(This is for Groupon employees, but I’m posting it publicly since it will leak anyway)
People of Groupon,
After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I’ve decided that I’d like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding – I was fired today. If you’re wondering why… you haven’t been paying attention. From controversial metrics in our S1 to our material weakness to two quarters of missing our own expectations and a stock price that’s hovering around one quarter of our listing price, the events of the last year and a half speak for themselves. As CEO, I am accountable.
You are doing amazing things at Groupon, and you deserve the outside world to give you a second chance. I’m getting in the way of that. A fresh CEO earns you that chance. The board is aligned behind the strategy we’ve shared over the last few months, and I’ve never seen you working together more effectively as a global company – it’s time to give Groupon a relief valve from the public noise.
For those who are concerned about me, please don’t be – I love Groupon, and I’m terribly proud of what we’ve created. I’m OK with having failed at this part of the journey. If Groupon was Battletoads, it would be like I made it all the way to the Terra Tubes without dying on my first ever play through. I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to take the company this far with all of you. I’ll now take some time to decompress (FYI I’m looking for a good fat camp to lose my Groupon 40, if anyone has a suggestion), and then maybe I’ll figure out how to channel this experience into something productive.
If there’s one piece of wisdom that this simple pilgrim would like to impart upon you: have the courage to start with the customer. My biggest regrets are the moments that I let a lack of data override my intuition on what’s best for our customers. This leadership change gives you some breathing room to break bad habits and deliver sustainable customer happiness – don’t waste the opportunity!
Very classy. Keep in mind, though, that it makes is somewhat easier to take being fired in stride when you have a $200 million cushion. He doesn't have to deal with many of the challenges that most newly-fired people do - like finding a job in the not-too-distant future, etc. To be sure, getting kicked out of the company you founded is an emotionally challenging experience, but he can lick his wounds on board a private jet to a private island.
I too enjoyed the honesty here, but how much of that is Andrew's personality and how much is facilitated by the fact that by cashing out early [1] on an 'inside' round he doesn't actually have to work if he doesn't want to?
What I'm saying is that I have observed that the honesty someone has about how their last job ended is inversely proportional to their need to get another job. If they really need another job, people position their departure in a way that makes them the victim, if they don't care if they get another job, they are more forthcoming. It may be built into the psyche for all I know.
That said, given that it doesn't matter at all if he's seen as being fired or choosing to leave, I think it was great that he was as forthright about his tenure as he chose to be.
Are you serious? Groupon misled investors for years about its real financial numbers, and Mason (along with the puppetmaster, Lefkofsky) made millions off the fake data. The humor in this letter hides the real damage done to investors.
Regardless of what he did or didn't do with Groupon, I love this letter; it hit all of the points it should have and didn't say too much or too little. The humor, humility and hope really tie it all together.
He's being replaced by Executive Chairman Eric Lefkofsky and Vice Chairman Ted Leonisis. They will serve as co-CEOs until they find a permanent replacement.
Here is Lefkofsky's statment: On behalf of the entire Groupon Board, I want to thank Andrew for his leadership, his creativity and his deep loyalty to Groupon. As a founder, Andrew helped invent the daily deals space, leading Groupon to become one of the fastest growing companies in history. Groupon will continue to invest in growth, and we are confident that with our deep management team and market-leading position, the company is well positioned for the future.
It's refreshing to see an exit memo that is so honest. He even put some humor in there, and personal accountability.
Self-deprecating though it may be, I'm sure there are a multitude of factors that he's taking the fall for. CEO's are responsible of course, and he's taking this hit as gracefully as anyone could, but there's no way he could shoulder all of this on his own.
A funny goodbye letter doesn't make up for lying consistently to investors since before the IPO. He failed, a lot, he did not have an accident, he failed over a long period and in various ways (ripping off the shops, the accounting trick and the share value/financial results).
He's not a hero for writing this letter, he as to be treated with circonspection, and at best given a second chance under close watch.
