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This really begs the question: who the hell is in charge there? How do you not take one look at your finances and immediately jump on a multi-billion dollar buy
by Pewpewarrows 15y ago
This really begs the question: who the hell is in charge there? How do you not take one look at your finances and immediately jump on a multi-billion dollar buyout that a giant internet company offers you? Or did Google get a closer look at their books and see this coming?
- sliverstorm 15y agoI have heard it suggested that Google either did or likely did have performance requirements as part of the deal, and that Groupon knew they couldn't meet them.
- steve8918 15y agoAll my friends in finance, including those in auditing for a Big 4, spotted this when the S-1 first came out. It was obvious to them that this was completely wrong. So it indeed does beg the question, who is in charge? What were they thinking when they tried to get away with putting this in their S-1? Were they really that inept in revenue recognition, or were they trying to pull a fast one on their potential investors? If anything, it really hits against the credibility of the executives. As has been mentioned many times, the fact that they sold shares for 900MM and then cashed out their initial investors when Groupon was bleeding money speaks volumes about the character of those in charge. I wouldn't invest a single penny in this company.
- pork 15y agoWho is in charge? A business professor who lectures sometimes at the U of Chicago Booth business school.
- danso 15y agoOnly because this is HN where we're all picky: http://begthequestion.info/ http://begthequestion.info/
- cellis 15y agoIf the phrase is misused 9 times out of 10, then redefine it. That's the hacker way.
- dasil003 15y agoAlso, I can't help but wonder if the fallacy was named based on some colloquialism to begin with.
- abduhl 15y agoThe fallacy is named because one of the definitions for "beg" is "to evade," which is why "begging the question" can be recast as "evading the question" (although you do lose the subtle part about assuming the conclusion to prove the conclusion).
- alanh 15y agoThank you. Now I actually learned something from this conversation.
- andreasvc 15y agoYes, it's based on a literal translation of a latin idiom: petitio principo (IIRC). A more unambiguous phrasing is: assuming the antecedent.
- epicureanideal 15y agoIf we redefine everything based on what 9 out of 10 people do, what will the 1 out of 10 do that are trying to communicate effectively using precise terminology that wait... no longer exists for the concept they're trying to convey.
- adriand 15y agoIt won't matter that they can't communicate, since they will have been marginalized as pedants.
- lem72 15y agoCharles in Charge.