4 ms·

I would have enjoyed this post a lot more if at the end they had not simply created yet another bloody coupon site. I can understand going through two and half

I would have enjoyed this post a lot more if at the end they had not simply created yet another bloody coupon site. I can understand going through two and half years of no money, pain and self-doubt if you were working on something world-changing. But just another bloody coupon site... I don't want to be down on these guys. They sound like really nice guys; intelligent, persistent and bright. But, please, no, not another bloody coupon site

zazerr 15y ago
Well, at least it's an aggregator ... of all the other bloody coupon sites.
jjmaxwell4 15y ago
There not just another run of the mill coupon site. Check out what there actually doing. Aggregating all of that info, much like Hipmunk has done for airlines, and providing only stuff that is interesting/useful for you.
- Hisoka 15y ago
  This whole thing about "Hipmunk is sexy! It's named Hipmunk! From guys who made Reddit! A YC company!" needs to stop. Yipit is just as boring as Hipmunk is. Please.
lionhearted 15y ago
(I didn't downvote you) I think it's important to make a distinction between businesses that are aesthetically pleasing and appealing to you, and business-in-general that's successful. Lessons from business-in-general can be very useful even if you wouldn't patronize them yourself and it's always nice when people open up about their experience. Unless a business is actively knowingly hurting people, I think it's good to celebrate business-in-general even if the aesthetics/offers don't appeal to you.
- jayliew 15y ago
  Yup. It's kind of like being a web developer and building a startup. You have to be clear that you're trying to build a business, not a web site. In business, you don't get points for being creative/sexy and win by getting the most points. You win by simply winning. At business. Seriously, there is no reason to be so negative towards anybody's startup, no matter how "bloody" you think it is. Be happy for other people.
leon_ 15y ago
I thought the same. But who am I to judge them for their choices. If they can live with it (maybe even they have really fun working on their coupon aggregator) then why not. Now I'm not sure about the sustainability of that business model. Investors seem to pump money into it because of Groupon's "success" but I'm skeptical if the group coupon hype will persist for more than the next 2 years. I'd squeeze all the money I can out of the groupon thing and prepare to start another startup in some time.
arctangent 15y ago
It seems like a lot of normal people (i.e. non-hacker types) thought they added some value to the world. Tetra Pak (who make milk cartons) are worth billions of dollars. The people who make the toilet paper you wipe your ass with will make more money than most of us can ever aspire to! Boring pays the bills.
billpatrianakos 15y ago
I understand what you mean (I myself almost started "another bloody coupon site" but changed course for the same reason you didn't like the end of the post). But obviously what they were doing before wasn't working and they ended up being successful by giving people what they wanted in a way that provided some sort of value. There are so many similar sites out there that I think it's impressive they were successful doing something that is, like we all know, so overdone. So I guess my point is that sure, we don't need another damn coupon site (we even have plenty of aggregators too) but that's beside the point and I appreciate the words of advice. That was motivating to me.
patio11 15y ago
another bloody coupon site Somewhere out there, there is a scuba diving school / cafe / massage therapy practice which does not have any way to turn money into customers into money into customers. If they had such a thing, it would improve the lives of their customers, allow the business to make payroll, and compensate the owners for the enormous risk, investment, and effort they put into the business. Delivering that -- scalable customer acquisition -- is a sexy, sexy problem. The coupon sites are an implementation detail. I've got one customer who feeds ten families (and probably expanding soon) in the face of the worst economy his business has ever seen because Groupon Works For Us.

zazerr 15y ago

Well, at least it's an aggregator ... of all the other bloody coupon sites.

jjmaxwell4 15y ago

There not just another run of the mill coupon site. Check out what there actually doing. Aggregating all of that info, much like Hipmunk has done for airlines, and providing only stuff that is interesting/useful for you.

Hisoka 15y ago
This whole thing about "Hipmunk is sexy! It's named Hipmunk! From guys who made Reddit! A YC company!" needs to stop. Yipit is just as boring as Hipmunk is. Please.

lionhearted 15y ago

(I didn't downvote you) I think it's important to make a distinction between businesses that are aesthetically pleasing and appealing to you, and business-in-general that's successful. Lessons from business-in-general can be very useful even if you wouldn't patronize them yourself and it's always nice when people open up about their experience. Unless a business is actively knowingly hurting people, I think it's good to celebrate business-in-general even if the aesthetics/offers don't appeal to you.

jayliew 15y ago
Yup. It's kind of like being a web developer and building a startup. You have to be clear that you're trying to build a business, not a web site. In business, you don't get points for being creative/sexy and win by getting the most points. You win by simply winning. At business. Seriously, there is no reason to be so negative towards anybody's startup, no matter how "bloody" you think it is. Be happy for other people.

leon_ 15y ago

I thought the same. But who am I to judge them for their choices. If they can live with it (maybe even they have really fun working on their coupon aggregator) then why not. Now I'm not sure about the sustainability of that business model. Investors seem to pump money into it because of Groupon's "success" but I'm skeptical if the group coupon hype will persist for more than the next 2 years. I'd squeeze all the money I can out of the groupon thing and prepare to start another startup in some time.

arctangent 15y ago

It seems like a lot of normal people (i.e. non-hacker types) thought they added some value to the world. Tetra Pak (who make milk cartons) are worth billions of dollars. The people who make the toilet paper you wipe your ass with will make more money than most of us can ever aspire to! Boring pays the bills.

billpatrianakos 15y ago

I understand what you mean (I myself almost started "another bloody coupon site" but changed course for the same reason you didn't like the end of the post). But obviously what they were doing before wasn't working and they ended up being successful by giving people what they wanted in a way that provided some sort of value. There are so many similar sites out there that I think it's impressive they were successful doing something that is, like we all know, so overdone. So I guess my point is that sure, we don't need another damn coupon site (we even have plenty of aggregators too) but that's beside the point and I appreciate the words of advice. That was motivating to me.

patio11 15y ago

another bloody coupon site Somewhere out there, there is a scuba diving school / cafe / massage therapy practice which does not have any way to turn money into customers into money into customers. If they had such a thing, it would improve the lives of their customers, allow the business to make payroll, and compensate the owners for the enormous risk, investment, and effort they put into the business. Delivering that -- scalable customer acquisition -- is a sexy, sexy problem. The coupon sites are an implementation detail. I've got one customer who feeds ten families (and probably expanding soon) in the face of the worst economy his business has ever seen because Groupon Works For Us.