(Though cynical-me wonders how much of it is heartfelt and honest, and how much of it is carefully engineered spin - crafted and chosen by a team of psychologists/marketers. About the only admirable thing about Groupon, at least to me, is their magnificent use of language to persuade and influence both buyers and sellers of Groupon deals.)
Assumes he wrote the statement and wasn't helped by PR people of course. In that case he gets credit for at least listening to those more experienced than he is.
Can't tell without seeing his reaction in other situations that are similar of course.
(This is for Groupon employees, but I’m posting it publicly since it will leak anyway)
People of Groupon,
After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I’ve decided that I’d like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding – I was fired today. If you’re wondering why… you haven’t been paying attention. From controversial metrics in our S1 to our material weakness to two quarters of missing our own expectations and a stock price that’s hovering around one quarter of our listing price, the events of the last year and a half speak for themselves. As CEO, I am accountable.
You are doing amazing things at Groupon, and you deserve the outside world to give you a second chance. I’m getting in the way of that. A fresh CEO earns you that chance. The board is aligned behind the strategy we’ve shared over the last few months, and I’ve never seen you working together more effectively as a global company – it’s time to give Groupon a relief valve from the public noise.
For those who are concerned about me, please don’t be – I love Groupon, and I’m terribly proud of what we’ve created. I’m OK with having failed at this part of the journey. If Groupon was Battletoads, it would be like I made it all the way to the Terra Tubes without dying on my first ever play through. I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to take the company this far with all of you. I’ll now take some time to decompress (FYI I’m looking for a good fat camp to lose my Groupon 40, if anyone has a suggestion), and then maybe I’ll figure out how to channel this experience into something productive.
If there’s one piece of wisdom that this simple pilgrim would like to impart upon you: have the courage to start with the customer. My biggest regrets are the moments that I let a lack of data override my intuition on what’s best for our customers. This leadership change gives you some breathing room to break bad habits and deliver sustainable customer happiness – don’t waste the opportunity!
"Nothing in his life
Became him like the leaving it."
King Duncan:
Is execution done on Cawdor? Are not
Those in commission yet return'd?
Malcolm:
My liege,
They are not yet come back. But I have spoke
With one that saw him die; who did report
That very frankly he confessed his treasons,
Implor'd your Highness' pardon, and set forth
A deep repentance. Nothing in his life
Became him like the leaving it.
I used to work at Groupon, and for all the shit it gets there are a lot of good people working on ambitious problems there and this letter is exemplary of the kind of character that inspired people to work there.
Best of luck to them as they try to turn things around.
Errrr... I'm not really getting the tenor of many of the comments here.
For one, look at what he isn't saying. But start with what we know.
He is being fired. That means he isn't leaving by choice, and most likely doesn't want to be leaving at all.
He is the CEO, and the CEO takes responsibility for the company's failures. Them's the rules of the game, for any leadership role. He is saying no more than that.
In particular, he never says he was wrong. He says he failed to continue being the successful CEO of this particular company. In fact, he somewhat obscurely implied that his intuition was right when what the company did turned out to be wrong. Why do you think the company did those things then? Did he tell it to, or did he lose the battle?
This letter was not written to us. It was written to the people at his company. People who are important to him. Which means it probably wasn't written for us either. The speculation that this is wholly a calculated move seem BS to me.
All that is just pointing out the known facts and suggesting likely deductions. More speculatively, I'd like to share my interpretation of the tone of the letter:
He's pissed. He's pissed but doesn't want to show it. He is staying well in control, writing a decent letter that puts something of himself into it but not too much, not enough to lose face or stir up conflict that could only harm the ones left behind. He's trying to bow out gracefully without capitulating, and I think he did a decent job of it. But this is no "wow, this guy is awesome, I bet he's learned some great lessons and I'd be stoked at the chance to work with him" letter. It's adequate, mainly admirable for hitting just the right level of adequacy when you know the guy probably wants to scream and rip someone or something's head off. He just got fired, dammit!
And not just fired from some place he worked at. Fired from a company he put more thought and time into over the past 5 years than anyone even puts into raising their own children.
