InfoAnda - Competition and humor drive Groupon's Andrew Mason |

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

100,000 protest for press freedom in Rome | 4 October 2009
Nokia hit by no-brand vendors success: Gartner | 10 November 2010
Demi Moore settles Australia magazine case: lawyer | 27 September 2010

US praises Gulf investments to push growth | 15 July 2009

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Competition and humor drive Groupon's Andrew Mason |

Edition: U.S. Article Comments (0) Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read "Dr. Death," Jack Kevorkian, dies at 83 4:46pm EDT Virginia bus crash driver charged with manslaughter 3:49pm EDT Cooling employment casts shadow on recovery | 4:21pm EDT Felix Salmon: Jobs fail 12:46pm EDT Valedictorian fights judge's ban on graduation prayer 02 Jun 2011 Discussed 77 150 economists back U.S. Republicans in debt fight 44 Romney charges that Obama has ”failed America” 40 Debt-limit hike fails in House in symbolic vote Watched Scientists revive ancient spider in stunning 3D detail Tue, May 24 2011 Massive Australian waterspout caught on film Mon, May 30 2011 Facing a cyber threat 1:03am EDT Competition and humor drive Groupon's Andrew Mason Tweet Share this Email Print Related News UPDATE 6-The real deal? Groupon files for public offering Thu, Jun 2 2011 U.S. weighs security after "serious" Google allegation Thu, Jun 2 2011 Google reveals Gmail hacking, says likely from China Thu, Jun 2 2011 Google wanted to team with Facebook, now fierce rival Wed, Jun 1 2011 Twitter CEO says 80 percent of advertisers renew Wed, Jun 1 2011 Analysis & Opinion Are we living through another tech bubble? Deals wrap: A deal brewing Related Topics Technology » Media » By Sarah McBride PALOS VERDES, Calif | Fri Jun 3, 2011 4:41pm EDT PALOS VERDES, Calif (Reuters) - Groupon CEO Andrew Mason once thought of the hundreds of companies copying his business plan as plagiarists. Now, he joked to a crowd of investors and analysts this week, he just thinks of them as the competition. The 30-year-old executive's light touch belies the serious threat that Google, LivingSocial and any other company with a daily deals website poses to Groupon, which on Thursday filed to go public. But it is also the sort of quip that helped Mason win over the crowd at this week's All Things Digital conference and underscores just how far he is from the slicked-back entrepreneur many in Silicon Valley might expect. Instead of majoring in business or economics, Mason studied music at Northwestern University, graduating in 2003. Instead of moving to California to start his tech company, he stuck around in Chicago. And rather than playing the role of hotshot executive, Mason continues to goof it up. At this week's conference, he insisted that organizers work with his drivers' license picture -- showing his mouth open wide and his face contorted -- when it came time to put together official event materials. In the biographical information provided by Groupon, Mason claims to be working on a book called "Unleash the Power Within: Self Help for Self Helpers." His offbeat sense of humor, however, can also land him in hot water. When Groupon ran ads that appeared to mock issues such as Chinese oppression in Tibet and the threatened rain forests, there was a public outcry and the company pulled the campaign. "For us, it was like who would seriously believe someone would trivialize these issues?" he said on Wednesday night, the day before Groupon filed for an IPO that could raise up to $750 million. The company is not Mason's first. It evolved from a venture called the Point, a site to improve online organizing and fund-raising. Mason dropped out of graduate school in public policy at the University of Chicago to work on the business. Before that, as a teenager, he started a business to home-deliver bagels on weekends. DEATH STARES, STUPIDITY AND LOVE Groupon is another matter altogether. The site has 83 million subscribers and deals with nearly 57,000 local merchants in 43 countries. The investor community has pegged its value between $15 billion and $20 billion. As founder and chief executive, Mason is Groupon's public face; and just as Mark Zuckerberg did with Facebook, he is defining its culture. His personality played well at this week's conference. When interviewer Kara Swisher asked Mason questions he did not want to answer -- about the IPO and his decision to reject a takeover offer from Google -- he skipped the usual platitudes. Instead, he used silence and a long, piercing glare that Swisher later dubbed the "death stare." The audience laughed and clapped. At a dinner later that evening, one of the chief topics of conversation was how well Mason handled himself on stage. But the talk also made clear Mason is thinking about his business and its challenge, all the time. Groupon launched a few months ago in China, where Mason said he is already facing competition, including from a site that also calls itself Groupon. In the United States, he said he divided the competition into three categories: One would be