Groupon Ipo Paper

I will be discussing the Initial Public Offering of Groupon, Inc. It is currently traded on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol (GRPN). They are one of the leaders in the “daily deals” marketplace competing with companies like Living Social. They sell internet coupons for various items as well as package deals for vacations. They will sell deals on both local and national levels for various products, services and experiences.

The name (obviously) blends the words “group” and “coupon” which also is an overview of their original business model. Basically if a set amount of people bought the deal then it would become available to everyone, however, if the total goal was not reached then the deal would not be available to anyone. The company was launched in November 2008 and their first market was Chicago, IL. They quickly expanded to New York City, Boston, and Toronto. They are now in over 150 North American markets and 100 in Asia, Europe and South America. They offer daily deals in 48 countries and even have plans for outer space. Their headquarters is in Chicago but they have a growing presence in the Silicon Valley with offices in Palo Alto, CA, which is a hotbed for Internet and Social Media Companies. (2, 10)

Andrew Mason came up with the idea for Groupon and he serves as the company’s Chief Executive Officer. His idea grew out of the website called The Point which focused on fundraising for groups. (10) Andrew Mason is only 31 years old which is relatively young for a CEO. He also has shown some strange antics and even created false rumors about himself owning 20 cats among other ridiculous things. Due to his age and lack of maturity this could factor into the way the company is run and how it will grow in the future.

Groupon’s Initial Public Offering has been one of the most talked about and scrutinized subjects of the financial world in the past decade. It was not only a high profile deal due to the popularity and notoriety of the company but also due to many business and accounting practices