Andrew Warner of Mixergy interviewed Andrew Mason in 2010 while Groupon was at its peak. I haven't had a chance to re-watch it yet but I imagine it'll be a very interesting watch given recent events.
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I'm surprised that there's not more comment that they guy taking over, Eric Lefkofsky, is the "slimy one" that made Groupon such as sleazy IPO, not Mason, for cashing out $1BB+ pre-IPO.
As a fellow Northwestern grad it disappointing to see him go, but as a lover of Chicago its probably for the best. I'd really love to see GroupOn succeed and help anchor a diversified tech presence in the city. We have some great startups, but you need big public companies in the same way a mall needs a Macys, Nordstrom, etc.
Why do I routinely see people on the net capitalize the second o? (You're not the first I've seen even today.) Is it like Microsoft, where it used to actually be MicroSoft and people like Mark Cuban still spell it that way out of hipsterish I-was-there-in-the-old-days sentiment? Or do a lot of people just think thats how it's supposed to be?
Agreed, even if it's too sensitive today I'd love to someday hear the real story behind ambiguous statements like that. There's a lasting lesson in there for everybody somewhere.
One bad year and a couple missed objectives, and your boss fires you? Looks like you were dealing with somebody who doesn't invest in training his employees... you'll be much happier working for somebody else.
It's not one bad year. Every year they've had, from a profit perspective, has been a bad year. We just didn't know how unstable the business model was when they were private. By the time merchants had a chance to figure out what selling a Groupon actually gets them (which for most is little more than a huge headache and a loss of money) Groupon was a public company.
Groupon built this massive juggernaut on a shaky premise, which is that merchants can sell a Groupon and more than recoup the lost revenues in future business. It's debatable whether merchants will keep selling these at 25% when most lose money on it and seem to get no long term benefit. It actually seems unlikely.
Groupon also spent more to acquire users than they made off them, figuring they'd make it up later, much like they were telling merchants. That's why they included the ridiculous ACSOI metric in their prospectus.
It's likely at this point that they need to pivot, and they probably just don't think Mason is the guy to do it. Maybe they think he should have done it sooner.
The nice thing about Groupon is they're in a great position to do it. The bad thing is it's going to be tough, and what they pivot too is uncertain.
[+] [-] sethbannon|13 years ago|reply
(This is for Groupon employees, but I’m posting it publicly since it will leak anyway)
People of Groupon,
After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I’ve decided that I’d like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding – I was fired today. If you’re wondering why… you haven’t been paying attention. From controversial metrics in our S1 to our material weakness to two quarters of missing our own expectations and a stock price that’s hovering around one quarter of our listing price, the events of the last year and a half speak for themselves. As CEO, I am accountable.
You are doing amazing things at Groupon, and you deserve the outside world to give you a second chance. I’m getting in the way of that. A fresh CEO earns you that chance. The board is aligned behind the strategy we’ve shared over the last few months, and I’ve never seen you working together more effectively as a global company – it’s time to give Groupon a relief valve from the public noise.
For those who are concerned about me, please don’t be – I love Groupon, and I’m terribly proud of what we’ve created. I’m OK with having failed at this part of the journey. If Groupon was Battletoads, it would be like I made it all the way to the Terra Tubes without dying on my first ever play through. I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to take the company this far with all of you. I’ll now take some time to decompress (FYI I’m looking for a good fat camp to lose my Groupon 40, if anyone has a suggestion), and then maybe I’ll figure out how to channel this experience into something productive.
If there’s one piece of wisdom that this simple pilgrim would like to impart upon you: have the courage to start with the customer. My biggest regrets are the moments that I let a lack of data override my intuition on what’s best for our customers. This leadership change gives you some breathing room to break bad habits and deliver sustainable customer happiness – don’t waste the opportunity!
I will miss you terribly.
Love,
Andrew
[+] [-] downandout|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] phillco|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ChuckMcM|13 years ago|reply
What I'm saying is that I have observed that the honesty someone has about how their last job ended is inversely proportional to their need to get another job. If they really need another job, people position their departure in a way that makes them the victim, if they don't care if they get another job, they are more forthcoming. It may be built into the psyche for all I know.