small clones, another would be entries by existing corporate powerhouses, such as Google Inc, which has launched a competing service, and Amazon.com Inc, which backs LivingSocial. The third category is "people out of left field," meaning they have a twist on Groupon's model that Groupon has not come up with yet. As a counter strategy, Mason pushes his company to "build a product that makes (customers) love us more than anybody else." At the same time, he is trying to drive Groupon from "being a sales and marketing company to more of a tech company." That evolution means Mason, a native of Pennsylvania, sees his biggest mistake as not opening an office in Silicon Valley soon enough. There he could have tapped into the engineering and technology talent of the area. Talent like that would help improve predictive analysis tools to determine if using Groupon will help build up a merchant's business. The company has come under fire for creating one-off rather than repeat customers. In a letter to potential investors that accompanied the IPO filing, Mason made no bones about his missteps. "As with any business in a 30-month-old industry, the path to success will have twists and turns, moments of brilliance and other moments of sheer stupidity," he wrote. (Editing by Paul Thomasch; editing by Andre Grenon) Technology Media Related Quotes and News Company Price Related News Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language, all capital letters or appear to be spam, and we review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. Social Stream (What's this?) © Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters Editorial Editions: Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom United States Reuters Contact Us Advertise With Us Help Journalism Handbook Archive Site Index Video Index Reader Feedback Mobile Newsletters RSS Podcasts Widgets Your View Analyst Research Thomson Reuters Copyright Disclaimer Privacy Professional Products Professional Products Support Financial Products About Thomson Reuters Careers Online Products Acquisitions Monthly Buyouts Venture Capital Journal International Financing Review Project Finance International PEhub.com PE Week FindLaw Super Lawyers Attorney Rating Service Reuters on Facebook Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Saturday, 4 June 2011
Toshiba launches new Thrive android tablet priced to compete
Happy Birthday Rafa! Nadal reaches French final vs. Federer
Qatar deports Libyan woman who said she was raped |
Congressional leader blasts TSA for high costs of federal airport screeners
Alex Noren leads Wales Open, Graeme McDowell lurking one shot back
Protests simmer as Bahrain wins back Formula One |
Donnie Walsh steps down as Knicks president, GM
Peru's Humala edges ahead in polls; markets nervous |
Adele forced to cancel North American tour due to illness
"Gunsmoke" star James Arness dies at 88
Euro zone sees service sector growth slow
Caltrain board approves budget with no closures and service cuts
Zimbabwe's Mugabe suggests 2012 elections |
Knicks getting Jimmer with it; New York interested in ex-BYU star
Analysis: Can naming, shaming curb cyber attacks from China? |
U.S. raises Google hack allegation with China |
Competition and humor drive Groupon's Andrew Mason |
Request to revisit Rambus rulings likely: lawyer |
Playboy club returns to London, some hopping mad |
Rihanna says Man Down video empowers women |
Yemen's Saleh injured in shelling, seven killed |
NATO uses helicopters to strike Libya targets |
Mladic wary then defiant in dramatic Hague debut |
Indian anti-graft yoga guru begins fast to death |
Rangers pound out 19 hits in rout over Indians
Ohio State officials say they will work on compliance issues
More than 60 killed in Syria protests: rights group |
Vancouver businessman expected to buy NHL's Dallas Stars
Jiyai Shin leads by one shot at LPGA ShopRite Classic
Heat's Big Three came up small in game 2 collapse vs. Mavs
Timberwolves coach Rambis still unsure of return
Peru's Humala edges ahead in polls; markets nervous |
Steve Stricker aces way to three-shot lead at Memorial Tournament
Brooks hits Mark with 65, leads at Principal Charity Classic
Bear hunting license lottery redux necessary in Minnesota
India:hard to show restraint against more Pakistan-backed attack |
Long-suffering Pirates hold top pick heading into 2011 MLB Draft
U.S. says worried by cyber-attacks; committed to Asia |
Sony Pictures confirms hacking of its websites |
Apple secures licensing deals ahead of iCloud unveiling |
Heart transplant teen befriended by Brandy dies at 17 |
Actor John Malkovich robbed in Prague |
Key al Qaeda man killed in Pakistan by U.S. drone |
Japan PM Kan to step down by August: report |
Three dead in clashes over jobs in Tunisian town |
Four NATO troops killed by bomb in eastern Afghanistan |
Egypt court sentences former finance minister to 30 years jail |
Portugal vote winner to face daunting job under bailout |
Northern Sudan dismisses U.N. call for troops to quit Abyei |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph	VPN on MacOSX	BlogMeter 1.01