9 ms·
As a Silicon Valley native currently living in Chicago, I've always found it disappointing that Groupon is the poster child of innovation and entrepreneurship i
by guptaneil 15y ago
As a Silicon Valley native currently living in Chicago, I've always found it disappointing that Groupon is the poster child of innovation and entrepreneurship in Chicago. They seem to lack a solid business plan and have a history of deliberately misleading investors and businesses. Far more impressive companies, such as 37signals or GrubHub, are based here that deserve that kind of attention instead.
I very much doubt the legitimacy of this story, but I was in a barbershop a few weeks ago, where the owner told me about one of the Groupon executives who was in the shop earlier. He was saying we shouldn't expect Groupon to be around in 10 years because the company's plan is to collect as much cash as possible, fire everybody, and shut down, keeping the money for the investors. While I doubt a Groupon executive would have actually said that in a barbershop, I can believe that actually was their long-term plan, but if things keep up at their current rate, I'm not sure if Groupon will even last that long.
- jpdoctor 15y ago> He was saying we shouldn't expect Groupon to be around in 10 years because the company's plan is to collect as much cash as possible, fire everybody, and shut down, keeping the money for the investors. Every bubble produces these, but usually the money is kept for the management-investors only. SCMR and Zhone from the tech bubble executed that plan spectacularly.
- pbreit 15y ago> I was in a barbershop a few weeks ago, where the owner told me about one of the Groupon executives who was in the shop earlier Great source!
- tptacek 15y agoI don't know why this was downmodded. It's trenchant. Nobody on HN seems to like Groupon, but that doesn't make this kind of ridiculous hearsay more valid.
- furyofantares 15y agoI'd guess it's due to the sarcastic tone. If he had your made your post instead I think it would be faring better. What really gets me is the barbershop post actually admits that it's very unlikely for the source to be telling the truth, then goes on to give it credit anyway because it agrees with his own speculation.
- larrys 15y ago"He was saying we shouldn't expect Groupon to be around in 10 years because the company's plan is to collect as much cash as possible, fire everybody, and shut down, keeping the money for the investors." Because the problem isn't the source (the barber). It's the idea that a groupon executive would have said something like this to his barber, physician, plumber etc. Maybe bragging to his call girl, maybe to a friend when drunk (and was overheard) but it's ridiculous to think someone would say something like this even in jest.
- awj 15y agoI don't think selectively quoting to omit "I very much doubt the legitimacy of this story" then commenting "Great source!" is adding anything useful to this conversation.
- tptacek 15y agoDisagree. The original post was deeply disingenuous.
- furyofantares 15y agoAnd the sarcastic remark adds no value, it merely antagonizes the other poster without really explaining what's a wrong with the post, and sets a more combative tone that is not really seen as desirable here. Tone alone can make the difference between a productive discussion and a non-productive debate and HN seems to do a relatively good job at keeping a tone that leads more toward discussions and less toward debate.
- 15y ago
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- brandall10 15y ago(Seemingly) explosive growth garners much attention, it's human nature. Tech 'reporters' Techcrunch, VentureBeat, Mashable, etc, like a good story. Maybe I'm naive, but it seems like there's always been this question mark over their model being non-sustainable, and to those who are aware of 37Signals hold them in much higher esteem.
- joezydeco 15y ago"Far more impressive companies, such as 37signals or GrubHub, are based here that deserve that kind of attention instead." Every time someone says this, the neck-hairs of every Orbitz employee (current and former) stand up on end and twitch a little.
- __float 15y agoI don't think that's exactly the same comparison. Orbitz, to me, seems much more corporate and doesn't have the same connection with the developer and startup community that these do. That's not to say Orbitz isn't worthy of attention, merely they don't shove it in our faces like 37signals ;)
- joezydeco 15y agoNo, but it's a good example of a startup that had a solid foundation, good management team, and ramped up into a successful IPO without a 9-figure G round. A lot of other startups have sprung from that event. It's a shame that a lot of people have forgotten that and mention Groupon and GrubHub like they're the one-and-only models for a startup scene in this city.
- pbreit 15y agoI have a hard time thinking of Orbitz as a startup since it is/was a joint venture by the airlines.
- johnrob 15y agoThe plan might be the most rational one I've heard regarding Groupon. Not the most moral strategy, but it's one that seems to factor in their vague value proposition.
- knows_chicago 15y agoGroupon is the typical Chicago-based startup. After experiencing enough sleazy startups in the mold of Groupon, I decided I've had enough with Chicago. That type of business plan is typical of many Chicago startups. The same investors behind Groupon are funding many other startups. They've got plenty more ponzi startups waiting in the wings.
- freehunter 15y agoI'm not agreeing nor disagreeing with you, since Groupon is the only startup I know from Chicago, but Chicago has this same problem with politicians. Pump-'n-Dump. 1 in 5 Illinois state politicians have seen jail time in the past 100 years.[1] I can't honestly put anything down to words that could describe why, or if it's just coincidence. Just an odd trend. [1]http://articles.marketwatch.com/2011-12-07/economy/30779893_1_illinois-gov-political-corruption-bribery http://articles.marketwatch.com/2011-12-07/economy/30779893_...
- ironchef 15y agoCreated just to post this? Wow. Anyways...so...would you say the following are all sleazy: braintree, orbitz, threadless (aka skinnycorp), 37signals Those are the next startups i think about when i think chicago.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- knows_chicago 15y agoI should clarify. It is more the mentality of quick cash at any cost. This style of business can work in some work under some circumstances. Orbitz does some cool stuff, but it isn't a startup. It was a spinoff from various megacorps. 37signals manages to work within the Chicago paradigm. However, they are run more like a small business than a high-growth startup. Grubhub would be more a Chicago success story.
- islander 15y agoI might disagree with you on that. I am not a GroupOn FAN but if that was their real intention, they would have sold the company to Google long back for $6 bn.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]