Groupon's Biggest Deal Ever
The Inside Story of How One Insane Gamble, Tons of Unbelievable Hype, and Millions of Wild Deals Made Billions for One Ballsy Joker
-
- $16.99
-
- $16.99
Publisher Description
The inside story of the meteoric rise of Groupon from startup to $30 billion online giant and the audacious genius behind it, founder Andrew Mason
In late 2010, Groupon made an incredible gamble. Rather than take Google's $6 billion buyout offer, founder Andrew Mason turned the search giant down and decided to go it alone. The experts thought he was insane. Groupon was little more than two years old and staffed from top to bottom with twenty-somethings. The wild ride couldn't last, but Mason thought otherwise, and with knowledge of a possible IPO he liked his odds.
A discount service that offers a deal a day at local merchants in countless cities in more than forty-three countries, Groupon is the fastest-growing company in Internet history and is as committed to innovating a new model for commerce as it is to creating an office culture and editorial voice based on radical transparency and absurd humor.
Groupon's Biggest Deal Ever is the exclusive and unparalleled account of the incredible rise of discount giant Groupon and the compelling story of its offbeat founder Andrew Mason as he created a juggernaut of online commerce and ignited a consumer revolution.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Groupon CEO Andrew Mason takes center stage in this story about the company's founding, development, and explosive assent. Tracing the unfolding drama, Sennett (editor-in-chief of Time Out Chicago and author of 101 Stunts for Principals) takes us from November 2006, when Mason first pitched the idea for Policy Tree (Groupon's precursor) to Eric Lefkofsky, the man who became Groupon's chairman, to early November 2011, when Groupon finally went public on the NASDAQ stock exchange. Sennett commendably keeps the story lively, presenting an array of tales about the pranks and hijinks that went on within the company. But the pace inevitably slows as the narrative shifts to details about takeovers and the company's attempt at getting its IPO approved by the SEC. However, it's refreshing and enjoyable to read Sennett's likable portrait of Mason ("the inexperienced CEO hiding a brilliant analytical mind behind a goofball demeanor") and Lefkofsky (nicknamed "Punchable" by Mason for his hard-edged, "alpha dog" attitude). Sennett succeeds in presenting a balanced view of the company, complete with bad press and "damaging controversy."