That said, given that it doesn't matter at all if he's seen as being fired or choosing to leave, I think it was great that he was as forthright about his tenure as he chose to be.
[1] http://articles.marketwatch.com/2011-11-03/commentary/306980...
[+] [-] honestemptor|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mnicole|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kurtvarner|13 years ago|reply
Here is Lefkofsky's statment: On behalf of the entire Groupon Board, I want to thank Andrew for his leadership, his creativity and his deep loyalty to Groupon. As a founder, Andrew helped invent the daily deals space, leading Groupon to become one of the fastest growing companies in history. Groupon will continue to invest in growth, and we are confident that with our deep management team and market-leading position, the company is well positioned for the future.
Source: http://techcrunch.com/2013/02/28/ceo-andrew-mason-replaced-b...
[+] [-] arizoo|13 years ago|reply
lack of data that overrides intuition? If it was a pile of data I could understand, but lack? That's when intuition come handy no?
[+] [-] larrys|13 years ago|reply
Otoh Meg Whitman has said something like "if you can't measure it you can't manage it".
[+] [-] dylangs1030|13 years ago|reply
Self-deprecating though it may be, I'm sure there are a multitude of factors that he's taking the fall for. CEO's are responsible of course, and he's taking this hit as gracefully as anyone could, but there's no way he could shoulder all of this on his own.
[+] [-] socalnate1|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cgusto|13 years ago|reply
As morbid as it sounds, it is refreshing to see such a painfully honest email. I wish Groupon and Andy the best.
[+] [-] vijayboyapati|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] BostonCFO2|13 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] sethbannon|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nraynaud|13 years ago|reply
He's not a hero for writing this letter, he as to be treated with circonspection, and at best given a second chance under close watch.
[+] [-] bigiain|13 years ago|reply
(Though cynical-me wonders how much of it is heartfelt and honest, and how much of it is carefully engineered spin - crafted and chosen by a team of psychologists/marketers. About the only admirable thing about Groupon, at least to me, is their magnificent use of language to persuade and influence both buyers and sellers of Groupon deals.)
[+] [-] larrys|13 years ago|reply
Assumes he wrote the statement and wasn't helped by PR people of course. In that case he gets credit for at least listening to those more experienced than he is.
Can't tell without seeing his reaction in other situations that are similar of course.
[+] [-] kurtvarner|13 years ago|reply
--
(This is for Groupon employees, but I’m posting it publicly since it will leak anyway)
People of Groupon,
After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I’ve decided that I’d like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding – I was fired today. If you’re wondering why… you haven’t been paying attention. From controversial metrics in our S1 to our material weakness to two quarters of missing our own expectations and a stock price that’s hovering around one quarter of our listing price, the events of the last year and a half speak for themselves. As CEO, I am accountable.
You are doing amazing things at Groupon, and you deserve the outside world to give you a second chance. I’m getting in the way of that. A fresh CEO earns you that chance. The board is aligned behind the strategy we’ve shared over the last few months, and I’ve never seen you working together more effectively as a global company – it’s time to give Groupon a relief valve from the public noise.
For those who are concerned about me, please don’t be – I love Groupon, and I’m terribly proud of what we’ve created. I’m OK with having failed at this part of the journey. If Groupon was Battletoads, it would be like I made it all the way to the Terra Tubes without dying on my first ever play through. I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to take the company this far with all of you. I’ll now take some time to decompress (FYI I’m looking for a good fat camp to lose my Groupon 40, if anyone has a suggestion), and then maybe I’ll figure out how to channel this experience into something productive.
If there’s one piece of wisdom that this simple pilgrim would like to impart upon you: have the courage to start with the customer. My biggest regrets are the moments that I let a lack of data override my intuition on what’s best for our customers. This leadership change gives you some breathing room to break bad habits and deliver sustainable customer happiness – don’t waste the opportunity!
I will miss you terribly.
Love,
Andrew
[+] [-] unknown|13 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] jedwhite|13 years ago|reply
King Duncan: Is execution done on Cawdor? Are not Those in commission yet return'd?
