seeing his big smile, shaking his hand for the first time, and then talking for 30 minutes about his standing desk. For those 30 minutes, we went back and forth about the pro and cons of standing desks. Who talks about standing desks for 30 minutes? Apparently, Dave and I do.
Dave was a lawyer that specialized in the representation of startups and entrepreneurs. As the founder of his own practice, he understood what it meant to be an entrepreneur. From generating new business leads to working long hours to ensure his existing clients got what they needed on time, he did it all. I think because of this, he was able to relate to everyone else at WeWork. People at WeWork are constantly on the go, putting in hour after hour into their business. For myself, it was writing line after line of code for my startup. For Dave, it was building contracts and agreement for his clients. It’s the hunger for success and the love for what we do that keeps us all motivated to work harder each day.
His door would always be open if you needed feedback on a new idea. He wouldn’t hesitate to spend the extra time talking to you about anything. He was always willing to talk to anyone when he could without ever asking for anything in return. It’s no surprise that he was able to work with so many people at WeWork, myself included. You had no doubt in your mind that he was a very trustworthy person to work with. You could rely on him to be there for you when you needed him. Whether it would be to grab a couple of beers or to talk shop, he would make the time for you. It’s people like Dave that make working at WeWork such a joy each day. There aren’t enough people like Dave. He will be missed.
Gifts in memory of David can be sent to his alma mater. Please note on the check or correspondence that this gift is for the David Capucilli ‘99 Scholarship Fund:
University of Rochester
c/o The Gift & Donor Records
P.O. Box 270032
Rochester, NY 14627