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Andrew Mason is still worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Sure, he was fired from his job, but I wouldn't exactly call that a "fall". It's not like they took

by rsp1984 8y ago

Andrew Mason is still worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Sure, he was fired from his job, but I wouldn't exactly call that a "fall". It's not like they took away his equity in the company.

ryanwaggoner 8y ago
You’re so right! I think we tend to equate failure with not living up to our expectations, no matter how unrealistic they were. Andrew is probably comparing his actual outcome with the potential outcome that was envisioned when Groupon was flying high. He’s not in the three comma club like he expected, or like his (former) peers are. Hence, “failure”. You could argue that anyone reading this right now on a computer is probably anthropologically successful enough that “failure” is never a fair term to apply to them.
Cthulhu_ 8y ago
Narp, I mean sure he didn't get to keep his tenure as CEO, but he was barely in his 30's when Groupon changed hands to stock brokers, who'd rather have a more experienced - read: stock price level manager - CEO at the helm. I wouldn't trust myself running a big company!
curiousDog 8y ago
Very true. He's apparently worth $200million. That's generational wealth 99% of us can only dream of.
- hindsightRegret 8y ago
  99.99% more like
- kyleblarson 8y ago
  I'd add more 9's to that number.
  - dharma1 8y ago
    999999%
joezydeco 8y ago
In fact, he was able to cash out before he was fired. How often does that happen? https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanlappin/2013/03/05/dont-cry-for-groupons-andrew-mason/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanlappin/2013/03/05/dont-cry-... The entire Groupon story is a black stain on Chicago startup history.
- ForHackernews 8y ago
  > How often does that happen? For execs? I'd assume frequently.
  - joezydeco 8y ago
    Well, sure. I guess I meant it in more of a "able to cash out pre-IPO while still raising money" context.
- monksy 8y ago
  I'm not sure that I would call it a black stain on the Chicago Startup history. But I would say that it is one of the weirder startups in Chicago. There needs to be quality journalism on what's been going on. This is definitely something that could be a Ryan Holiday or Michael Lewis level book.
bksenior 8y ago
You've clearly missed the point of the story and kind of reaffirmed the pitfalls of being the CEO of a company with any amount of public success. First, it was a fail if felt your primary responsibility is to the team, shareholders and just general commitment you often set out to as a founder fulfill in building something that people love and use. Being fired from something you believe you tried your hardest at doing right is brutally painful to self-identity. The quality of the food you eat after word at best distracts you from some of the pain and nagging "what-ifs."
kurthr 8y ago
Agreed... it's interesting that Steve Case also thought it was a good time to give an interview as well (on the lessons of AOL/TW), but they don't discuss the billions in restated "earnings". https://amp.businessinsider.com/steve-case-lesson-aol-time-warner-merger-2018-10 https://amp.businessinsider.com/steve-case-lesson-aol-time-w... https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/18/business/media/aol-adds-another-584-million-to-restatements-of-ad-sales.html https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/18/business/media/aol-adds-a...?

Andrew Mason is still worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Sure, he was fired from his job, but I wouldn't exactly call that a "fall". It's not like they took away his equity in the company.

ryanwaggoner 8y ago

You’re so right! I think we tend to equate failure with not living up to our expectations, no matter how unrealistic they were. Andrew is probably comparing his actual outcome with the potential outcome that was envisioned when Groupon was flying high. He’s not in the three comma club like he expected, or like his (former) peers are. Hence, “failure”. You could argue that anyone reading this right now on a computer is probably anthropologically successful enough that “failure” is never a fair term to apply to them.

Cthulhu_ 8y ago

Narp, I mean sure he didn't get to keep his tenure as CEO, but he was barely in his 30's when Groupon changed hands to stock brokers, who'd rather have a more experienced - read: stock price level manager - CEO at the helm. I wouldn't trust myself running a big company!

curiousDog 8y ago

Very true. He's apparently worth $200million. That's generational wealth 99% of us can only dream of.

hindsightRegret 8y ago
99.99% more like
kyleblarson 8y ago
I'd add more 9's to that number.
- dharma1 8y ago
  999999%

joezydeco 8y ago

In fact, he was able to cash out before he was fired. How often does that happen? https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanlappin/2013/03/05/dont-cry-for-groupons-andrew-mason/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanlappin/2013/03/05/dont-cry-... The entire Groupon story is a black stain on Chicago startup history.

ForHackernews 8y ago
> How often does that happen? For execs? I'd assume frequently.
- joezydeco 8y ago
  Well, sure. I guess I meant it in more of a "able to cash out pre-IPO while still raising money" context.
monksy 8y ago
I'm not sure that I would call it a black stain on the Chicago Startup history. But I would say that it is one of the weirder startups in Chicago. There needs to be quality journalism on what's been going on. This is definitely something that could be a Ryan Holiday or Michael Lewis level book.

bksenior 8y ago

You've clearly missed the point of the story and kind of reaffirmed the pitfalls of being the CEO of a company with any amount of public success. First, it was a fail if felt your primary responsibility is to the team, shareholders and just general commitment you often set out to as a founder fulfill in building something that people love and use. Being fired from something you believe you tried your hardest at doing right is brutally painful to self-identity. The quality of the food you eat after word at best distracts you from some of the pain and nagging "what-ifs."

kurthr 8y ago

Agreed... it's interesting that Steve Case also thought it was a good time to give an interview as well (on the lessons of AOL/TW), but they don't discuss the billions in restated "earnings". https://amp.businessinsider.com/steve-case-lesson-aol-time-warner-merger-2018-10 https://amp.businessinsider.com/steve-case-lesson-aol-time-w... https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/18/business/media/aol-adds-another-584-million-to-restatements-of-ad-sales.html https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/18/business/media/aol-adds-a...?