Malcolm: My liege, They are not yet come back. But I have spoke With one that saw him die; who did report That very frankly he confessed his treasons, Implor'd your Highness' pardon, and set forth A deep repentance. Nothing in his life Became him like the leaving it.
Macbeth Act 1, scene 4, 1–8
[+] [-] choxi|13 years ago|reply
Best of luck to them as they try to turn things around.
[+] [-] sfink|13 years ago|reply
For one, look at what he isn't saying. But start with what we know.
He is being fired. That means he isn't leaving by choice, and most likely doesn't want to be leaving at all.
He is the CEO, and the CEO takes responsibility for the company's failures. Them's the rules of the game, for any leadership role. He is saying no more than that.
In particular, he never says he was wrong. He says he failed to continue being the successful CEO of this particular company. In fact, he somewhat obscurely implied that his intuition was right when what the company did turned out to be wrong. Why do you think the company did those things then? Did he tell it to, or did he lose the battle?
This letter was not written to us. It was written to the people at his company. People who are important to him. Which means it probably wasn't written for us either. The speculation that this is wholly a calculated move seem BS to me.
All that is just pointing out the known facts and suggesting likely deductions. More speculatively, I'd like to share my interpretation of the tone of the letter:
He's pissed. He's pissed but doesn't want to show it. He is staying well in control, writing a decent letter that puts something of himself into it but not too much, not enough to lose face or stir up conflict that could only harm the ones left behind. He's trying to bow out gracefully without capitulating, and I think he did a decent job of it. But this is no "wow, this guy is awesome, I bet he's learned some great lessons and I'd be stoked at the chance to work with him" letter. It's adequate, mainly admirable for hitting just the right level of adequacy when you know the guy probably wants to scream and rip someone or something's head off. He just got fired, dammit!
[+] [-] awakeasleep|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] NZ_Matt|13 years ago|reply
Here's the video: http://blip.tv/mixergy/mixergy-groupon-andrew-mason-3852853
And transcript: http://mixergy.com/andrew-mason-groupon-interview/
[+] [-] octatone2|13 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] jacquesc|13 years ago|reply
http://cl.ly/image/2c1I0U2o3t0I
[+] [-] naudo|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unreal37|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] goronbjorn|13 years ago|reply
http://www.justin.tv/startupschool/b/272030648
[+] [-] nhangen|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Volscio|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] porter|13 years ago|reply
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qor5Rn7glaU
[+] [-] rayiner|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tptacek|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mattmaroon|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] michaelwolfe|13 years ago|reply
If you honestly embrace startup risk and failure, you simply cannot bash this guy.
[+] [-] Cherian|13 years ago|reply
Are there more insights in this? What do you think are the intuition decisions Groupon took (that’s public) that probably wasn’t against data?
It might seem obvious in retrospect, but as a startup founder I’d love to learn in context.
[+] [-] bcoates|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] brunorsini|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] millerc|13 years ago|reply
One bad year and a couple missed objectives, and your boss fires you? Looks like you were dealing with somebody who doesn't invest in training his employees... you'll be much happier working for somebody else.
Love,
an observer
[+] [-] mattmaroon|13 years ago|reply
Groupon built this massive juggernaut on a shaky premise, which is that merchants can sell a Groupon and more than recoup the lost revenues in future business. It's debatable whether merchants will keep selling these at 25% when most lose money on it and seem to get no long term benefit. It actually seems unlikely.
Groupon also spent more to acquire users than they made off them, figuring they'd make it up later, much like they were telling merchants. That's why they included the ridiculous ACSOI metric in their prospectus.
It's likely at this point that they need to pivot, and they probably just don't think Mason is the guy to do it. Maybe they think he should have done it sooner.
The nice thing about Groupon is they're in a great position to do it. The bad thing is it's going to be tough, and what they pivot too is uncertain.
[+] [-] kamaal|13 years ago|reply
Me personally, I would love to fail like this someday.
The most big wins in my life have come after big failures. This guy is set for something big in life.
[+] [-] kgosser|13 years ago|reply