Deal expired

I had a feeling this would happen some day but didn’t realize it would happen this early. Andrew Mason, CEO of Groupon, was fired today.

In his departing letter, he sounds very upbeat and throws in few jokes. That’s a man who has nothing to lose, he has already made his millions and gained few pounds (weight) along the way.

Back when the whole Groupon IPO thing was hot, I had my doubts. It wasn’t just me, a lot of others who cover the industry had their doubts and eventually SEC caught on. It’s evaluation was ridiculous and the books were a mess.

After repeatedly missing expectations and as a result of 75% loss in value since its IPO, Mason is now a free man. I am sure he will be back soon, with something new. Keep in mind that group buying is a noble concept, makes buyers and sellers both happy. If my memory serves me right, he is the first person who introduced it to the masses and made it extremely popular. That’s not easy but wall street invests in businesses that have a business model which Groupon never did.

Moral of the story: When Google wants to buy you for $5.75 Billion, sell.


Link to original post

Leave a Reply