Monthly Archives: October 2011

Groupon’s road to IPO: Best resources for potential investors

Posted on October 28, 2011 by Rakesh Agrawal

This is a compilation of the best news coverage I see of the Groupon IPO. I won’t be including items from this blog on the list, but will include my work elsewhere. Other sources: Jim Cramer says “This is not … Continue reading →

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My video analysis of the Groupon roadshow

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Rakesh Agrawal

On Tuesday, I led a live viewing of the Groupon IPO roadshow video on Chill, a great new site for interacting with others while watching video. The video below includes my analysis of the Groupon roadshow, as well as my … Continue reading →

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Groupon’s tricky S-1 math

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Rakesh Agrawal

Quick: How many people bought a Groupon in the third quarter? The obvious, easy answer based on the latest S-1 is 29.5 million. That’s what Reuters wrote yesterday. (They rounded up to 30 million.) But that number is wrong. What … Continue reading →

Posted in daily deals, groupon | 7 Comments

Think Groupon is a technology company? Think again.

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Rakesh Agrawal

Through much of its roadshow presentation, Groupon tries to make the claim that it’s a technology company. At one point, CEO Andrew Mason bizarrely uses a cyborg to illustrate how much the company is about technology. From a company perspective, … Continue reading →

Posted in daily deals, groupon | 43 Comments

Short-term, transactional thinking in a social media world

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Rakesh Agrawal

I woke up this morning to find a bill under my door for a $7.60 bottle of water, courtesy of the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. Apparently the bottle of water next to the bathroom sink wasn’t free. There wasn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in strategy, travel | 2 Comments

A note about my Groupon coverage and accountability

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Rakesh Agrawal

I’m sometimes asked if I ghost write under other names or post comments anonymously about Groupon. I do not. Everything I’ve written about Groupon and the daily deals space has been posted under my name. I do, however, answer a … Continue reading →

Posted in daily deals, groupon | 1 Comment

Like many Groupons, Groupon is no bargain — even at 50% off

Posted on October 21, 2011 by Rakesh Agrawal

Groupon finally announced the details of its much awaited IPO. The company seeks a valuation that is between 1/3 and 1/2 of what was rumored when its first S-1 was published in June. Although the numbers are on the surface … Continue reading →

Posted in daily deals, groupon | 4 Comments

Groupon and LivingSocial get half off deals they won’t like: their traffic

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Rakesh Agrawal

Traffic to leading daily deal sites Groupon and LivingSocial has fallen often a cliff in the last few months, according to data from Compete. Since June, unique visitors to Groupon have fallen more than 50% from 33.7 million to 15.8 … Continue reading →

Posted in daily deals, groupon, livingsocial | 3 Comments

Why I agree 100% with Groupon on obfuscating its Deal Counter numbers

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Rakesh Agrawal

Groupon announced on its blog yesterday that it’s going to obfuscate the numbers shown in its Deal Counter, which shows how many of each deal sold. It’s the right move for Groupon. I noticed this in action several weeks ago … Continue reading →

Posted in daily deals, groupon, livingsocial | 2 Comments

Groupon, IPOs and incentives

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Rakesh Agrawal

When I first started writing about Groupon more than four months ago, my friend Semil asked me “Why are you the only one saying these things?” I explained that it call came down to incentives. Consider the various people involved … Continue reading →

Posted in daily deals, groupon | 3 Comments