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Groupon has a $15 billion valuation and it is actually harmful to smaller businesses that use its service.

• mkr-hn 16y ago
  I've seen less than ten companies mentioned in this whole thread with large valuations like that. That doesn't seem bubbly to me.
  • trotsky 16y ago
    In terms of what makes me feel like we're in a pattern that is similar to '97-'00 it isn't just the very large valuation companies, in fact that isn't much of it at all to me. It seems to be across the entire spectrum - VC's showing up to initial meetings with term sheets, higher initial valuations, very young companies being sold for high amounts, lots of rather underwhelming products/models, accelerating valuation increases and a public and press fascination with the sector. I'm not saying that's conclusive proof at all, but many behaviors seem very familiar.
    • mkr-hn 16y ago
      We could be seeing an aftershock from the last one. It seems like a lot of VCs either are or are working with people who cashed out near the high point of the boom.
• deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
• Kisil 16y ago
  [Citation needed] We've seen some headlines about exploitative sales practices, but fundamentally, Groupon is an advertising company, and tons of small businesses are signing up and willingly paying the prices they charge. Whether or not it's a good decision for each company, it seems a bit harsh to say categorically that it's harmful. How many businesses have blown big dollars on traditional ads with low ROI? Does that make traditional advertising harmful?