Monthly Archives: March 2012

Why Groupon is poised for collapse — an update

Posted on March 31, 2012 by Rakesh Agrawal

Groupon was forced to restate fourth quarter earnings, sending its stock down 6% in after-hours trading. This surprised me as much as my $2 investment in the Mega Millions jackpot not paying off. The reasons for Groupon’s restatement were higher … Continue reading →

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Office hours in NYC

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Rakesh Agrawal

I’ll be in New York next week. I’m holding office hours at the Standard Biergarten starting at 6:30 p.m. Stop by and say “Hi!” Tweet at @rakeshlobster if you’re coming. (I’ll tweet when I’m leaving.)

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Weekly reader: PayPal vs. Square, AmEx, Yahoo! as patent troll and deals

Posted on March 18, 2012 by Rakesh Agrawal

This contains a summary of my work, where I’ve been quoted by others as well as some other highlights of the week. My work PayPal at retail is a terrible product — I had a chance to look at PayPal’s new … Continue reading →

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Decline in the U.S. newspaper industry in 3 charts

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Rakesh Agrawal

Grim This chart shows U.S. newspaper print revenue in nominal dollars. Grimmer Take the same data and adjust it for inflation. Now we’re nearly at 1950 levels. (2011 dollars) Grimmest Now take the inflation adjusted data and do a per … Continue reading →

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Weekly reader: American Express, Virgin America, startup advice

Posted on March 11, 2012 by Rakesh Agrawal

I’m testing a new feature summarizing my work and interesting finds of the week. This will contain a summary of my work, where I’ve been quoted by others as well as some other highlights of the week. My work 11 … Continue reading →

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No.

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Rakesh Agrawal

No, I will not be at SXSW this year. But in an effort to make connecting with me easier, I’m posting a public calendar.

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Survey says: you’re not helpful

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Rakesh Agrawal

Yesterday, I ran a survey of my readers about the type of writing I do. I asked whether you preferred stories about specific companies or themes. Here are the results: Thanks a lot! This is different from what I measure. … Continue reading →

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Please take this survey

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Rakesh Agrawal

I’m trying to get a sense of where to focus my energies. If you’re a regular reader of my work, please take this 2-question survey. I’m also a big believer in seeking out criticism. If you dislike my work, please … Continue reading →

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Rocky’s top 10 tips for dealing with the press

Posted on March 4, 2012 by Rakesh Agrawal

Chris Dixon has one of the best posts I’ve seen on how startups should deal with the press. I added a few items in his comments, but thought they were worthy of sharing here. I sit in a weird spot: … Continue reading →

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PR tip: Don’t do this

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Rakesh Agrawal

Don’t cold email reporters when you are drunk. From an email I received last night: We’re 2 weeks from launch. Our inaugural trip to SF as a company runs this Monday (7a virgin air from IAD) through Thursday, for the … Continue reading →

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